Bicycle Mechanics - Suntour pro 7 speed with r700 crank, will this work?

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tubegrrl
02-13-09, 08:09 PM
Hi, have crazy project I am trying. Please do not ask why. just because.

Old trek 1000 with shimano 6 speed index originally double front crank.

Want to switch to the following:

Rear wheel suntour superb hub and suntour pro 7 speed freewheel (the one that is narrower spacing than shimano to fit 6 speed wheel dish)

shimano r700 compact crank

I have available suntour 7 speed index barcons, shimano 6 speed index downtube shifters, friction shifters,
Suntour superbe pro rear der for rear, orginal shimano 6 speed fd, also suntour triple compatible fd, bunches of other parts.

My main concern is the 7 speed suntour freewheel and the shimano compact crank. Can I use a narrow 8-speed chain and get all this to work smoothly?

Panthers007
02-13-09, 09:37 PM
If you run the Suntour derailleur - rear - using DT friction-shifters, you should have no problem. Getting into old indexing and Shimano and a Suntour RD may be asking for trouble. I don't know if Suntour is compatible with 1:1 Shimano equipment. But a 7-spd freewheel with friction-shifters won't care who made it. Friction-shifters just plain work. The barcons should work as well as long as you're using Suntour in the back (RD & Suntour freewheel). And they will work with most front-derailleurs and crankset. Where trouble may arise is using a Shimano shifter with Suntour components. I'm not certain though in the case of Suntour, but I'll bet Shimano designed such to only work with Shimano. Shimano wants people to throw out everything and install ALL Shimano you know.

8-spd. chains will work fine with up to 8spd cassettes. Freewheels stopped growing at 7 and cassettes took over. The chain doesn't care if it's a freewheel or cassette.

So a Suntour freewheel and rear-derailleur with friction-shifters should be fine. That's a nice Suntour derailleur, by the way. Take care of it and keep it oiled.