arkiemark

Hours of internet research, only to find out, that I need help. Just picked up an old and faded but very cool '80 Raleigh Competition GS. From the looks of it, everything is original except the rear hub. I'd like to restore the bike to a somewhat original state, but those original 36 hole Campy Gran Sport hubs are hard to come by, so I'm thinking going the upgrade to campy record route. My question is, I've seen some rear Campys that are measured at 126 mm for six speeds. The rear dropouts on this bike measures ~122mm. Would it affect the handling of the bike, if I used at 126mm hub and would I have any spacing/alignment issues if I use the original five speed cog? Or would it be better to just find a 120mm spaced rear hub and call it a day? Other question is that I have no idea what kind of threading this cog uses (it's a five speed Maillard), so just because it was made in france does it mean it automatically has french threading or am I totally off?

Charles Wahl

No problem fitting 126 mm rear hub into 120 or 122 mm rear triangle. If the Maillard was native to a Raleigh, it was almost certainly English threaded, and M made a lot of English threaded freewheels. No problem using a 5-speed FW on a 126 mm hub, either.

Bioflamingo

I was showing my 78 Competition to a guy a few weeks ago, and he said he had an 80 Competition that was bent badly. He was either going to give it to his son or part it out. I'll email him and see what he decided. That was a few weeks ago though, so I don't know what the situation is now.

arkiemark

Oh wow! That would be awesome! Thank you so much... Fingers crossed!

Bioflamingo

Unfortunately it's gone. When he said he might sell it I told him I'd give $100 for it, but he ended up selling it about a week ago for $110. I was hoping to get some parts off it too, but such is life. Sorry.

joychri

Are you sure about the spacing? I just recently replaced the rear wheel and hub on my 1979 Competition GS with a modern wheel with RSX 100 hub and recall that the spacing was 126. I did not even have to cold set the frame as the new hub, cartridge and 7 speed freewheel fit perfectly. I doubt that would have been the case if the spacing was 120. The short answer to your question is no you should have no problem going up to a campy six speed hub. Good luck.

arkiemark

Thanks Bioflamingo! The search continues...

Yeah, I checked the spacing and it's at 122mm so I'm going to a 126mm hub since it's easier to find. You guys rock- Thanks.

evwxxx

No such thing as a 120 or 126mm "hub". The hub width is standard in the older bikes, the only thing different is the length of the axle. The wider the rear spacing, the farther the axle has to stick out of the hub, so the longer the axle overall needs to be. Purpose of the longer axles and wider spacing in the rear is to make room for more cogs on the freewheel or cassette, as the case may be...