Shimano Ultegra Front Derailleur 6800

Shimano Ultegra Front Derailleur 6800 Info

When Shimano introduced their Di2 electric groupset, many claimed it would be the death of mechanical. Luckily at Shimano cooler heads prevailed, and not only have they really pulled up their socks when developing the latest Dura-Ace 9000, they have allowed most of the innovations to stream down to the Ultegra 6800. With the Shimano Ultegra FD-6800 Front Derailleur you’ll enjoy such amazingly smooth, practically effortless shifting, you’ll wonder why anyone would want to mess with wires and batteries when such perfection is possible by wire.

The Ultegra follows the lead of Dura-Ace in much of the redesign. First thing you’ll notice is how the lever arm is much taller than usual. It looks a little unusual, but that is one of the main reasons that the leverage is so amazing and the shifting, especially onto the big, is so effortless. Shimano intentionally rethought its actuation ratio, essentially how much cable is pulled versus arm movement, as the best way to reduce the required movement to shift. Downshifting couldn’t be easier. The ease with which the lever moves and the shorter stroke required to get the chain action you want can also be attributed to the use of the same polymer-coated cables that are found in the shifters and breaks. And even if you are putting down mega-watts, you won’t have to worry about flex in relation to the frame since a new support bolt for the braze-on version has been added to better anchor the derailleur to the frame.

The Shimano Ultegra FD-6800 Front Derailleur comes in a braze-on or two options for clamp diameters, the 31.8mm/28.6mm or 34.9mm. It can be used with up to a 55-tooth chain ring at the top end, and it can accommodate a 16 tooth difference between large and small chain ring. It can be used with both compact and standard chain rings.