Obeast

I am in a real dilemma here as I have a beautiful 8 speed suntour equipped Nishiki with the smallest front gear being a 42. If I take out the crankset, my bike would no longer look vintage. In fact, even modern compact 34 chainring is too much when loaded up. I need that mtb 22

TenGrainBread 

The Nishiki isn't collectable, do whatever you need to make it fun to ride. Keep the old parts and put 'em back on when you get your fitness up to speed.

Shinkers

I'm sure you could find a vintage triple that would provide an adequate low gear.

Obeast

how low do the gears go on vintage triple? I believe my cassette has up to 28 rear

Shinkers

I'm not fluent enough with triples to say. But coupled with a cassette with more range in the back, you could probably get pretty low. I'd assume 22/24 isn't unheard of.

CV-6 

You can create what is essentially a compact crank using TA. I run a 30/46 with a 7 speed 14-28 on my Lejeune gravel grinder. I spend most of the time on the big ring and only use the higher five cogs. The smaller ring is only used on the lower three and maybe four cogs. So no problem with chain wrap.

JohnDThompson 

TA "Cyclotouriste" goes down to 26T.

Stronglight 99 and its SR copy go down to 28T.

Sugino AT, Avocet and other vintage 74mm BCD cranks go down to 24T.

Salamandrine 

Just stick a Sugino XD600 triple crank on there and be done with it. It will look right and give you the gears you want. Many Sugino cranks haven't changed much since the 90s, and that's one of them. 26/36/46. Will probably work with the stock FD. There's also the slightly fancier Alpina.

If it's 8 speed, most likely it's a mid 90s bike?

mstateglfr 

Not a 22, but an option thats pretty cheap is to use an old 110/74 triple and just attach the middle and small rings.

You could use a 36t or 38t middle ring and a 24t small ring.
You would probably need to drop the front derailleur a bit and adjust the limit of the front derailleur.

Sakae SX, Sakae CX, Sugino AT, and some Deore cranks from the 80s all would work great.
$50ish for the crank arms and rings, most likely and you keep the classic look.
A new bottom bracket may be needed as well, but try it on the cureent bottom bracket as it may fit and if it doesnt, you know how much it needs to change.

Slightspeed

I have a Sugino AT triple on my Raleigh. It's a 32/40/50 with a 6 speed 34t Shimano Megarange freewheel in back. I use Suntour VGT Luxe RD, and Suntour Cyclone II FD. It all works beautifully. Megarange comes in 8 speed, 11-34, but a triple up front would also work wonders. I think I have less than $100 in this setup. When I built this I weighed 235, I'm on the good side of 200 now, but still enjoy the gearing.

pastorbobnlnh 

Is it 100% period correct? Or is it geared in such a way that you can ride it? Which is more important? I ask rhetorically!

I'm a big guy and since I've been on C&V almost 13 years now, I've weighed 225-305 lbs. I've never been shy about my weight nor how I've needed to gear a bike in order to pedal and not walk up the hills and climbs here in the NH mountains. I'm guessing Utah has even longer and more serious climbs!

So my 2 cents is to do what you need to in order to continue riding your Nishiki. There's nothing wrong with going to a triple or compact double and a wide range cassette with the needed derailleurs to make it all work together.

Aubergine 

I agree that a Sugino Triple would be the nicest way to go for your old Nishiki. They are reasonably priced new, and you can surely find a used one as well.

Road Fan

With old SR and Sakae triples you can install a 26 tooth granny. That is a LOT lower than with your 42 tooth.

With different crankset systems you can go as low as 22 teeth, but we can argue if that is really practical. 50/40/30 is a combo that was traditionally very popular among long-distance tourists.

rccardr 

I think this still looks pretty vintage-y:





At the time of the photo was wearing a 50-34-24; now has better shifting 48-36-24 rings. Vintage Deore FD and RD shift the 10 speed rear cassette (an 11/34) flawlessly.

John E

I, too, would recommend a Sugino triple. The secret to making it work well with limited derailleur capacities is to use no larger outer ring than absolutely necessary. Try something like 46-38-24 with a 13-28 in back. You still get a very reasonable 96 gear-inch high, but your low is now below 1:1, for slowly grinding up almost any hill.

52telecaster

you also might consider a triplizer on your current crank.

52telecaster

the long shot.

wrk101

I either do a homemade compact double, start with a Sugino Maxy or similar with 110 BCD, swap out rings with a MTB, and end up in the 48/36+/- territory, or a triple from a vintage MTB.

+10 Vintage Deore derailleurs work well.

Basically, I keep a easy geared drop bar MTB for those tough rides, and a compact double for when the terrain isn't as tough.

Salamandrine 

Good point. That's true most of the time, but not always. Pretty easy to swap in a cartridge BB these days though, if it's needed.

Part of the reason I suggested the Sugino XD600 is that it will typically work with a 110mm bottom bracket spindle length, which is a pretty common road size. IOW there's a decent chance it will bolt right on. I have one on my Clem and it's pretty hard to beat for value.

Yeah, if going to triple crank, RD will need to be long cage, if it isn't already. I'd try the existing FD first. Good chance it will work if it has enough throw.

palincss

The Rene Herse crank (certainly one that qualifies as "vintage") can go down to 24 teeth on the inner/middle ring. Outer Chainring (teeth)52 50 48 46 44 42 Middle/Inner Rings (teeth) 44 42 38 36 34 32 30 28 26 24

Obeast

I think it could be mid 80s or early 90s. It has a triathlon (Tri-A?) name on it and the frame has a sticker that reads "handmade by...." sorry don´t remember name. Tange tubings double butted. I looked at it again it looks like 7 speed with all suntour cyclone parts.

Obeast

rccardr

wow, what a beautiful ride. Love the green saddle and handlebar tape.

Velo Mule

Obeast, it sounds like a nice bike. I am hoping that you get a smaller chain ring or get a good working solution so you could ride it.

Salamandrine 

A bit overkill for a 1990ish Nishiki, don'tcha think?

I love the looks of those cranks, and recall the first time I saw one of the originals. Lusted over it awhile, but decided I'm pretty certain I would break it. Apparently it's a talent I have....

OP, you might want to post a pic of your bike if you can, to get an idea of the appropriate price/quality/style range. BTW 7 speeds indicates the bike is from around '89-'92 or so.

noglider 

Here is another approach. If you can't ride some hills with your current setup, how much time would you be spending pushing your bike? If it's just a small fraction, how about doing just that? That's what people used to do. We didn't insist on riding up every incline. And if you're interested in becoming more fit, you can watch your progress by seeing that fraction of your time decrease from month to month. I'm not saying you should lose weight, though of course you are free to. Some obese people are excellent cyclists.