RasAlGul

Hi Bikeforums! Last summer I bought a 1980 Schwinn Traveler from a neighbor for $65. The there are quite a few scratches on the frame and I had to replace the the tires because they were bald and the rubber was rotten. I used it to commute to work all last summer and I'm sure it paid for itself in saved gas money. The only thing I don't love about this bike is the friction shifting. I rode most of the summer in the same gear because every time I tried to shift I'd spend the next quarter mile fiddling with the lever to keep the chain from slipping every couple of pedal rotations.

I've been looking into converting the rear end to index shifting and from what I've seen online the actual process of replacing the freewheel and derailleur / shift levers is well within my ability. What I really need advice on is part compatibility. Currently the bike has what I believe to be the original Suntour 5 speed freewheel and a Shimano 400 rear derailleur. I already bought a lightly used Suntour 7 speed index freewheel and am wondering what sort of derailleur would work. I've seen other posts suggesting that any indexed Shimano derailleur will work. I'll probably get a set of clamp on shift levers, the sort with only the rear lever indexed.

I'm a recreational rider on a college student budget so I'm not going to be dropping big money on this project. I just want to be sure I'm getting the right parts before spending $30+ dollars on a new part. Thanks for reading and tolerating my newbie questions.

likebike23

Suntour 7 speed indexing will only work with 7 speed suntour accushift derailleurs and shifters which are obsolete. The spacing between gears on that freewheel varies between cogs making it incompatible with the more readily available shimano parts. The 7 speed suntour freewheel you've got is worth some coin to anybody with a 7 speed suntour drivetrain. Sell that and get a 6 speed shimano freewheel (~$11), a KMC Z50 5-8 speed chain(~$6), a Shimano altus or acera rear derailleur(~$16), and Sunrace 6 speed clamp on down tube shifters(~$12). The reason I'm suggesting 6 speed is that it will most likely screw right on with no axle respacing or re-dishing of the rear wheel. All of the parts I suggested are available at Niagaracycle.com.

likebike23

Wrk101 makes a good point. 5 speed to 6 speed is not always doable, but in practice, I've had no problems. First off, if you have a frame whose rear dropouts are spaced at 126mm, you should have no problems. If the spacing is 120mm, then it you may be able to do it provided you have some space (~8-10mm) between the freewheel and axle locknut. Good luck.

kunsunoke 

What you are describing here sounds like drivetrain wear and tear. Freewheels, chains and chainrings have a finite lifespan, and often when they die they slip.

Any rear derailleur from SunTour's catalog should work, provided it is AccuShift compatible. That means XC series mountain bike types, Cyclone, GPX, alpha-4050, etc. You will also need to locate AccuShift compatible shifters for best performance. This is not to say that you cannot mix/match; I'm currently using a Shimano HG freewheel with SunTour Superbe Pro derailleurs and SunTour AccuShift bar-ends on the Peugeot. However, you'd want to check out Sheldon Brown's site to verify spacings/compatibility of the parts you want to swap.

That 7-speed freewheel will likely require you to install spacers for adequate clearance between the dropouts and the freewheel body. You may also have to re-dish the wheel to keep it properly centered in the frame.

If it were my bike, though, I'd tend to want to keep it friction. The new freewheel, a decent 7-speed chain an maybe some decent ratcheting shifters might be the ticket.

Seems like your best bet here is to stay indexed, though. Once you freshen the drivetrain, that should tell you whether a major part swap will be a necessity.

Good luck.