Suntour Mountech question
 

ok so a few weeks ago i got ahold of a really nice raleigh.

This is the thread: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ame?highlight=

I was doing some research about the Suntour mountech and it's classified as vintage mountain bike parts.

Any of you use these on your road bike? Do you think it would be a big deal? i think i'm just gonna keep it on there if it works well, i'm trying to go for functionality.

Or should i change it out cause it's a C&V Faux Pas

I've only seen them on touring bikes...

The Suntour Mountech though developed for MTBs, was commonly used on the better touring bikes of the era. It shifts flawlessly - but purportedly it does not tolerate a lot of grimy gritty conditions because the pulley would wear out and is not easily serviced today. Since I don't run in such conditions and keep my chains clean I would not hesitate to use one.

thanks auchencrow, looks like i'm keeping it on the bike, it has some nice suntour barcons so it should be an awesome combination.

It was the stock derailleur on a Univega Gran Tourismo I had some time back.

Neal

They came stock on 1983 Specialized Stumpjumpers. I believe Specialized went to Deore XT the next year like everyone else after they found out about the pulley/jockey wheel problems. Prices are all over the map on ebay. Good luck

The SunTour Mountech was SunTour's attempt to incorporate Huret's double-parallelogram ("Duopar") design into a slant-parallelogram derailleur without stepping on Huret's patents. As noted above, it shifts beautifully but is intolerant of debris in the upper pulley assembly. This was problematic for its initial intended market as a mountain bike derailleur.

If you have one, keep it clean and it should serve you well.

I have the Mountech drivetrain on my 85 Schwinn Le Tour Luxe which is a touring bike. I bought the bike last winter with only 250 miles on it so the drivetrain is virtually new. It shifts the larger gear spread with quickness and ease, I like it...but it doesn't have much mileage on it either, and according to some sources the Mountech had problems. But those same sources said the Superbe Tech had problems yet I have a bike with that derailleur that has over 150,000 miles on it and never had a problem, how many miles can one expect?! So will the Mountech be the same sort of thing? I may never find out since I doubt that bike will see that many miles but it will be used for touring so maybe? Dirt as one mentioned being a problem? I've ridden it about 500 miles since I got it and so far no problems, but I clean my stuff regularly too.

Here's a web site with more info about that and a slew of other derailleurs: http://www.disraeligears.co.uk/Site/...284900%29.html
This is the same site that said the Tech was junk.

In 1983 I had one. I was never able to make it work for me? Maybe it didn't like the Regina freewheel, or the Sedis chain? I do know that when I went from Suntour Barcons
to Campy DT shifters it got worse. Went to a Duopar after that and all was well. FWIW: I'm the only person I know to have had a bad experience with the Mountech, I got it at the time because several friends said they were great.

Cheers,
Chris

My Fuji Touring has one and it shifts great. The PO put some big miles on the bike and it is still nice and tight.

It is a LOT more derailleur then you need on that bike with the gears you are swinging. Short cage would be fine. If you are not planning on a triple or a Mega range you could save a little weight swapping it but I wouldn't swap it thinking you would gain any reliability.