Hi... Need your opinions! I'm re-building a Lotus Classique (Winter Project) and in an effort to improve its climbing ability for my 55+ frame, I'm replacing the double crank to a compact triple with a new freewheel cluster. In the real world, am I going to notice a difference if I go with a NOS Suntour 6 speed vs. a Shimano Hyperglide? The Suntour is readily found with a 30 or 32 large sprocket. Hyperglides are cheap while the Suntours might be a bit over-priced.
I remember years ago using a Suntour 5 speed cluster with a 80's era Shimano Tourney and never found the shifting to be an issue. I would like to end up with something like a 46/36/26 Triple and a max. cluster gear of 30 or 32T. I just hope the Cyclone MKII I bought for this application can handle it! I would like to keep it somewhat period correct.

Bill

I think you'll get better shifting with the Shimano.

I agree with Dirtdrop. I'd considered going for a SunTour NOS group. I changed my mind. I have bikes with mid level Suntour which is OK but Shimano is at least as good in the earlier years but better overall in having more to choose from. Seems like you already bought the ST. I would have re-thought it all on account of the triple. The Cyclones are known to have range. Tourney is not a fair comparison.

At this point I have not decided which freewheel to get. I have read that the NOS Suntours have better bearings and races and seem smoother than the Hyperglides. I'm not quite sure if this holds that much water in the real world. Especially if the Hyperglides shift more positively because of their design. Currently I have Vgt-Luxe, Vx gt, and MKII Cyclone GT that I can choose from to match these configurations.
Perhaps the Hyperglide is the more sane decision!

Undoubtedly, I'd go with Shimano Hyperglide, Inexpensive, readily available and excellent shifting under load. Yes, the SunTour were great freewheels in their day, but HyperGlide made everything up to that point, obsolete.

Suntour made excellent freewheels and the alpine models with the 30-34 tooth low gear are awesome... they don't shift quite as smoothly an Hg with it's special shaped teeth but they are so very nice.

I just salvaged a 34 tooth 6 speed from a wrecked wheel.

A Cylone Mk2 GT can handle 30 teeth without flinching and am sure 32 won't cause it any trouble either.

PS - I am building up a new old touring bike with a 28/48/52 (half step) and plan to use a Cyclone Mk 2 group with Suntour Bar Cons and an 11-34 wide range cassette... I am pretty sure the shifting will be brilliant.

You might want to consider a 7 speed Shimano HyperGlide freewheel. It will probably fit in the 126mm 5 speed spacing. You might be able to find a Mega 7 freewheel described in this article.

I replaced a Suntour freewheel (New Winner, I think) with a 13x28 Shimano HG last year. The HG shifts better because of the improved tooth design and the addition of ramps. And the new body design has noticeably less wobble.

Hyperglide hands down...

Relatively cheap... and you can get just about any size cogs you want.

8 speed just drops right in...


If you need a little extra space for a deeper freewheel 130mm axle spacing fits just fine between 126mm stays with no cold setting necessary. Each stay only deflects 2mm which is next to nothing.

shimano too...

Fitting a 130 mm cassette hub into a 126mm frame is just that easy... the cassette will offer more range and be much stronger for touring as well.