DropkickMarshy

Hi!

First time poster - I'm in the process of bringing a 1980 (ish) Bianchi frame back to life for my fiance - I'm looking to change the cassette and chain but apart from that all the other components seem to work fine.

The question I have is this - currently its got a 5 speed Regina Corsa (?) cassette on it with a Ofmega double crankset. The cassette keeps locking so I'd like to replace it with a new cassette to make it a 7/8 speed with the double up front, does anyone know if I will have any compatibility issues if I stuck to shimano gear on the rear wheel with the current Ofmega crank upfront?

Cheers

Chris

dabac

5-speed Regina Corsa sounds like a freewheel, not a freehub. And you need a freehub to be able to use cassettes.
And you probably have a 120 mm axle spacing, not enough to go to 7/8 speeds.
I suggest you try to flush the existing 5-speed freewheel, or simply replace it with another.
Otherwise you're looking at a fair bit of work.
The "good" way to 7/8-speed is to buy another rear wheel, one with a freehub hub, then respace the rear of tye frame and align the dropouts to fit the wider wheel.

alcjphil

What you have is not a cassette,it is a freewheel. There will not be enough space for a freewheel with any more speeds on your current wheel. To get more speeds you would have to buy a new wheel and you might have to modify the rear spacing of your frame to fit the wider axle spacing of wheels having space for freewheels or cassettes with the number of cogs you want. What you need to do is to measure the spacing between your rear dropouts, For 7 speeds you need at least 126mm spacing. For 8 or more speeds you need 130mm

cyclist2000

I would just replace with another 5 speed freewheel and new chain.

DropkickMarshy

Thanks for the input guys - I've measured the frame and there isn't a great deal of space for anything more than a 5 speed so I think I'll replace the freewheel and chain and go from there. I've had a look on Sheldon Brown's website for making the dropouts wider but don't really want to get into all of that - I'll see how she gets on with the 5 speed and go from there!

Cheers for all your help!

Homebrew01

Take the wheel off, lay it flat, spin the freewheel backwards slowly, and dribble a little motor oil inside it to reach the pawls. 95% of time, that's all they need.

JohnDThompson 

If you do decide to replace the freewheel, make sure you use the proper tool and secure it well before trying to remove the freewheel. Those old Regina freewheels are notorious for stripping out the remover slots if you're not careful, and once that happens you've got a lot more work in front of you to get the freewheel off.

alcjphil

I wouldn't bother. Old Regina freewheels were notoriously finicky and unreliable. Also very difficult to remove without damage, the 2 notch freewheel removers needed often ended up damaging the freewheel and the only way to get them off was by taking the freewheel apart destructively. Replacing it with a more recent design that uses a splined remover is the best way to go.

Homebrew01

Putting a tablespoon of oil in, is a lot easier than removing it. Worth 60 seconds of time to try.

But still look for a replacement.

Happyday

No problem replacing your freewheel. Parktool has a freewheel remover for Regina freewheel.

Use the quick-release skewer to hold the freewheel remover in place so that it will not slip. As soon as the freewheel is released, remove the skewer, then unthread the freewheel all the way.

Six years ago, I re-entered cycling after 12 years suspension from cycling. I have renovated my 1984 Pinarello. Last year I had it resprayed by Bob Jackson. I bought a carbon bike last year but still love mysteel bike.

Have the parts re-grease and re-tune, and it will works like new.

Good luck.