I have an '87 Fuji Sagres that has Suntour 6 speed indexed downtube shifter and two speed friction front shifter, Suntour 6 cog 13-28 freewheel and Sugino VP crank with 52/42 rings. My project is to convert the bike to STI shifters. I already have the replacement derailleurs and Sora STI shifters/brake levers, and have my eye on a Shimano 7 cog 14-28 freewheel. My original goal was to have eight cogs and three chainrings, but would have had to buy a 36 hole 130mm freehub and relace the rear wheel, but due to cost constraints and time involved I decided to go with the 7 cog Shimano freewheel, which I can screw onto the existing hub and respace the wheel easily enough. I love to build wheels, so my long term project will be to build a set of updated wheels and hubs with eight cogs.
Issue 1: I bought the STIs before I decided on the final drive choice, so I wound up with a used set of 3 x 8 in good condition for $50. If I am going to have indexed front shifting, would it be adviseable to replace my current 52/42 chainrings with ones that are ramped and pinned? Would front index shifting work with unpined/unramped rings? My main concern was having a low enough gear for riding Southern Indiana hills, and the original setup of 42 front ring and 28 rear cog as my lowest gear was still a little too tall for my taste. I originally was going to have triple front setup by adding a 30 tooth granny ring to the Sugino crank, but decided to go compact, and can get a 50/34 set of rings and just run dual.
Issue 2: I want to confirm, but I'm pretty sure that I can use my 8 speed shifter with 7 speed cog, and three speed front shifter with 2 front rings.
I searched for quite awhile trying to find info before starting a new thread, but couldn't find anything specific. Thanks for your help and advice!
geek
