Hello all,

I have an old Cannondale 3.0 bike, I use this bike on my daily commute. It has the original Shimano 105 components (brakes, crankset, front derailleur) and with Dura Ace 7400 (rear derailleur, freewheel and downtube shifters). I love the vintage components, and they work OK. I've put about $400 into the bike.

Recently I was in a high-end bikeshop for a flat (didnt bring my pump on my ride so had to go in there).

The mechanic proceeded to tell me that:
- My chain was completely worn out ( he used a digital chain checker, and it measured 2.36, which is supposedly really bad).
- The freewheel is worn (I dont think it is)
- The bottom bracket is worn and has play (this is true)
- The chainrings are worn (this might be true)

He said it might be better to do a complete overhaul of the drivetrain instead of just replacing it one by one. He said replacing the chain but not the freewheel or chainrings would make the chain wear faster and make no sense. Now, is this true? Or was he just trying to sell me a lot of components?

Ideally, I would just want to replace the chain, bottom bracket and chainrings, and be done with it. However, would it make more sense to do a complete upgrade of the drivetrain? For example just putting a brand new full Shimano 105 5800 groupset on it, such as this: https://www.merlincycles.com/shimano...ack-72462.html
I've heard that if you buy a full groupset, it is much cheaper than buying individual components? Would my frame even be compatible with the new groupset? (I don't know if my frame would fit a modern wheel with 11 speed cassette?)

I kind of hesitate putting so much money into the bike, because its not worth that much. Also, it kind of feels wrong to put modern components on the old bike.

So what is my best course of action here to make the bike run tip-top again? All new, or just replace some components?

Thanks for the advice!

Chances are good that if the old chain elongated a bunch, a new chain will skip on your old freewheel. So, don't be surprised if you need a new one of each. Chainrings tend not to skip unless they've really been abused.

If you want to upgrade to 5800, you won't get any argument from me, but if it were my bike I'd probably just keep it C&V and replace drivetrain parts as necessary: chain, freewheel, chainrings, etc...

It depends on whether or not the freewheel and chainrings are significantly worn. If they are, then what he told you is true. It's hard to spot if you don't know what you're looking for.

I'd start by checking the chain myself. Measure it with a ruler. I don't know what the digital chain checker is, but most chain checkers greatly overestimate the wear. If you measure with a ruler and it's as bad as the shop's tool claimed then the chances are good that your cogs and chainrings are worn too.

I don't know all the possible signs of wear on cogs and chainrings, so I'm not sure I can be exhaustive. On vintage components, the teeth were generally symmetric so it's easier to judge. Once they started ramping the teeth it got more complicated.

The freewheel is a cheap replacement. The chainrings probably aren't, particularly not the big one. Upgrading the crankset and bottom bracket together might make more sense than replacing the chainrings. Is yours Octalink? (If the crank is a 5500-series 105 then it is Octalink.)

If your bike is aluminum and the rear spacing is 126 you might have trouble upgrading to a modern groupset. Also, if you have a freeewheel and not a cassette you'll need at least a new rear wheel.

If you have a co-op nearby you can do it yourself. BB will be around $25, chain around $15, freewheel about $25 but more likely to be a cassette for less. Watch Nashbar for a deal on chainrings, I think these would fit and they go on sale for around $10 every so often - includes both rings.
https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...29_-1___204711

Agreed. I'd start by just replacing the chain and taking a short ride around the block to see if it skips on the old cassette. If so then replace the cassette, otherwise it's ok to continue using the old cassette. Unless you have other symptoms like chain suck or slipping I'd continue to use the original chain rings.

Thats great advice. I'll just start with the chain and take it from there. Upgrade the components as required.

Those prices sound very reasonable. Thanks. I do have a co-op nearby that I can use to work on the bike.

Yes it is an aluminum bike with rear 126. I was afraid of the trouble upgrading it, not sure if modern wheels and cassettes are compatible with the frame.

Probably a good idea to replace the bottom bracket as well, though I'm not sure what the model of the crank is. It is late 80's Shimano 105. Equivalent era to Dura Ace 7400. I will have to do some research.

Okay, thanks, thats good advice. The chain is possibly very old, I have never replaced it since owning the bike.

I actually bought the vintage Dura Ace 7400 freewheel off Ebay a while back. I converted the bike from 6 to 7 speed because my shifters were 7 speed. I thought it was in good condition, but it might have been a stupid purchase. I hope it works out with the old freewheel, but will replace if necessary.

The chainrings are nice vintage Biopace Oval chainrings, so I hope I can hold on to those. Thanks for the advice!

If it's a square taper BB then it's not an expensive upgrade and probably worth doing. What size of biopace chainrings do you need? I know the co-op in my town has a bunch of different ones and I am sure other co-ops might too. If the chainrings have sharp tips on the teeth then they're toast unfortunately. A new 7 speed freewheel shouldn't be too expensive but you can still get high quality ones from IRD, they make a few different gear range. The shimano ones work well enough though.

+1 for finding the nearby Co-op, and doing the work yourself. If you are sold on doing the chain, then I would look at changing out the freewheel, it would be a good idea to get it replaced at the same time. A good bottom bracket can be had at near, or at the same prices, as listed above, get as good as you can afford to buy, if you are doing the labor yourself, there is no extra cost involved for that part.

Even though you have a Co-op nearby get a good maintenance manual, like Park Tool's, "Big Blue Book", or Lennard Zinn's, "Zen and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance", they will be great for anything that stumps you when you aren't at the Co-op. All of the advice given was pretty darn good, typical for here.

The 3.0 frame sets are good, reliable units, you are doing the right thing in keeping it and replacing what needs replacing yourself. You won't regret doing it.

Bill

I think it's perfectly within reason to replace the needed drivetrain parts. That shouldn't cost too much, probably well south of a hundred bucks.

I think for the price of a full upgrade with brand new 105 5800 and wheels, I'd be looking pretty closely at taking the extra step to a complete new bike instead.

For the crankset, see if you can find the four-digit identifier... something like "FC-1055." You may be able to search around to find the spec. BB spindle length from there. FWIW, my Shimano RX100 crank uses a 113 mm spindle.

Either path is a good decision, the full updating is much more expensive. As you're leaning to keep the bike vintage, I'd go with just replacing what's needed.

Depending on the age of your bike, it may have a non unitized BB which can be overhauled and re-adjusted to eliminate the play. Try just replacing the chain and freewheel. If the chain rings are worn, the new chain will expose that. This can be a good time to overhaul the hubs and headset also.

Brad

Not sure about the size of the chainrings. I like the vintage Biopace, but if I have to replace it I would probably just go with a new round chainring and be done with it.

As for the freewheel, I hope it is still good, but if it starts giving me trouble after I replace the chain, I will replace that too. The non-vintage ones can be had for pretty cheap indeed.

Interesting, I might have a look at getting one of those books, never heard about them before. I am trying to do most of my bike maintenance myself, so might be a good investment. Thanks!

Yeah, you are right, putting $400+ dollars into it gets me into new bike territory in terms of price... So probably not worth it, even though I like the bike.

Thanks, yeah I am afraid it might be a non unitized BB. I hope to be able to replace it with a Shimano UN55? They're not expensive.
I just serviced my hubs actually, so those should be good!

Yeah I think my groupset is Shimano 1050 series, but I would have to double check. I seem to remember looking up the part number to replace the brake hoods, and it was a 1050 or 1052 or something like that. It looks like this at least: https://velobase.com/ViewComponent.as...34a99&Enum=115

Don't know the type of bottom bracket on there now (maybe the loose kind with cones and loose bearings?). In any case, could I just change it out for one of these? Shimano UN55 Square Taper Bottom Bracket | Chain Reaction Cycles with the correct length and threading? I don't really want to deal with loose bearings anymore (I recently regreased my rear wheel hub with cup and cone bearings, and it is quite time consuming).

Would anyone know if the Cannondale 3.0 has Italian or English threading for the bottom bracket? I am assuming English?

Thanks for the advice! Appreciate it.

Will be English thread bottom bracket. If you have an old school bottom bracket with loose ball bearings, then simply disassemble it (leave fixed cup in the frame), clean out the old gear, replace the balls (very cheap), pack with new grease (any automotive bearing grease will be fine), and reassemble (adjusting it takes some touch, expect to take a couple of tries). Those bottom brackets will run essentially forever. Unless it is rusted out or you've worn through hardened bearing surfaces (really unlikely), you don't need to replace it. A modern sealed bottom bracket is not a better component and not an upgrade. Overhauling loose ball hubs and bottom brackets gets faster as you get more practiced, the next time you overhauled those hubs it'll take ten minutes per hub. Ditto the bottom bracket.

Can you clarify whether your rear hub uses a thread-on multiple-freewheel or a gear-cassette on a splined "free-hub?" I asked because I made this very mistake while learning to work on my '91 C-dale.

If your bottom bracket is original, I can guarantee that it is loose-ball-bearing. No worries about servicing (as long as you're able to work the &$@#*% cup loose! )

Firstly, it's great to know another person rocks a vintage Cannondale as they are great bikes and the 3.0s (and later 2.8s) with the cantalevered stays have a pretty cool look to them. 1050+ era Shimano 105 components as well as 7400 Dura Ace are great pieces that still work well today, provided they aren't beat to a pulp. I'm all for keeping them going and will add yet another vote to, if possible/convenient, find a local used parts/co-op and you should be able to find working replacement drivetrain pieces for a very reasonable amount. I run a Biopace setup on my big touring Nishiki and really enjoy it. Many used shops will not care too much for those rings so the prices should be nice.

If you decide to bump up to 8-speeds, the frame will accommodate a 130mm axle. My 3.0 runs it no problem (10-speed). New chain, gears, and an overhauled and adjusted (or replaced) BB will improve things certainly. And this goes without saying to have the cables set up and tensioned correctly. There's plenty of life left in that bike (or so it seems from an internet mile away), and those parts are robust. Typical old school Shimano. You have plenty of advice and support here; we dig this stuff. Oh yeah, and the loose ball bearing 7400 BB has its drive side cup frozen to the frame, so I just pulled the other side out, cleaned, lubed, and reassembled and it's been great ever since. Let us know how it goes!