amadorj

Question:
Just recently bought a 1987 Cannondale SM400 which was sitting in a garage for the past 20+ years. The bike is in great shape but doesn't have the greatest shifting (Suntour gears). What would one recommend that I could do to upgrade on this bike seeing its quite old but also keep its original character. I want to ride it more but the current gears (front/rear) don't shift the best. I'm open to ideas. Thanks.

-Jesse

luker

I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with the suntour stuff that came on the bike. It may be damaged, but should be able to be made to shift very well with a little tuning and straightening. Pictures of the drivetrain would help...but to get you started, the rear derailleur cage (the jockey wheels are in a cage that the chain runs through) should remain parallel to the wheel and cogs as it tracks from large rear cog to small, and visa versa. The cable housing (the tube that the cable passes through) may have congealed grease or rust keeping the cable from running smoothly. A replacement rear cable and housing will probably run you about five bucks or so...

amadorj

Thanks for the info. I have had the bike looked at by a local bike shop and they pretty much got the unit working but with some of the high gears you have to go up two gears and drop back one to make it shift into the proper gear. It works but not the greatest. That's why I asked. I did replace the rear cable but that didn't seem to help much. The bike works and is fun to ride but shifting isn't clean.

-Jesse

luker

So...this is indexed shifting? You may want to check to see if the freewheel is a suntour. I seem to recall that shimano was a little different than the rest, and if you have a shimano freewheel in the mix then the two down, one up boogie could be symptomatic. It could also be that the rear derailleur hanger is not aligned correctly, which would cause the index spacing on the shifter to not match a part of the spacing range on the freewheel, or cassette, or whatever.

Before John points it out, you could also just turn off the indexing. Shifting without is easy...

amadorj

The front gears are not indexed but the rear portion are. How does one turn off the indexing?

Thanks!
-Jesse