Cousin Jack

Pictured below is my Frankenbike.....a parts bin bike I cobbled up a couple of years ago from leftovers from my "serious biking time" in the seventies...... We're talking a Campy five arm crank and chainring set, 50X42, a rear freewheel (!) of 12 X 19 (if I didn't miss a tooth), a Campy Record RD and a Suntour Lite (?) FD, Shimano 105 brakes, Campagnolo Record hubs, Mavic Reflex rims, Cannondale CD3 frame, and perhaps the first Look pedals ever made! Pretty, ain't she? I even have two different models of bar end shifters! Lol.....

Surprisingly, this mishmash collection of discards works pretty well, and I use the bike for fitness day rides. But I'm seventy years old, and I've noticed that I need more gears to grab on the hills.... my wife is beginning to drop me on the climbs, and that won't do, nossir, that won't do at all.....

Have you any suggestions for some inexpensive drive train mods to ease my aching knees? MTB crankset w/triple, for example..... I kinda like the Frankenbike, but I don't wanna spend a fortune to upgrade... I'm no retrofreak!

RubberLegs

Quickest and cheapest may be to just replace the rear cog, get one with the biggest gear your RD will handle...28 perhaps, that would give you a LOT more grunt on a climb than the 19. Might just "Borrow" a similar wheel from a friend to see what fits and how it feels.

mrrabbit 

Tripleize the front?...I think due to your small cluster in back - the old rear derailleur and chain may be able to stay just where they are.

=8-)

cplager

Hi,

Both of the above suggestions are good ones. If you want a bigger cassette than your current derailleur can handle, putting on a medium or long cage derailleur isn't too difficult (and not terribly expensive).

Cheers,
Charles

Cousin Jack

Thanks, guys....and I'll try the cluster replacement. The problem is that it's a freewheel rear wheel....where do you buy freewheel clusters these days?

anixi

Ebay or your local bike shop. I've found many at the co-op/non-profit in town, but, they're either dirty, rusty or both.

cplager

In that case, I'd personally recommend looking into a triple or just getting a new wheel that has a cassette with a larger range. (I'm a big fan of triples). Since you don't have indexed shifting, neither of these should require shifting upgrades.

If all else fails, adjust your wife's brakes so they rub...

RubberLegs

Looks like plenty of places online where you can order brand new, 6 or 7 speed freewheels, starting at $10....just find the max size your RD can handle, MUCH cheaper than the triple up front, but add that into the mix, and it will REALLY give you an uphill boost. Just google Freewheel 6 speed or 7 speed and you will get a PILE of sellers

coupster

Let's save your knees and your wallet. You don't give exact spec's so what I suggest may not be readily available or obsolete. But I doubt it.

1. Replace the small chain ring with a 39. There's one currently on Ebay with a 135 BCD that should fit your cranks for $65
2. Replace the freewheel with a wider range say a 13-28. Any LBS that can honestly call itself a LBS should be able to order one for about $25.

The combination of these 2 will give you a gear inch range of 37-103 vs the 60-113 you've got now. If you need more than that the triple is probably the way to go - but it won't be cheap and overall might be better in the long run to buy a bike with new(er) technology. But you wanted cheap and under $100 ain't too shabby. Your Frankenbike should do just fine and you'll continue to smoke mama up them hills.

Dave Mayer

I have done this upgrade for many folks. None of us are getting any younger.
The cheapest, easiest and most flexible upgrade path is to replace your corncob freewheel with some bigger cogs. A 14-28 7-speed freewheel (Shimano Hyperglide) costs all of $15 and can be sourced everywhere. The bike shops in Katmandu have them. The smooth-shifting Hyperglide cogs will be a shifting revelation relative to any old freewheel. You will need a longer (and newer) chain to match. A 7/8 speed Hyperglide model will cost another $15.

Next, donate your vintage Campy Record rear derailleur to your local bike Co-op and pick up a something like a Shimano Sora road unit. $25. The shifting will be far superior (even in friction) and it will be able to handle the 28-tooth cog in the rear - unlike your current derailleur. Finally, if you have old Campy friction shifters, replace these too, and source some 7-speed indexing Shimano downtube shifters (not Dura-Ace). Does not matter which model - all of the internals are the same. These should run you about $20 a pair new, or less if can source them from the Co-op.

Need even lower gears? Then go to a Shimano Megarange freewheel (max. 34 tooth cog) and install a longer cage (Shimano Deore is fine) mountain derailleur. The big cog is a great 'bail-out' gear that should avoid a triple - which is a major project.

Regarding your old Campy shifters and derailleurs: I raced on this stuff back in the day. But the replacement components I've listed are just plain better. There is progress.

Dave Mayer

Ooops. I see that you have bar-end shifters. Keep those and ignore my advice about the downtube shifters.

And I note that you have an old Campy crankset which has a 144mm BCD. Which means the smallest practical chainring that you can install is a 42. Which you already have. So if you want smaller rings up front, the whole crankset has to go - a formitable and expensive proposition. So I'm doubling up on the advice regarding getting a bigger freewheel.

onespeedbiker

The quick and dirty fix is a 26t freewheel (your NR rear derailleur max cog) or buy a new rear derailleur with a slightly bigger max cog; it will be harder to find a 26T freewheel but 28T Shimano freewheels are readily available. Otherwise you can probably get $200-$300 for your crankset and rear derailleur on ebay that could pay for an upgrade to either a compact crank and 28t max cog rear derailleur or a triple crank and a long cage/triple derailleur.

MikeWMass

Harris Cyclery (Sheldon Brown's shop) always has freewheels, as does VeloOrange.

onespeedbiker

Well yes and no. Velo Oranga has not sold freewheels for years and although Harris Cyclery still does it's the same Shimano Tourney 6-7 speeds; 14-28 and Megarange 14-34 that are very common elsewhere or a 7 speed SunRace 13-25. You can find a better selection on Amazon or JensonUSA.

HillRider

Bike Tools Etc sells Sun Race (yes Sun Race, not Sun Tour) 6-speed freewheels in 14x28 and 7-speed freewheels in 13x28 and 13x34 for $14 to $22. Here is the link to the 7-speed offerings:

https://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cg...wheels-7-Speed

As noted, your crank already has the smallest chainring its BCD will take and any crank changes will be quite expensive.

Cousin Jack

Many, many thanks to you all......... this is a tremendous site, full of forums that are chock-full of information. I've learned more about my haphazard stable -- one Windsor Tourist, one Frankenbike, one salvage GT Rebound MTB -- than I would have, I believe, at any other place...... I'm gonna go with the crank and chainwheels I got; I'm gonna take off my cherished Campy Record RD and polish it up, hang it on my wall like the art object it is; and I'm gonna install the following which I just ordered from Harris Cyclery...... Little more than I wanted to spend, but a whole lot less than I could have..... the components currently on my bike all work, and they are 15-30 years old.... Spending just north of a hundred dollar bill every thirty years? Not too much to ***** about there, hey? Thanks again.... Oh, and don't tell my wife! I wanna see her face when I "smoke her on the hills again!" Lol.....

[TABLE="class: setabulardata seshoppingcarttableitems, width: 739"]
[TR="class: serowodd"]
[TD="class: seitemdescription"]SRAM PC-870 6,7 or 8 Speed Chain (Replaces PC-58)(CH1030)

[/TD]
[TD="class: senumericdata, align: center"]$21.95[/TD]
[TD="class: seqtydata, align: center"]1[/TD]
[TD="class: senumericdata, align: center"]$21.95[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: seroweven"]
[TD="class: seitempicture, align: center"][/TD]
[TD="class: seitemdescription"]Shimano 14-34 Thread-on 6-speed Freewheel "Megarange"(FW635)

[/TD]
[TD="class: senumericdata, align: center"]$19.95[/TD]
[TD="class: seqtydata, align: center"]1[/TD]
[TD="class: senumericdata, align: center"]$19.95[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: serowodd"]
[TD="class: seitempicture, align: center"][/TD]
[TD="class: seitemdescription"]Shimano Deore SGS RD-M591 Rear Derailleur SILVER[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


The Deore is $62.95

TiBikeGuy

Don't forget that with a bigger freewheel, you may need a longer chain.

coupster

Looks a winner. But its gonna cost you one more purchase. A chain. That megarange is going to need some legs in chain length. Just tell your wife its because of the new macho vitamins that Internet told you about and try not to giggle like a school girl when you pass her.

onespeedbiker

Great choices! Make sure you sand bag the wife a little and then blow by her like it's nothing

cale

I'm with D. Mayer. The most cost effective route is a wide range freewheel with a long cage derailleur and chain to match.

Edited to add: a cost effective substitute to the Deore derailleur is this LX for $35 https://www.jensonusa.com/Rear-Derail...ear-Derailleur

Cousin Jack

\
Chain's on there guys....top item, recommended for the freewheel.........

onespeedbiker

Hopefully you realize that the chain will need to be longer to accommodate the bigger rear cog.

Cousin Jack

New chain won't have enough links? Should I have bought two?

cplager

I believe Retro is trying to point out that you want to size the new chain bigger than the last. It is very common for people changing their chain to make the new chain the exact same length as the old one and this won't work in your case.

Cheers,
Charles

fietsbob

and you should not pair a new freewheel/cassette, with a worn/used chain anyhow.


with quick links , now I put the whole chain length on as it comes
out of the box, then if too long , then I remove a few links.

newer chain riveting techniques,don't lend them selves
to chain tool adding links, instead add a second Quicl link and a short section of the same chain from another chain shortening procedure.

Recumbents always need more than one chain.

unless you have a 100M OEM spool of chain.



I have a triple on my RB1.. Campag Race triple 50-40, & a 24
instead of the stock 30t..
13-28t freewheel