dtranquil

Hello all, I am new here...and I really need some advice. I have a 1984 steel frame bike with a 126-127mm rear drop out. The bike has all Campy SR on it....also from 1984. It had a 6-speed Campy alloy freewheel on it....but it broke going up a hill....the last 2 cogs just snapped off! Time for a durable steel replacement I think. The freewheel was a 13-28 and the SR shifted it fine. The Campy hub has standard english threads they said. My LBS recommended a Regina CX or a Suntour Winner Ultra. I am confused because I thought the Ultra was a narrow 6-speed in the space of 5 (120mm) unit, and my bike should have room for a normal spaced 126MM 6-speed? The regina cx would be a normal spaced, not narrow right? I want to get the best shifting freewheel (in a similar range) I can for my set-up, and I've heard the older Regina's aren't that great for shifting (but long lived). What should I replaced it with? Regina *******? Suntour Winner normal spaced? Shimano 600? A new IGT 6 speed replica? I need help....

diomekes

Sunrace makes a cheap (in price) 6 speed that's 13-28 that you can get on Amazon. Never tried one, but it's probably like the new Shimano freewheels, but without that ugly black large cog.

dddd

The best choice with friction shifting will be the 6s Suntour or Shimano Uniglide freewheels, Shimano being the better of the two.
More modern freewheels have shift-assisting features that will not give the sort of friction-shifting feedback in the way of sounds that a shift is imminent, so may cause auto-shifting when you would least want it, as when riding out of the saddle!


And use modern chain with these freewheels, Shimano HG70 or HG91 are my top choices here but KMC X-series (vs. their lower-quality Z-series) are also excellent for serious use.

Lazyass

I have Sunrace freewheels on two bikes. I think I paid less than $20 for each and they've been trouble free for thousands of miles. Unlike vintage freewheels the teeth are ramped so they shift and go into gear 100x smoother with friction shifters. Night and day difference, actually. They only come in one gear range which may or may not be an issue. The only other ramped freewheel I know of (besides the new butt ugly Shimano ones) is made by IRD. They're more expensive but come with more gear options. I personally will never use a non-ramped freewheel again.

They actually look pretty good. Most have a black small cog but you can find them in all silver.

diomekes

Oh yeah, the 13-28 Sunrace is actually 7 speed, but that fits too.

jeirvine 

We will of course want to see pictures of your bike. And I concur that a Sunrace 13-28, paired with a new 7/8 speed chain will be the bees knees.

rccardr 

My personal preference is for Shimano 600's or MF's in a 13-28 or 14-28 configuration. Uniglide and shift very well on my SR equipped Cinelli with a better quality KMC or SRAM 850 chain.

Kontact 

I'm using a Sun 7 speed on an old Campy bike and 8 speed HG cassette with on old friction Mavic derailleur. Both shift wonderfully - better than they would have with with vintage freewheels without the ramps.

But there's nothing wrong with Sachs, Shimano, Regina or Suntour vintage freewheels except that they are likely to be used.

Lazyass

They come in 6 speed.

63rickert

If you like the way it shifted before stick with a proper vintage freewheel. Campy derailleurs were created to shift Regina freewheels. Preferably with a Regina chain. Regina CX is not so good as older BX, also known as Regina black, Regina Extra. Regina Oro is pretty identical to Regina black but for the color. French Atom freewheels are also identical to older Regina freewheels. These were the standard freewheels of the classic era. Campy freewheels were very nice but existed in trivial quantities. A Regina will last longer.

Does it shift better with ramps? Define better. It don't shift vintage no more, that's for sure. If you get a low quality Asian freewheel you should get a new style Asian chain to go with it. Once there you may proceed to brifters, disc brakes, kickstands, etc.

SJX426 

Interesting discussion and preferences of freewheels. I played around with Shimano, IRD and Regina on my SR equipped Colnago. I was surprised to find the Regina the best shifting of the bunch. All are 7 speed. Fortunately, the 126 spacing worked really well with the 7 speed with no mods.

[IMG]1983 Colnago Superissimo, on Flickr[/IMG]

Classtime 

I'm using an IRD 5 speed on my Simplex Prestige PX-10 with a KMC chain: pretty smooth and quiet.
I have a SRAM 6 speed with a Shimano HG71 chain on Campy SR: pretty smooth and quiet.

One day, I'll have to try the SunRace FW. Used vintage seems like a gamble to me since an old chain will ruin one rather quickly.

SJX426 

Unless you have a supply of new chain from 1971ish
[IMG]P1000578, on Flickr[/IMG]

Kontact 

Do you ride bikes or prepare them for museum display? Where do we need to import bar tape and cable housing from to insure no stylistic conflicts with old European parts?


Chains, brake pads, cables, housing, tape and freewheels are wear items. A component group will go through all of them many times in its useful like, and Regina is not selling spares.

Classtime 

cool! I would buy a vintage FW that worked well on your bike.

63rickert

Kontact

This is vintage. In any vintage pursuit finding parts is part of the fun. It's an ongoing treasure hunt. If you don't want to do that, don't do vintage.

But Regina parts are not hard to find at all. It was industry standard for decades, produced by the million. I'm getting my chains from an American bricks and mortar place for $16. Freewheels are slightly harder, never had a problem getting exactly what I wanted and the prices are reasonable. Sometimes they can still be harvested for free off old bikes. Varsities used Atom cogs, totally interchangeable.

All the other parts you mention are easy too. Trivial really. You want something hard? Absolute best shifting on any Campy derailleur from 1951-1983 happens with open 'C' Gran Sport levers. Not everyone can have those. I've one set, will continue to search.

Kontact 

I enjoy my vintage stuff for how it works, and am perfectly content shifting my Mavic 801 derailleur across 8 sprockets. Everyone doesn't have to treat the use of vintage components as if they were reenactors. There isn't just one way to enjoy vintage stuff.