Originally Posted by
bloomjbikes
thanks to everyone who has contributed with suggestions. I am not trying to over do this bike with $ and parts however I would like to make it sweet within some reasonable parameters. It’s a labor of love, the love of saving a decent bike from going to waste, a love of wrenching, and riding old school. The ergonomics of this bike do well for me. So with that said, I think it makes sense to start with some fresh parts where they will extend the service life or make it smoother to ride and shift. The brakes seem fine to me, the levers too, but maybe a combo shifter with levers as was suggested would be a nice upgrade since I want trigger style shifting.
As far as the derailleurs go, how do I know if one is compatible with the other? It seemed the Altus was the larger style clamp whereas mine is a 28.6mm, would I need to buy a spacer?
also, for the knowledge gain if nothing else, how can I tell if a new cassette is a freewheel? I looked up the HG41 and it appears to be a cassette not a freewheel hub style? Do they make both? Some I saw were 8 speed, which seemed attractive due to 11-34 spread vs 14-28 but not sure that will work?
Shimano M360 rear
Shimano M310 dual pull front
Shimano HG41 cassette
Shimano HG40 or SRAM PC-830 chain
Trav1s thank you for the offer, I’m interested if you have parts you want to move.
I assume new derailleurs and shifters with cables will solve my crappy shifting issues, perhaps a new chain for good measure and call it a day? I feel like a new BB is so cheap why not…
I’m ready to move on this and get this bike back to glory.
The derailleurs are likely not the culprit at all. Click-grip shifters are sometimes solid, oftentimes hard and uncertain. Trigger shifters are not my favorite (I prefer thumbs), but should work with your derailleurs (money saved). KMC 8 speed chains are great and sometimes a bargain.
7 speed cassettes (and I almost guarantee you have a cassette) are reasonably cheap. Do they look worn? If not, a little cleaning and they’re good. If not, Probably worth an investment to get gearing you want.
Are you sure the bottom bracket is bad? It might just need a shot of cleaning and reinstallation. It is likely a cartridge type. There are ways to get them spinning better (money saved). You don’t need a new crankset if the teeth are still good.
So then, as I said above, the best upgrades you can make are tires, new cables and brake pads.
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1987 Crest Cannondale, 1987 Basso Gap, 1992 Rossin Performance EL, 1990ish Van Tuyl, 1985 Trek 670, 2003 Pinarello Surprise, 1990ish MBK Atlantique, 1987 Peugeot Competition, 1987 Nishiki Tri-A, 1981 Faggin, 1996 Cannondale M500, 1984 Mercian, 1982 AD SuperLeicht, 1985 Massi (model unknown), 1988 Daccordi Griffe , 1989 Fauxsin MTB, 1981 Ciocc Mockba, 1992 Bianchi Giro, 1977 Colnago Super, 1971 Raleigh International, 1998 Corratec Ap & Dun, 1991 Peugeot Slimestone