Gearing help
 

I recently got a new rear hub (thanks MiamiJim) that is 126 spaced. My frame is 120 spaced and the freewheel is 5 speed. I decided I might as well give myself some more gears rather than respacing the hub for 120 5speed.

The chainrings are nuovo record 52-48 teeth. Any recommendations on a new freewheel? I was looking at a shimano 6 speed freewheel with 14-16-18-21-24-28 and that seemed to give pretty good halfstep ratios. Any other recommendations? Is it worth checking out a 7 speed freewheel?

The only thing I'm worried about is that my rear derailleur might not be able to handle that big of a range. Right now I have a first or second gen Suntour Cyclone like this one http://www.disraeligears.co.uk/Site/..._style%29.html

Will I need a derailleur that can handle a bigger range? I'll probably need a new chain too.

Hello bane. the text under the pic explains it quite well. a 24T is the biggest cog you can have in the rear.

It says that it depends on the length of the hanger.

Get a Suntour Mountech or equivalent deraileur, Cyclones are just too light-duty for touring. I used a 14-34 5sp halfstep setup on my 120mm rear fork bke for years. I use an 11-34 7sp Suntour Winner Pro Ultra on my 126mm rear fork bike now. I ride Ragbrai (www.ragbrai.com) every year and I like the wide range of gears it gives me with just a double crank. AND I always know where my next highest or lowest gear change is. Good luck.

Is the hanger measurement in the link provided measured c-c between the axle slot and the derailleur bolt hole of the hanger...???

TIA
-Mark in St. Louis

If you want some lower gears, consider using your 48 as your outer ring and replacing the 52 with either a 45 or a 44. If you want to keep your 100-inch top end, you'll need a 13T high gear cog instead of your current 14. I would vote for something like: 48-45 / 13-15-17-19-22-25-28. (Been there ... done almost that, with a 48-45-34 / 13-15-17-19-21-24 setup on my PKN-10.

The capacity of a derailer depends on the length of the cage and how it pivots. Suntour Cyclones of this model came in 3 cage lengths; RD-6000, 6200 and 6400, for short, medium and long, with rear cog capacity of 26, 28 and 30T respectively, according to Sutherland's Manual.

The capacity of a derailer installed also varies with the offset distance between axle and derailer hanger. You can enlarge that a bit by setting up your rear wheel farther forward in a near-horizontal dropout slot. These things are listed in manuals, but they're not etched in stone. Sometimes when the literature says 26, 28 works just fine.

I'm with John E on reducing the size of your chainrings if you want lower gears. Be honest with yourself about how high your gearing really needs to be -- there's always coasting!

Wow, thanks for the responses everyone.

My initial feeling is that I should ride the set up I have for now and get a feeling for where it's lacking. Then I can make changes as needed.

I rode a half step setup for years with a 14-16-18-21-24 five speed for several years in the flat lands and it was perfect and there was always a gear where I needed it. Great gear spacing. I have changed that bike to a triple 6 speed with the exact cogs you are looking at. It has worked out great here in the HILLS. Now it I can just get the crappy weather to break so I can get back to the bike. I think you will like the cog choice. I would also suggest changing to smaller rings but I spin around 90......good luck

FWIW I run a Short Cage 1st Gen Cyclone RD with a 28T big cog and 26T of chainwrap and it performs flawlessly...(28-14 rear, 52-40 Front)

well, it did until the cage tension spring snapped.

Now I run a Long Cage Cyclone RD on the same gearing and it is good, but requires a little more trimming after each shift.