I'm starting to shop (on eBay) for a 7 speed freewheel - one of those racing ones, not a 28T or bigger one...so I can pretty much exclude Shimano SIS compatible, which I know well and love.

My question is, is there any big difference between the brands I see? Any better or worse? I am going to bid on Sachs, Suntours, Maillards, just about anything that comes along.

These are the close ratio ones...something like 13-14-15-16-17-19-21 or like that.

11 - 23 DuraAce cost. Used to be common as many would toss that small size for a kinder 28; 23's are bears as far as versatility. I would avoid SunTour; Sachs may be OK. Shimano compatible ones are listed as such. Sellers know what's what. Jenson has new Ti 23s for one ten which is much lower than it used to be and as I've noticed, Ti's been more commonly found in the DuraAce realm for quite some time now. I'm surprised I saw little on e-bay.

Nashbar has a 13-24, close range for sure, it's cheap & compatible. You wouldn't appreciate an 11/12t, they rumble, just not needed anyway.

I have a Maillard 7 speed with 13-21 range. It certainly works okay but I think Suntour and Shimano shift better.

Yea, shifting is all I really care about - although I do appreciate a nice clickety-click when I coast.

I sure wasn't planning on spending this much, but this onelooks deluxe:

https://cgi.ebay.com/Shimano-Dura-Ace...mZ230383984874

I saw the Nashbar one. I have the $27 Nashbar 13-32. It gets the job done, but it doesn't shift as crisp and nice as a $12 Shimano I was using. I'd go back to the Shimano, except the Nashbar has way better spacing.

That is a fair bit for a used freewheel, but I'm sure that Dura-Ace has a lot of life left and works great. I paid $25 for a 7 speed Suntour freewheel in NEW condition.

I saw that, seems fine. I've had good luck there. HEY.. your site is cool !

Thanks!

Yea, in reading about the Dura Ace, and others, I keep hitting on the shifting just isn't as nice as the SIS compatible. I can't see sinking $60 in something there's a good chance I won't be happy with.

Better to stick with the $20 options...I have a Suntour Winner 5 speed - I should try that for a week or so and see how I like non-SIS shifting.

I found some site that said you could take the SIS cogs and put them on the DuraAce...maybe if I get one cheap enough, I'll upgrade it. Some day.

A Shimano Dura Ace 7 speed freewheel is SIS but probably not STI (much smoother up shifting due to cog ramps). If my dated bike mechanic memory serves me right, a 7 speed Dura Ace had a slightly different spacing than other Shimano (or Sachs, Suntour, etc) 7 speeds. For fiction shifting, any 7 speed freewheel will work fine just set your RD limits. I had a 7 speed Ultegra bike and wanted to use 7 speed Dura Ace SIS shifters, just because I wanted to, and it didn't work for indexed shifting. 105/Ultegra worked together but not Dura Ace. If you are using friction, like I do now, the Sachs 7 was one of the nicest freewheels for the money. I have a couple of them and have never had a problem. Racing sized 7 speed freewheels(24 or less) that I know of are Shimano Dura Ace, Regina, Sachs, Suntour, Campagnolo.

I had an (as OE) 7s 12-21 Suntour New Winner freewheel on my '84 Trek 760 and it always shifted quietly and without fuss.

I need 5mm spacing, so I can use an indexed Campagnolo 8 speed shifter. So I guess that leaves out the DuraAce.

I might have mispoke when I used SIS - I meant the ramps - whatever those are called, they make all the difference in the world.

Why not try a Sachs 8 speed? Designed for a 130. You are using an 8s freehub I am guessing. Why are you downgrading to a 7s?

No, I am not downgrading an 8 speed. I am upgrading a ten speed. I mean a _real_ ten speed, not those things from last year they call '10 speed.' I've been running 7 Speed freewheels on my Raleigh. I want to play with brifters, see what they are like, and I also want to try a closely-spaced freewheel in place of the 13-32 I have.

harris cyclery has a pretty good selection of freewheels:

https://harriscyclery.net/product-lis...thread-on-120/

The IRD ones are a little pricey ($50) but they're pretty, and probably shift a lot better than the old ones, because they have the hyperglide teeth. They have a 13-24 one too.

Yea, at $50, I'd want something I was pretty sure I'm gonna ride till the day I die.

I think I'm going to buy a Maillard or Suntour of eBay for $15-20. I'm bidding on 13-14-15-16-17-18-19 ones. Might as well go for the tightest ratios, see how I like it.

Then I can swap out a wheel when I go climbing.

I have a 13-21 Suntour Winner on my Miyata that shifts very nicely and is pretty quiet. I also have a 12-21 Dura Ace 7400 freewheel that I ran for a while. It also shifts well, and is nearly silent, even compared to the Suntour. If I wasn't keeping the Miyata all-original, I would probably swap on the Dura Ace.

Aren't they though? Those Defiant freewheels look really nice. If they are made half as good as they look, $50 isn't bad. A Sachs 7-speed goes for $75 (if you can find one, with the cogs you want), though it is supposed to be Shimano compatible. That would be SIS, not STI, compatable.
Though, I could never get my Sachs 7-sp to index shift with the SRAM 7-sp grip shifter. FWIW

I take back all the (sorta) nice things I said about the Nashbar freewheels - four months old and the darn thing crapped out today. You could hear it a block away. What a rip.

Spent an hour fooling with my wheel and fenders trying to figure out where all the noise was coming from. Swapped my old $12 shimano back in, and silence was restored.