Shimano Ultegra RD-6800 GS Rear Derailleur

Shimano Ultegra RD-6800 GS Rear Derailleur Info

No stone was left unturned in Shimano’s efforts to improve the Ultegra 6800. Recognizing how important seamless shifting is, the Shimano Ultegra RD-6800 Rear Derailleur has received a lot of attention which has made a huge contribution to the flawless shifting the groupset as a whole enjoys.

Frankly, there wasn’t much room for improvement coming from the Ultegra 6700, but Shimano still found a way to raise the bar. Fast and accurate shifting is always the goal, and to achieve that here, Shimano redesigned the rear derailleur with a new spring mechanism. That’s how Shimano has leveled the cable pull, making each shift easy and requiring equal force, whether you are going up or down the cogs. In terms of effort and feel, you won’t be able to tell the difference whether you are shifting up or shifting down. Another change to make note of is the repositioned cable pinch bolt, which improves the leverage, further reducing the pressure needed to complete the shift.

If you’ve been poking around some of the different Shimano components, it will come as no surprise that another facet to the excellent performance of the RD-6800 Rear Derailleur is thanks to the specially polymer coated cables. That may sound a bit dull, but things like cables are definitely where you want to splurge a little since a small investment often provides disproportionately large returns. With these cables, the genius is in the polymer coating reducing the sliding resistance of the cable, which gives the shifting a quick and easy feel. Treated this way, the cables are also much more resistant to fraying or bunching, which will ensure that you’re shifting will feel as good on the thousandth ride as it did on the first. Only by using these Shimano cables can you realize the full potential of the groupset’s possibilities.

All of this precision shifting is tantamount in quality to the Dura-Ace, but nevertheless comes at a highly comfortable price, since Shimano has shaved some of the cost by using slightly heavier materials where no reduction in performance would be felt. What you of course do get, similar to the Dura-Ace 9000, is the 11-speed gearing. And where the Ultegra stands apart from Dura-Ace here is that there is a derailleur option that can accommodate an 11-32T cassette. The Ultegra RD-6800 Rear Derailleur comes in a short cage model, which can handle the cassettes with ratios of 11-23,11-25, 11-28, 12-25, 12-28, while only the long cage model can tackle the 32T. The 11-28 and the 11-32 cassettes in particular offer that have-it-both-ways choices, making riding for normal people a lot more fun. Now you can churn your way up a long, steep climb, and still enjoy the ride down without spinning out. That’s just one of the examples where Shimano shows its sympathy for the real-world riders: they may sponsor many of the greatest cyclists in the world, but they still take all that research and feedback and transform it into something that will benefit every weekend warrior.

The Shimano Ultegra RD-6800 Rear Derailleur has been designed to work in conjunction with the rest of the Shimano 6800 11-speed groupset. If you want to upgrade to an 11-speed gruppo without mortgaging your house, the Ultegra 6800 is the best way to get the quality you crave at a price you can handle.