caterham

ofg,
back in the day, i tried about a dozen different chains from suntour's own to shimano UG to regina CX oro, etc. and always went back to my trusty old sedisports.
one needs to take into account not only the chain's width but it seems that the amount of side to side flex is important to accurate shifting on the winners- too limber and it'll tend to overshift or too stiff and you have to meticulously center each shift. the sedis seemed to strike the best balance of the chains i tried. besides, the sedis was dirt cheap relative to some, readily available & rock-solid durable.
i've not experimented with any of the more modern chains (ie-90's to current).

best,
k

Charles Wahl

My Suntour Ultra-7 with Sedisport chain has never skated like that -- you're either in one gear or another. It may complain if the friction shifter is not adjusted quite right, but the position is Quantum. BTW, my teeth are beveled, like a screwdriver end, on one side. And I believe that all the sprockets are not at the same exact spacing -- a couple in the middle seem to be closer together. Haven't calipered them, but it sure looks that way. And bonus, the Suntour has a nice sound, to my ear. Not like some of those mechanical cicadas I hear on newer (very expensive) bikes.

avhed

What are the groove lines on the top inside of the cogs for? Is the chain to sit there until enough of the chain catches on?

79pmooney

I raced the SunTours. 5-speed Winner, a 5-speed Perfect for one race I did twice, but always with Cyclone derailleurs and SunTour ratchet DT shifting. I think I owned one Regina early on. After I rode SunTour, I never looked back. And after watching the trials of my competitors with their all Italian setups, I was never even tempted.

When I hung up my racing number, I started using the Winner narrow 6s, then 7s. All good units. I don't ride SunTour any more simply because they are a finite quantity and a consumable.

Ben

pastorbobnlnh 

Don't you just love when old "zombie" threads come back to life?

The grove lines in the top of the teeth were primarily a Regina, Atom and Maillard (European) feature.





Suntour went more for beveled teeth.





Shimano originally used beveled teeth before moving along to occasionally shortened and twisted teeth.





Eventually, Sachs developed grooved and notched teeth.



It was each company's approach to improve shifting. Which was better is always a matter of debate.

79PMooney, If you ever need or want a great running Suntour freewheel, let me know. There's still a great deal of life left in these old favorites. My '71 Paramount, '72 Gitane TdF, '71 Super Sport, '62 Continental, and a few others, all run Suntour freewheels with no complaints.

SloButWide 

It's not dead, it's just !

for 9 years.

Chombi1 

Interesting reading here about chain "skating" on top of grooved FW teeth....
That just happened the first time to me the first time after all my years riding. Really weird, scary feeling when it happened right after a shift while accelerating .
It was with a Maillard Course, 6 speed FW, and Sedis/Sachs narrow chain. First time I used such a combination on a bike. I guess I might have to reconsider putting in a normal width Sedisport chain on the bike instead?.....
On the other hand,my other bikes, mostly with 7 speed Maillard/Spidel FWs and Sedis/Sachs narrow chain never skated on me.....yet??....