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Dura Ace 7700 was the best Shimano road group ever

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Dura Ace 7700 was the best Shimano road group ever

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Old 06-04-21, 03:05 AM
  #1  
Lazyass
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Dura Ace 7700 was the best Shimano road group ever

I had that group on a Serotta Atlanta and it was the best ever.

I've always thought 9 cogs was the perfect number. A 10th just was not needed for me personally and fine tuning became more finicky. Also needs a narrower, IE weaker chain. The external shift cable routing has less friction and shifts crisper, and that style of brake hood was (is, I have an older Tiagra) more comfortable on my hands. All the modern internal routing Shimano STI's make my fingers numb. And the whole group was light as hell.

It was beautiful as well. The biggest drawback is the clear coating that peels off. Hard to find used components that still look good.

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Old 06-04-21, 07:24 AM
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What is this place ? 😁
i agree
7700 shifters are far superior to 7800 and 7900
positive mechanical click, bulletproof
7800, good but less reliable, need clean and lube and they fail
7900, not good, they fail
ask me how i know, got them all
i do prefer 7800 cranks, even if they are heavier
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Old 06-04-21, 07:33 AM
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I just wish you could get new hoods.
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Old 06-04-21, 08:28 AM
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I agree........

Dura-Ace

Dura-Ace

Ultegra

Dura-Ace
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Old 06-04-21, 09:56 AM
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Old 06-05-21, 07:04 AM
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Originally Posted by Lazyass
I had that group on a Serotta Atlanta and it was the best ever.

I've always thought 9 cogs was the perfect number. A 10th just was not needed for me personally and fine tuning became more finicky. Also needs a narrower, IE weaker chain. The external shift cable routing has less friction and shifts crisper, and that style of brake hood was (is, I have an older Tiagra) more comfortable on my hands. All the modern internal routing Shimano STI's make my fingers numb. And the whole group was light as hell.

It was beautiful as well. The biggest drawback is the clear coating that peels off. Hard to find used components that still look good.

I agree about 9 sp Dura Ace. 9 sp Ultegra and 105 also worked well for me. Basing this on durability, functionality, and ease of set up.
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Old 06-07-21, 06:02 PM
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Originally Posted by reissue59
bulletproof
I've overhauled many STIs, but I have a set of ST-7700s that I couldn't get going again.
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Old 06-08-21, 07:38 AM
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The thing I never liked about Ultegra 6500 (6503 to be specific) was the lack of trim for the big ring of a triple. 6603 has it, and to me shifts just a bit cleaner and has more comfortable hoods.

The real deal-breaker with 6603 is the front derailleur shape which is incompatible with my preferred 52/42/30 triple. It’s designed for a larger tooth difference from the big to middle ring (52 -> 39) and the inner cage will hit the 42 tooth ring unless set so high that it won’t shift cleanly. A 105-level 5603 FD will give passable front shifting (designed for 50 -> 39) but it always annoyed me to have to compromise.
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Old 06-08-21, 03:49 PM
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Originally Posted by joejack951
The thing I never liked about Ultegra 6500 (6503 to be specific) was the lack of trim for the big ring of a triple. 6603 has it, and to me shifts just a bit cleaner and has more comfortable hoods.

The real deal-breaker with 6603 is the front derailleur shape which is incompatible with my preferred 52/42/30 triple. It’s designed for a larger tooth difference from the big to middle ring (52 -> 39) and the inner cage will hit the 42 tooth ring unless set so high that it won’t shift cleanly. A 105-level 5603 FD will give passable front shifting (designed for 50 -> 39) but it always annoyed me to have to compromise.
So wouldn't the no compromise setup be 6603 levers with a 6503 FD?

Although it's getting a bit academic, since you can't get the middle rings anymore...
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Old 06-08-21, 05:40 PM
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Originally Posted by Kimmo
So wouldn't the no compromise setup be 6603 levers with a 6503 FD?

Although it's getting a bit academic, since you can't get the middle rings anymore...
I tried using the FD-6503 with an otherwise 10-speed setup as I had no other choice when I first built that bike (5600 didn’t come out for another year or more). Upshifts were ok but downshifts were hit or miss. I dropped the chain on occasion and had this weird issue where the chain would ‘skate’ on top of the middle ring for a few revolutions on downshifts. Horribly annoying and solved by the 5603 part.

I have two nearly new Stronglight triples (a Pulsion and. Fission), both with 52/42/30 9/10 speed rings so I’m good there.

Worst case, I’ve been known to make parts to solve my problems
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Old 06-08-21, 06:01 PM
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The 7700 crankset was beautiful, but the external BB 7800 was a breakthrough.
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Old 06-09-21, 03:04 AM
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Originally Posted by caloso
The 7700 crankset was beautiful, but the external BB 7800 was a breakthrough.
I do agree with that. Wish it had come out a generation earlier.
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Old 06-09-21, 06:23 AM
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Originally Posted by caloso
The 7700 crankset was beautiful, but the external BB 7800 was a breakthrough.
i agree, yes the holy Hollowtech BB !
i love the simple install and no maintenance on these. The 7800 cranks are my favourite.
i swap all my cranks for 7800 and the fabulous matching BB
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Old 06-09-21, 11:34 AM
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Except the 7700 triple crankset with it’s planned obsolescence spider.

Oh... and it would have been nice to have a titanium axle in the freehub like the XTR 950.

Other than that, probably one of the best groups.

John

Edit Added: And the double rebuildable/adjustable cartridge BB didn’t have a lot of fans. The triple cartridge was plug and play.

Last edited by 70sSanO; 06-09-21 at 11:40 AM.
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Old 06-09-21, 01:03 PM
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I have 3 bikes with 7700 on them (NO BRIFTERS). But they all have 7800 brakes. I like them better as they are stiffer.
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Old 06-09-21, 01:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Lazyass
I had that group on a Serotta Atlanta and it was the best ever.

I've always thought 9 cogs was the perfect number. A 10th just was not needed for me personally and fine tuning became more finicky. Also needs a narrower, IE weaker chain. The external shift cable routing has less friction and shifts crisper, and that style of brake hood was (is, I have an older Tiagra) more comfortable on my hands. All the modern internal routing Shimano STI's make my fingers numb. And the whole group was light as hell.

It was beautiful as well. The biggest drawback is the clear coating that peels off. Hard to find used components that still look good.

...why did it come with a watch ? Do you need to time it on installation ?
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Old 06-09-21, 02:17 PM
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Originally Posted by 3alarmer
...why did it come with a watch ? Do you need to time it on installation ?
Now you have something against watches?
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Old 06-09-21, 03:01 PM
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Damn! This watch.
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Old 06-09-21, 08:14 PM
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All this love for HT2, and not a word about scuffed cranks due to lack of heel clearance. I'm annoyed Shimano never offered a BB30 version of their cranks; pair that with a PF30, or better yet, T47 frame and it'd be almost pure win.

Although it'd be nice to have some delrin between the ally spindle and the steel bearings... wonder if there's room for that in T47?
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Old 06-09-21, 08:16 PM
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Originally Posted by Wileyone
Now you have something against watches?
...I have always hated watches, and never wore one. If I had one on, it would just remind me I'm late for something. Watches are horrible things, and the ones you wear on your wrist are just a fashion statement that you are more organized than me.

Wait, I just remembered I wore a watch when diving. I don't know why, because I was gonna run out of air regardless of what time it was.
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Old 06-09-21, 08:31 PM
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Best watch I ever saw showed the time on its edge, so you could discretely peek down your sleeve without letting on that you're bored out of your mind.
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Old 06-09-21, 08:38 PM
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Originally Posted by 3alarmer
...I have always hated watches, and never wore one. If I had one on, it would just remind me I'm late for something. Watches are horrible things, and the ones you wear on your wrist are just a fashion statement that you are more organized than me.

Wait, I just remembered I wore a watch when diving. I don't know why, because I was gonna run out of air regardless of what time it was.
Did you snag any Lobsters?
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Old 06-10-21, 04:58 AM
  #23  
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Originally Posted by Wileyone
I have 3 bikes with 7700 on them (NO BRIFTERS). But they all have 7800 brakes. I like them better as they are stiffer.
Agree, my PDG Series Paramount has all 7700 except for the brakes which are 7800 (best brakes ever), and the outer chain ring which is a 7800 ring, I just like the way the 7800 outer ring looks, kind of like a meat slicer!
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Old 06-10-21, 08:40 AM
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Originally Posted by Wileyone
Did you snag any Lobsters?
....all my diving was in pretty warm water, so we ate the clawless rock lobsters, when we could find them. I was all about tropical reef fish and trips to the islands in the Caribbean. Even there, i wore a wet suit. And a watch.
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Old 06-11-21, 03:21 AM
  #25  
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Originally Posted by Kimmo
All this love for HT2, and not a word about scuffed cranks due to lack of heel clearance. I
I stick a piece of clear tape at the contact point.
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