Retrofit Triple Crank to Vintage Raleigh?
 

I've got a '74 Raleigh Super Course that I absolutely love. I've been riding the heck out of it -- 50 and 60 mile rides on the weekends, shorter rides around town after work, and so on. The frame fits me absolutely perfectly, so this is my main ride.

This last weekend I took an approximately 55 mile ride through some pretty hilly areas. I realize that I've got to have lower gears if I want to use it for longer rides outside my immediate area. I really can't mash up the hills -- years of knee trouble and surgeries culiminating in a knee replacement mean I've got to spin low gears rather than stomp higher gears to get up a hill.

The bike has a mix of components, not all original. It's got relatively new 700C wheels, Araya rims with Shimano hubs. There's a Shimano 14-28 6-speed freewheel, and the rear derailleur is a Huret Duopar (which works brilliantly).

The front derailleur is a Campy record of the same vintage as the frame. The crank is a Nervar, 52/42. Shifters are Campy friction shifters.

So what's the best way to get some lower gears? I don't want a whole new drive train. Aside from the cost, the rear triangle would have to be spread to accomodate a wider hub/cassette.

Can I retrofit a triple crank? I'm pretty sure the rear derailleur has the capacity to handle it. Not so sure about the front. Doesn't look like it would. So there would have to be a new front derailleur, and I'd like for it to be visually compatible with the rest of the bike (hopefully the retrofit triple crank would be, too), meaning something vintage. The shifters could stay -- I feel no need for indexed shifting or "brifters". I'm guessing a new bottom bracket, or at least a new spindle.

Any thoughts? All suggestions most gratefully accepted and appreciated.

So what's the best way to get some lower gears

You would likely need a new front derailleur and bottom bracket spindle to accomodate the new crankset. For the money I would get a new Sugino crank. They make either a triple or compact double for a reasonable price. The ultegra triple cranks can often be found online for a discount. If you have a high disposable income I would go with the Cyclo Touriste cranks from TA with the bottomb bracket. They will look period correct and have a wide variety of gears.

The NR front derailleur should work fine if your triple is a reasonable spread (say 28-38-48). Once you decide on a crankset, you'll need to figure out the spindle length and taper. I had a Nervar triple on my SC commuter for awhile, then changed to a compact double and now I'm back with a 110/74 triple.

The Huret was meant for triples and will work well with freewheels in the mid to upper 30s.

I have a Shimano "mega-range" rear 6-speed cluster that you can have for the cost of postage. The largest cog is 34-teeth, I believe. A 34/42 gets you a 33-inch gear, which is pretty low. If you want to go with a triple front, I'm with SoreFeet on the TA pro-vis 5 plus a longer bottom bracket axle. Not cheap, of course.

Neal

You could also drop the size of the front inner chainwheel to 39 or 40 teeth. That combined with larger low gear in rear (such as the 34 tooth) gives you some serious climbing without the additional front chainwheel.

I think I have an old suntour freewheel with a 36 or 38 big cog... the Huret Duopar is probably the only rear d that could handle it.

Thanks, everyone. All good suggestions.

I thought about getting a smaller inner ring for the crank and a bigger freewheel, but who knows where I could find an appropriately-sized chainring for a Nervar crank. Apparently they have an odd, non-standard BCD.

The TA cranks are too expensive. A new one would cost more than the bike.

Looks like a new Sugino crank (and appropriately-sized spindle) is the way to go. Noah Scape suggests that the Campy derailleur should be able to handle it, which would make this a pretty easy swap, and not too expensive.

What length crankarms are you looking for? I have a decent 170mm Suntour triple and maybe some other 110/74 options that I might be willing to part with, or perhaps trade for the Nervar... pm me if you're interested.

I think if you check the bcd of the Nervar you will find it is compatible with certain stronglight cranks, and there are quite a number of stronglight chainrings usually available. The Nervar may even be compatible with TA rings, just have to measure that BCD to be sure.