Originally Posted by DannoXYZ
Otherwise, if you're going to be paying for these parts, you might as well get the 7-speed stuff.
Originally Posted by Sheldon Brown
The Ultra 6 freewheels have more or less the desired spacing, but it's an oddball system, and they don't shift nearly as well as modern stuff does.
I would very strongly recommend that you go for a 7-speed freewheel. The Shimano ones are a fantastic bargain, and they're way better than those old Sun Tours. See:
http://harriscyclery.com/freewheels
On a high quality steel frame like yours, re-spacing to 126 or even 130 mm is a trivial matter, and it is silly to let fear of this minor modification prevent you from using better, cheaper parts.
You know, that's excellent advice. I thought about respacing the frame and I read what Sheldon had to say about it (fantastic site, BTW - thanks!), but I have a problem - I don't have the tools or the experience needed for realigning the fork ends or for redishing the wheel. I've rebuilt bikes before, and I pretty much understand brakes, derailleurs, shifters, etc, but I don't work in a shop, and I've never needed to work on spokes before. Maybe the LBS would do it for me, but I prefer not to pay if I don't have to (I'm pretty cheap). If you guys can point me to some good sources for information, I'll spend some time thinking about it. I'm not at all afraid of doing the work myself, but I love this frame and I don't want to damage it, either. I'm not planning on doing anything to the bike until late in the fall anyway, 'cause I'll be too busy riding it to do any significant work on it.
I work with a guy who used to be a bike mechanic - maybe he can give me some tips or lend me tools. And in the end, I think it would probably be cheaper to go with the respacing and 7-speed parts, and it sounds like the bike would be more enjoyable.
Thanks for the advice, you've given me something to consider. If you anything else to add, I'd sure like to hear what you have to say.
Thanks!