Hello everyone,

I just purchased a Bianchi Sport SX with all Suntour compnents.

Right now it has friction shifters, but I would love to upgrade it to Indexed if I can.

My question is, would I need to replace the whole system, or will I be able to simply slap some Suntour indexed shifters on there and click away? I would really prefer to keep the suntour rather than change out to a Shimano system because they frankly work well, however I can't stand friction shifting.

Also, I was curious if the 6 speed derailleur I am using would work on a 7 speed freewheel or cassette. I am looking at all of my options in optomizing this beautiful old bike to everyday city riding.

Sorry to bombard you with questions, but there is very little help online regarding suntour.

Thanks!

Are you in possession of Suntour indexed shifters?... if not do you have access to some? The reason I ask is that I don't run across them too often. I'm sure you could probably use the rd with a 7spd freewheel in a friction setup.

The rule of thumb is: if the mech has a barrel adjuster, it can be indexed. Beyond that, I would be guessing. Photos help.

Most of the LePrees I've seen are the triple pulley touring models, non-indexed from memory.

It is definately 2 pulley, and has what I think is a barrel adjuster.

I have found a couple sets of suntour accushift shifters on ebay, just not sure whether I should have bought them if I can't use em.

show us some pics.... it may be worth while to live with the friction as it will last a long time and eventually it will become second nature.

The LePree system is definitely friction only. Will handle triple crank and probably a 30-32 rear cog.
Suntour index systems (Accushift) require matched components to work correctly. There are several "systems" that will work very smoothly. Top of the line is Superbe Pro. Next is Sprint 9000. Next is Cyclone 7000. These are all high quality road bike componets. There are high quality MTB components that will work as well such as X1 and XC Pro, XC 9000. Other road bike components that are Accushift include the 4050 Edge series, GPX, and a few other lessor quality components.

Accushift shifters come in bar-end, thumb, braze-on and downtude clamp-on style and are indexed for either 6, 6-7, or 7-8 speeds.

The rear free-wheels must be either the "alpha" series, designated by the greek "a" symbol, or any 4-notch 6 or 7 speed freewheel. The 2-notch 6 speed "ultra" series does not work well with accushift deraileurs, though the regular 2-notch 6-speed free wheel will work OK. Any 7-speed ultra will work OK. Cassettes require AP (Accushift Plus), or APII. Powershift cassettes will work also, but not as smoothly as the AP series cassettes.

Two critical components to Suntour Accushift systems that are often overlooked are the shifter housing cable and the chain. Accushift cable housing is critical to smooth shifting and Suntour AP (Accushift Plus) chains were specifically manufactured to work with Suntour AP systems.

These are the basics that will result in a world class vintage index system. (Best of class IMHBAO)