Front crankset and chain mix question
 

I want to put a trekking or compact triple crankset on my mid 80's Schwinn Letour. Someone has a Shimano M361 that is never been used but I'm not sure how old it is. Anyway it looks like the new ones are 9 speed and I'm wondering if a 6 or 7 speed chain will work with the crankset?

I have bar end pods that I want to use with a set of 6 speed index levers and that is the main reason I'm not upgrading the rear to more speeds.

Am I safe to take a wider chain with me and see if it binds between the chain rings and if not, it should work?
Thanks for any advice.

that certainly is a compact crankset. the rings are smaller than the ones on my mountain bike (28,38,48). a 42 for the 'bigring' means alot of spinning. the chain should work, I think the big issue with chains is the the other way around using a 9sp chain on a 6 spd crank. your putting your DT shifters on as barends?

OH you need a new BB too.

Actually this one is a 48-38-28. I have a set of pods with shifters to use as barends. I'm just hoping I can mount the adjustable cable stops on the studs of my Suntour Symmetric DT body because it is a top mount and the bike doesn't have the usual side braze ons. Yes I'll have to get a new longer spindle.

It is going to be quite a cobbled machine with a Deore RD and Mountech FD but the crank is the only thing I need to purchase. So I guess it's worth a try to make it a little more touring friendly :-)