finishline

story behind my road bike was that it was once my uncle's. he was going to donate it to some relatives in the Philippines but i told him that i wanted to buy it from him, and so i did. there was no way that the road bike was going to survive over there with harsh road conditions and i thought it i'd learn about road bikes and lock in some exercising time. lol

here it is, my KHS Turbo John Howard 1980's road bike.

then (about a year ago when i got it):


now (after adjusting some stuff the way they're supposed to be):


mainly joined here to seek answers for my questions about road bikes rather than googling all the time. taught myself a good amount from ehow videos and youtube but that can only go so far (along with googling).

next stuff i want to do is to replace my brake and shifter cables (i can only imagine how old they are. and brakes aren't too responsive due to brake cable age), get my wheels trued a bit, and somehow get the rear derailer to shift to the last gear (since i replaced my wheels).

about the rear derailer not shifting to the last gear (even after adjusting it), my triathlon friend told me the derailer was made for a 6-speed, and not a 7-speed. is that true? o_O if so, then i guess i have to replace the rear derailer.

after that, everything on the bike should be dandy hopefully. =P

JordanD

This is quite possible, many vintage roadbikes like my own have 6-speed freewheels. If a more modern rear wheel was put on (i.e. you have a freewheel), you may now have a 7 speed. You do, however, have some options. I suppose that it is possible that your derailer is not compatible with a 7 speed, but you may well be able to extremely cheaply convert your rear shifter lever from indexed to friction, which would make it compatible with other freewheels/cassettes.

finishline

yea, this was the case since i had a 6-speed freewheel. i asked the local bike shop here in Carson if they had a 6-speed cassette but he said the wheel was meant for a 7-speed. LOL on top of that, the rarity of finding such a cassette is almost slim to none since the new wheels are in the higher numbers. well, i got the wheels for free and they were just missing the


i thought my rear shifter is friction? o__O

but definitely, i appreciate the help.

i guess if anything, i probably should make a thread in the technical section or something.

RonH

Depending on which part of the 80s it may be friction or may be indexed shifters.

The folks in the Classic & Vintage forum can tell you all about the bike.
Have fun.

finishline

haha! definitely. i feel so bad because i'm getting all giddy about learning about/working on the bike and neglecting my car too (then again, the car parts cost more. )