Originally Posted by
oldschoolbike
You probably don't want to buy another bottom bracket, since it's a French threaded one you will need and they can be hard to find. You can move the right crank outward 2-3 mm with bottom bracket spacers (aka freewheel spacers) behind the the drive side cup flange. The non-drive side cup will recede into the bracket shell a bit, but that's no biggie. Check that this won't bring the non-drive side in so far that the left crank comes uncomfortably close to hitting the chainstay. You need a bit of clearance for safety and for the crank to settle a bit onto the axle over repeated tightening. Maybe this will bring your front derailleur into range.
Thanks -- that's a good idea. I'll need to check that the NDS cup won't thread so far into the shell that I can't get the lock ring on (I think it would be close). I will have plenty of crank arm clearance on the NDS. Else, I could just get one of the "insert" bottom brackets designed to install a sealed cartridge bottom bracket into a French shell, and fit one with a slightly longer axle. I don't read wonderful things about them in terms of quality or durability, but this also isn't a bike on which I'm putting thousands of miles a year.
Originally Posted by
oldschoolbike
Spa Cycles in the UK has a variety of chain guards for those 110/74 Sugino cranks, and an amazing collection of chainrings of all qualities too. Making a triple into a low double is a standard trick "over there", and the chain guard will really look like it belongs on that Peugeot. I say go for it. BTW, that bike deserves metal fenders and nice tidy little rear rack.
Thanks for the link; I'll check them out. I was planning on finding a used ring with a pattern that I liked and just grinding the teeth off and smoothing/polishing that surface. That would certainly be more labor-intensive than just buying one, and probably not worth it if they're available for a fair price.
Originally Posted by
79pmooney
I'll bet that a cheap used Suntour ARX front derailleur will do that shift without issue. Go to a bike coop or look on-line. I haven't, but I cannot imagine it will cost you more than $10-15.
Thanks; I'll check it out. I do have a spare FD or two around here that I could try to mock up. The trouble is, none of them have the integrated cable stop that this bike needs. Else, I could fit one of those clamp-on cable guides with the curved tracks that would allow me to ditch both of the short cable sections.
Originally Posted by
Bill Kapaun
Maybe it's the angle of the pic, but it looks like the FDER is mounted way too high? How much clearance above the large ring when in that position? Should be about 2-3mm.
Yes, it's just the angle of the photograph. The derailer is over the small ring in that picture. When moved over to near the large ring (that I won't be using anyway), it just barely clears the teeth. Treating this as a small double, it probably
is too high relative to the middle ring, but I can't go too much lower with it, or the bottom of the cage will conflict with the rear shift cable.