Last fall I spent almost 70 bucks on a really nice 7 speed freewheel for my old Trek. Then I was searching Ebay for something and realized that I could have had the same thing in cassette form for about $20. I had a cassette wheelset but it was 9 speed and I didn't have the chain, nor a triple chainring.
Last month I realized one of the doubles that I was almost ready to Ebay was drilled for the 3rd ring so I picked one up at a bike swap. Then I found chains (slightly used) for $10 on the Bay.
Now I had all the pieces and a nice frame with no original parts. I stretched the rear triangle (haven't coldset it yet, don't know if this is the frame I want to commit to this experiment). Had to move the axle spacer over to the drive side so that the small cog would clear the chainstay when installing or removing the wheel. Then I had to redish the wheel a little more than I wanted too.
Now with the RD on the big cog the upper jockeywheel bolt touched the spokes just a little so I added a washer on the head side so it doesn't stick out so far.
The front derailler doesn't like to drop the chain onto the small ring if you're already on the big cog out back. It'll do it but it takes a little english. I've got a slightly longer spindle that might help that. It'll also throw the chain right off if you try to jamb it straight from the little ring to the big one. I tried adjusting that last night but I haven't had it out for a ride to see if it's gonna work. My other homebrew triple does that too but I haven't found exactly the right front derailer to fit that situation yet.
Otherwise it's a really nice ride. Very quiet and shifts like butter. The LBS guy said I'd go nuts trying to find the right gear without indexed shifters but it doesn't really seem to matter if I'm off by a gear or two. It's a 12-26 cluster. I'd like to bump it up to a 32 to help out with the hills around here. I think I've had this RD on that big a cog before, but I only had a double in front at the time. I should go check that as my memory is a little foggy. It might have been a 28 or a 30.
Sometimes hard to get her out from in front of the camera.
