Hello,

I am looking at a bike for sale that is in like-new condition with very few miles per the owner. It was ridden by his wife who ended up hating road biking. The frame is a beautiful and light Tange cro-mo frame and it fits me well. My concerns surround the Suntour SL shifters and derailleurs. Neither derailleur is working well currently. The bike hasn't been ridden in years and is ~14 years old, so it could just be cable stretch and lack of lubrication.

Are these reliable components and will service of these "rare" (not Shimano or Campy) components be an issue? It is an eight speed indexed system with a double Sugino crankset.

If anyone could give me their opinion of this drivetrain it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Sean.

I have a set of SL shifters, they have a friction setting which I use with a Campagnolo NR derailleur. I have had no problems in that mode. I would just clean, lube & adjust, if they do give trouble indexing, you can always run them in the friction mode.

Suntour are reliable. A thorough clean, lube, and adjust should do the trick. Make sure the cables are OK and the lower guide (below the bottom) isn't gunked up, smashed, or otherwise compromised.