Freewheels and chains
 

Hi all,

I'm after some help! I've recently built up an 80s Pinarello Asolo and it has a NOS Suntour 5 speed freewheel with a super tight ratio that has made hill climbs a little tough and I have a vintage race coming up next month with some decent hills. My (modern) KMC 7 speed chain has done less than 200 miles but had no problems with this freewheel.

The rules of the race state that there is a minimum spoke count so I have changed my wheels over and now have campag low flange hubs with an old Regina 5 speed freewheel and a much better ratio. However when I'm in a high gear (small cog) at the back the chain seems to slip every half a turn when push hard into the pedals or on a hill. I am told that this is common with a new chain and old freewheel so I have a ordered a NOS Everest 5 speed freewheel with the same threading. My question is, should I get an NOS vintage chain or is my nearly new modern KMC 7 speed chain likely to be ok?

Thanks in advance and have a good day!

Modern chain is fine. Unless you REALLY have to have an old NOS freewheel, IMHO, I would buy a NEW 5 speed freewheel instead. NOS term tends to be grossly overused, and given to non-NOS parts.

I have on occasion had skipping due to other reasons. Most recently, it was a bent derailleur hanger. It was not obvious! But once I put my tool on it (Park DAG), it was not straight. In this situation, I had a brand new freewheel and new chain, so I knew those parts were good.

Of course we can't know your chain so take this with a grain of salt. I run new or newish chains, usually SRAM PC870, with both vintage and new FWs. It isn't so much that your parts were NOS or old or whatever but that the cogs were worn. A nearly new chain should work fine with a new FW.

I'm guessing that the small cog on the Regina has a slight warp in it or has been cross threaded into the 2nd cog. The chain is most likely not the culprit as others have stated.

I've seen this warp occur most frequently on the old Regina and Atom 5 speed freewheels where all the cogs thread onto the body or another cog (which the smallest Regina cog does). Because the cogs can be so stubborn to remove for cleaning or re-gearing, a significant amount of force can be applied with a chain-whip. If that force is not on the same plane as the cog, the warp can occur. It doesn't take much warp to cause the chain to skip.

Can you take pictures of the Regina from the side while it is placed on a flat surface (such as a kitchen counter)? Take at least 4 pictures as you rotate it 90 degrees for each one.

I'm squarely in the new FW-new chain camp.
Even "NOS"-looking FW's can be worn sufficiently to cause problems with a fresh chain if you're pushing it hard enough.
Besides, modern ramped FW's are cheaper and shift more smoothly than actual NOS/OEM issues.

Back when I rode my UO8 lots and lots I must have worn the FW and possibly the chain too, because it could skip occasionally. But I never took the FW apart so it wasn't warped. Just worn.

I was young and foolish. Now I'm just foolish.

Thanks everyone, sound advice as always.

I would have taken some pictures to show you but my local bike store currently has the Regina FW as I didn't have the right tool to take it off. I didn't have to have a NOS FW but prefer the look of the gold everest FW to a modern shiny chrome one! Purely aesthetic indulgence I'm afraid.

Thanks, I don't think my problem is with the derailleur hanger as would have happened with the Suntour FW, no? I'll double check with the DAG to be sure though.

Its relatively rare (less than 10% of the time), but it costs nothing to check as long as you have the tool. Certainly doubtful in your case.

I do always like to check the free stuff first before spending on parts.