The Golden Boy 

Can sealed bearing hubs have a longer axle installed and respaced to a wider OLD (or fit a wider range freewheel- ie: 5 to 6 speed)?

masi61

What brand of hub are we talking about?

SJX426 

5 to 6 speed sounds like a Mavic 500 series hub. I believe longer axles are available for 126, IDK for longer ones.

Just found this:
Rear Axle Adapters | Mavic - United States

miamijim

As previously mentioned it depends on the hub.

lord_athlon

Some hubs have a shoulder machined into the axle as a support for the cartridge bearing.
Some hubs have a sleeve that acts as a support.
Some hubs have no support.

Options 2 and 3 are usually workable.

The Golden Boy 

Suntour sealed bearing hubs.

As from my 1984 Schwinn Voyageur SP.

That's a really nice wheelset (Suntour sealed bearing hubs, stainless spokes, Wolber Modele 58 rims- 36 in front 40 in rear)- and I'd love to be able to throw a 6 speed freewheel on there. It's been a while since I looked, but it looks like there's not enough room past the end of the FW.

I've never dealt with this- I went around the problem with my Phil Wood wheelset- and used an Ultra spaced FW. But, of course, it won't work that way on an indexing setup.

fietsbob

If this Is true you can use the axle as a Bearing Press Point to get the bearings out of the hub.

You Have to support the hub-shell with something bigger than the bearing OD.

IDK where you find longer axles of that type , I'd go to the LBS and they can call wholesale sources.

miamijim

Suntour? All you should need is a longer axle. The bearing is supported by the threaded sleeve versus a steeped axle.

The Golden Boy 

Thank you so much Jim!

And also thanks for your pictorial tutorial on bearing replacement on these.

ThermionicScott 

You could use a 7-speed shifter with a 6-speed Ultra FW.

The Golden Boy 

SIS or Accushift?

ThermionicScott 

Ah, fair point. I always have Shimano stuff on the brain.

I know that matched 7-speed Accushift parts would do the job, and I'm pretty sure that there are combinations of ST parts that would also do the job, but I'm not an expert on which.

The Golden Boy 

I don't know that 7 speed Accushift stuff would work on an Ultra spaced FW.

But it sure would look sporty in front of a SunTour spoke protector!!!

ThermionicScott 

Was there ever a 7-speed that wasn't "Ultra" (5.0mm) spaced? I should quit while I'm behind, heh.

The Golden Boy 

I thought the Accushift stuff wasn't evenly spaced.

I have 6 speed Accushift stuff running on 3 bikes- I've never even attempted 7 or 8 speed Accushift. (so my experience is overwhelmingly positive ) I've got a pair of 7 speed shifters- more or less for a future project.

ThermionicScott 

I thought it was just the MicroDrive stuff that had varied spacings, but I could be wrong. I ran a 6-speed Winner Pro FW and later a regular Shimano 14-28 on my Accushift bike for a while with no issues that I can remember. (Was I using friction mode??)

The SunTour tech bulletin on Yellow Jersey might have the answer. It's a lot to get through, but I'm thinking page 10 or thereabouts: https://www.yellowjersey.org/Suntour21.pdf

SJX426 

@ThermionicScott - Thanks for that reference! I needed that!

I have a 6 speed Accushift system on my Tandem which has issues staying in the second to highest sprocket. don't go there very often but it is a pain to shift the middle ring and on step behind to avoid it.

This summer, the Pinarello Tre Cime was built with Suberbe Pro drive train. I have the IPC levers and wanted to use the index mode. The RD is earlier than 1987 so it doesn't have an adjuster on it. I put a cable adjuster on the housing just in front of the RD. It worked flawlessly with a 7 speed block. Actually it worked well without the adjuster if the cable tension was set right to begin with.

ThermionicScott 

Sure! I hope this tangent wasn't too disruptive.

SJX426 

Have you EVER read a thread that didn't divert?

There are so many topics covered in threads that have titles not at all related!

The Golden Boy 

Or any post that I feel compelled to bring up some tangential thing...



And it's not as if this Accushift stuff has ever really been nailed down. As much as I'm happy with all my Accushift stuff, I still haven't ventured into the areas that seem to really be the most trouble- 7 & 8 speed. Heck, this thread is kind of directly about Accushift. My Voyageur SP has the Suntour sealed bearing hubs. I couldn't fit a 6 speed FW on it- so I've been riding it for the past year with an IRD 5 speed freewheel on it- but running Accushift shifters and derailleur. It works fine- but it's 5 speeds.