VaBobK

A few months ago I picked up a nice Lotus Cyclone off Craig's List. The bike is in pretty darn good shape with what I think are all the original Suntour components, and is a great ride! My only problem is I need gearing that is a little more hill friendly.

The current chainring setup is I believe a 144 bcd 52/42 with a 13-26 6-speed freewheel. I was thinking about changing out the freewheel for a NOS Suntour Winner 12-28 7-speed, but am not sure what to do about the chainring. It doesn't look like there are too many choices in that bcd size, so I am guessing I would need to change out the crank in order to get an inner ring small enough to work for me. I did see a 48/34 compact double crankset at Harris Cyclery that would get me to where I need to be. Does anyone know of any reason this wouldn't work for me? I am hoping to keep the existing bottom bracket and derailluers, and was hoping the crankset change would still work ok with the front derailluer. From what I have read, going to a 7-speed freewheel will not be a problem.

I would appreciate any suggestions or thoughts anyone might have!

pastorbobnlnh 

Probably won't have any problems. The chain will probably need to be shortened, or it might be a perfect time to replace it.

What kind of freewheel is it currently running. Might just need to change some cogs.

John E

You may need to add a 2-mm washer to the drive side of the rear axle and redish the wheel by 1 mm to compensate. Some hub/freewheel/dropout combinations will suffer chain rub in a 6- to 7-speed conversion, whereas others will work fine. Eliminating the pie plate or spoke protector will help a little.

A 48-34 compact double is often a good solution in these cases. If you do not need to quite that low, consider a 130mm road double crankset, which will accommodate a 38T inner ring. Reducing the size of the outer ring helps address chain wrap demands, and you can probably get all the top end you need with a 48, or even a 46. (48/13 = 52/14 = 100 gear-inches, the traditional high gear for racing and touring bikes of the 1960s and 1970s.)

VaBobK

Thanks for the replies! Pastorbob, the freewheel is a 13-26 Suntour Winner 6-speed. I am thinking changing to a 7-speed with a little larger 28 tooth largest cog will help a little on hills, but also tighten up the spacing a little so I can maintain my cadence a little better. Here is a comparison of what I have now vs. what I am thinking about changing to.



John, I already took off the pie plate, and I am not all that interested in the top end speed anyway, but the gearing I am thinking about going to seems like it should work just as well as what I have now. More than enough for my riding skill! It's getting up the hills that is my most important issue! And thanks for bringing up the wheel dish issue. I hadn't thought about that.

Thanks!