Shifting from the drops while sprinting or descending means either releasing your grip to reach the main lever paddles or accepting the gear you are in until you can move your hands. The SW-R610 solves that tradeoff by adding dedicated shift buttons exactly where your hands naturally rest during high-speed efforts. Shimano designed these sprinter shifters to mount anywhere along the drop section of the handlebar, tucked under the bar tape with just the button surface exposed through a small cutout. Your hands stay locked in position while your thumbs handle gear changes.

Each shifter connects directly to a dedicated port on compatible 11-speed Di2 STI levers. The right switch shifts down the cassette into harder gears, and the left switch shifts up into easier gears. No junction boxes, no extra E-Tube wires, no complicated routing. The 130mm wire length runs from the button location up to the lever, hidden beneath the bar tape. Installation involves positioning the switches where you want them, cutting small access holes in the tape, and plugging the connectors into the sprint shifter ports on your levers.

Compatibility covers the 11-speed Di2 road systems with sprint shifter ports built into the STI levers. That includes Dura-Ace ST-9070 and ST-R9150, Ultegra ST-6870 and ST-R8050, and their hydraulic disc variants. Earlier generations like the ST-7970 and ST-6770 lack the dedicated ports and will not work with these switches. If you are running 12-speed Dura-Ace or Ultegra, Shimano offers the newer SW-RS801 satellite shifters designed for that system's SD-300 wire protocol.... Read More