Originally Posted by steelbikeguy

TBH, this could be exactly how it was intended to shift.
If you are used to modern chains and cassettes, you would expect it to be fairly easy to coax the chain onto a larger sprocket.

With a 1970's freewheel and bushed chain, things make some noise when shifting, and the chain doesn't just move effortlessly to the bigger cog. The noise is a feature, in the sense that it lets you know when the chain is in the right position.

I keep one bike equipped with a bushed chain, used with a Campy NR rear derailleur and a SunTour 13-24 five speed freewheel. It keeps me familiar with the characteristics of shifting with that technology.

On another bike, I use a SunTour Cyclone GT with a Shimano 7 speed hyperglide cassette with a SRAM 8 speed chain, and it shifts quite easily... too easily, in some cases, since it doesn't make any noise when the chain isn't centered on the cog. Sometimes it will shift by itself when I left the chain a bit too far to the left or right.

Maybe I need to make a short video of the shifting with the bushed chain?