Hello everyone,

A few months back I purchased a 1988 Schwinn Tempo, and completely overhauled it, including new pads, cables, cable housings bb, brake levers, etc.

There is an incredible place to ride up here called Going to the Sun Road, and while scenic, is also a very long mountain climb. I can barely make it to the top, but my cadence is probably about 20 rpm in the lowest gear since the smaller front chainring is 42T and the largest in the rear is 24T.

The groupset is all Shimano 105, with indexed downtube shifters, and a 6 speed freewheel.

I know I should probably just get in better shape, but is there an easily available freewheel that I can swap for the current one so I can at least improve cadence a bit? If I purchased a 7 speed with the largest being a 28T would that work with my existing 105 rear derailleur? Would that throw off the indexed shifting? I know 600 tri-color stuff from the same era was designed for 7 speed.

I also want the best breaks possible for the descent - would something like an Ultegra br-6500 be a direct swap for the center pivot 105s that are on there now?

Thank you for any help, I know just enough to be dangerous. If any of you ever get the chance, the ride Going to the Sun.