Suntour triple help
#1
Thread Starter
Senior Member

Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 7,176
Likes: 56
From: Clev Oh
Bikes: Specialized, Schwinn
Suntour triple help
I was going to outfit an older Schwinn with a Suntour triple for my son. Any thoughts on what group or level I should be looking at. I have wheels and some really nice 7 speed barcon shifters. I need a crank, derailleurs and BB to complete.
Tim
Tim
#3
Senior Member

Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 3,907
Likes: 529
From: SW Ohio
Bikes: Puch Marco Polo, Saint Tropez, Masi Gran Criterium
If the barcons are 7 speed indexing then you'll need a Suntour accushift rear derailleur. Check ebay they usually have several at any given time. You'll need to use a Suntour 7 speed cassette or freewheel. As for the triple crankset you've got some flexibility here. You can look for an older triple or even use one of the newer triples with their corresponding bottom brackets. Not sure what look or feel you are after but a few ideas would be a silver or black 105 triple (9speed) with matching octalink cartridge BB (118.5mm width for 68mm BB shell I believe). You could also use the 9 speed versions of the Ultegra or Dura Ace triple. They all use this nice, stiff octalink splined bottom brack that is a real improvement over the older stuff if you ask me. I set up an Ultegra triple on my 6-speed late 80's Shimano 105 equipped road bike and the 9 speed cranks worked fine with the 6-speed rear uniglide cassette. The ramps and short throw of the front derailleur were a little odd at first: using your barcon shifter to change front cogs might only require a few mini-clicks.
If you want to go with a triple Suntour front derailleur you could do that with an older road or mtb triple that takes a square taper BB. I have a Specialized triple on my touring bike and use a Deore XT front derailleur paired with a Suntour X-1 rear derailleur to wrap the extra chain and handle a wide range cluster, along with Superbe Pro Accushift downtube indexing shifters and I love this set up.
One final possibility and I haven't tried this one would be to go the Campy route. Athena or Centaur triples are affordable, attractive, dependable and flexible. Often you can get several year old models as NOS on clearance for a significant discount, these should work fine as well, you probably would just need to use their BB on front derailleur for best results.
Good luck
If you want to go with a triple Suntour front derailleur you could do that with an older road or mtb triple that takes a square taper BB. I have a Specialized triple on my touring bike and use a Deore XT front derailleur paired with a Suntour X-1 rear derailleur to wrap the extra chain and handle a wide range cluster, along with Superbe Pro Accushift downtube indexing shifters and I love this set up.
One final possibility and I haven't tried this one would be to go the Campy route. Athena or Centaur triples are affordable, attractive, dependable and flexible. Often you can get several year old models as NOS on clearance for a significant discount, these should work fine as well, you probably would just need to use their BB on front derailleur for best results.
Good luck





