Originally Posted by canklecat

Cool, thanks, SpeedofLite , I've had some of that DA group sitting in a box since last year waiting to be built up on an early '90s Trek 5900.

I was surprised to see the article mention backward compatibility with 6 and 7 speed STI. I must have misread other specs that cast some doubt on backward compatibility. I've been using mostly 8-speed Ultegra front and rear derailleurs because I was under the impression they retained more backward compatibility.

Now I'm encouraged to finish cleaning those DA 7402 bits and put 'em on a bike.

Originally Posted by SpeedofLite

I'm glad the article helped to encourage you. I went into the article believing the RD 7402 was backward compatible with 6/7 spd SIS Dura Ace components, but not with other Shimano or non-Shimano index systems.
At least that's what I think the Sheldon Brown article on DA compatibility showed. https://www.sheldonbrown.com/dura-ace.html