himespau 

I do like the kmc quick link thingy.

SJX426 

I hadn't thought of tuning the drive train with chain width, though it makes good sense.

So I am really late in coming to the C&V. I have learned more on this forum in the last 6 years than I knew previously. After purchasing the 83 Colnago, I decided to convert from 6 to 7 speed. Fortunately, no modification were required except the RD limit screws.


What I found was the 30t was what I needed as "granny" gear, otherwise it was not used. Shifting wasn't bad between cogs with 1 tooth spacing but others were less satisfying. The chain is a SRAM 8 speed, not sure which at the moment.



During one of my CL cruises, I came across a Regina CX/CXS 7 speed. It was like new condition and only $25. In keeping with my desire to unite the Italian parts for the bike, I jumped on it. Best shifting of any freewheel to date on that bike. I am really surprised based on others input. It is staying.

Now the DA indexed 8speed on the Pinarello is really having an impact! If at some point in time I find "brifters" for it, it may be even better. I just don't like the aesthetics of the cables jutting out of the side of the levers!

mountaindave 

Two years ago I went from 6s to 7s on my '88 Specialized Sirrus. All I had to do was get 7s shifters and everything practically dropped into place - no redishing, not even changing the limit screws or B screw. A member here had an old 13-26 UG cassette which gave me the upgrade I was hoping for - to simply add a larger cog to the 13-23 setup I was already used to. It really helps to have a 26 tooth for those killer climbs.

ASFAIK, when Shimano went from 6s to 7s cassettes, they didn't have to change dropout spacing because they just reduced the size of the spacers between the cogs in the cassette. If you disassemble one, the spacers are labeled 6-speed or 7-speed and you can visually tell the difference between the two.

I run a SRAM 8-speed PC-850 and love the quick-link because I run paraffin to keep that beautiful UG cassette (and me) clean. Shifts like nobody's business in SIS mode.

I have upgraded my wife's '85 Allez SE from a 6s to a 7s freewheel. That one I did have to move a spacer from the left side to the drive side, add ~2mm spacer to the drive side and re-dish the wheel. She will be riding it on trails this summer, so I will be sure to keep a close eye on the axle.

I too have found this thread informative, LOTS to see here.

himespau 

I wonder if 10 speed Campagnolo Ergos (in the shimergo setup) would give you what you're looking for. You'd still have to do the alternate routing required to get 8 speed DA to work with any non-8 speed shimano (or do I have it backwards and that's to make DA shifters work with non DA RDs and this is impossible?), but it seems like that'd give you integrated shifters with hidden cables.

SJX426 

@himespau - Hadn't thought of that! Being so frozen in time with DT's, I haven't dived into the vast knowledge of mixed Itailnese configurations! Does SRAM mix with anything?

himespau 

Not sure. This link is the source of most of my knowledge about such setups. I'd planned on going that route and then N+1 struck and I decided to use the Campy ergos (and FD) I had for a complete campagnolo build instead.

eschlwc

thanks, @mountaindave.

@SJX426, wow, that super record rd can get up to a 30t cog?

@3alarmer (and kmc owners), never having had a kmc chain, i'm confused when kmc says no tool is needed upon mounting the chain. don't you use a regular chain tool to size it like any other chain? is their quick link the same as sram's?

i was also wondering which chain would work best with a 7-speed: x8.93 or x9.93?

maybe the x8 is narrow enough ... and more narrow than the sram pc830 i'm used to.

Kactus

Yes you need a chain tool to size it. The quick link is similar to SRAM's but not interchangeable AFAIK. The 8 speed chains have worked fine for me.

JTTDF

^I buy 8 speed chains for bikes with five and six cog freewheels and 120 and 126 mm spacing respectively. The lowest priced KMC I can find. I forget the model number. The only one with a 9 speed chain is the Ciocc that carries an ultra (narrow) spaced 7 speed freewheel on a 126mm hub. (for the reasons I outlined earlier.)

oldskoolwrench

Right now, two of my bikes are 7 speed equipped and have friction shifting. With the older Shimano derailleurs I'm using the shifts are slow, as to be expected. I've mixed Shimano cassettes and Sedis/Sachs/SRAM chains for decades with no problems, and preferred them over UG/HG/IG chains; they just felt smoother overall. Same thing using them with SunTour's 5, 6, UL6, and UL7 freewheels.

Like others have said... the 7th cog could give you a tiny bit higher ratio, bring the mid range a smidge closer together, or give you a lower climbing gear.

From your original post, you said the upper pulley was close to the cogs, and she makes noise in the lower gears. In low gear, does the upper pulley rub against the top of the cog teeth?

Just trying some shots in the dark here...

eschlwc

^ thanks, oldskool.

the chain was noisier than i liked. and the rd's upper pully was too close to the cogs for my taste. so i shortened the chain 'too-much.' this seemed to help the noise, but certainly limited me from accessing lower gears when on the big chainring.

one issue that may have led to the tight space between cog and pully is the lack of a b-screw on the nuovo record rd. i've never run into this issue with nr derailleurs on other bikes, so it may just be this particular on-frame derailleur hanger on the davidson. it originally had a super record rd on it. this nr derailleur seems to lean closer to 4:00 rather than 4:30 (if that makes sense).

i bought a new sunrace 7 13-25t that hasn't arrived yet.

i'm also going to pickup a new kmc x8.93 or x9.93 chain if, after the new fw is mounted, i still experience noise.

i think the kmc x8 is 3/32" wide, and their x9 chain is 11/128" wide. i assume the current sram chain is 3/32" as well, so i may try the x9 chain with the sunrace 7 if the old chain stays noisy.

i'm a little excited about making the switch from sram to these neat looking kmc chains. the two brands are basically the same price, and kmc claims their 'x' models are somewhat "stretch proof." that's probably the biggest problem with the sram pc830.

SJX426 

@eschlwc - My bad. I thought it was 30 but may be 28. I will have to dig it out as I cannot find a decent, reliable tooth count from IRD. Senioritis. In any case, I can only run the largest cog on the small ring. Sorry about the confusion.

To keep the upper jockey wheel from rubbing on the large cog, I had to adjust the location of the axle with the axle alignment screws. It was at the limit for changing chain link count, couldn't make it longer or shorter and still be in the range.

eschlwc

concerning spacing between the upper rd pulley and fw cogs ...

i'm wondering if anyone has somehow manually adjusted the nuovo record derailleur position in light of both its lack of a b-screw and upper pivot spring. if mine sat further back (more towards the 6:00 position), it would likely help.

maybe i'll take it into the davidson shop and see what they say.

i don't think the super record rd has a b-screw either. the veloce did though.

dddd

If you're running a Nuovo Record rear derailer with a 28t freewheel, the chainring difference should not exceed 10t or it may be impossible to get full use of both rings with the larger cogs.

Never run a chain too short to shift onto the large cog and large chainring, or an inadvertent shift can damage quite a few parts with relatively little pedal force!!!

noglider 

My chainrings are 42/52, so I'm good there.

I did run a too-short chain so that the squashing noise didn't occur. I never shifted into big-big inadvertently, but then I realized I was playing with fire, so I lengthened the chain, just for safety. I don't use bottom gear often, and when I do, I can tolerate the noise.

dddd

If you've got horizontal dropouts, you ought to be able to get full, quiet use of all your gears.

Now that the chain is long enough, can you move the axle rearward a bit to make it perfectly quiet?

noglider 

I'll take another look. Thanks. The dropouts are horizontal, but they're not all that long.

dddd

Often, moving the axle back just 1/8" makes all the difference wrt the pulley not contacting the big cog.

noglider 

OK, I'll try it. I sent the bike back up to the country with my wife yesterday, and I'm not sure when I'll get there next. Next week, I hope.

eschlwc

ok, i'm finally done with this one. both your suggestions have worked out pretty well: a new sunrace 7-speed and a new kmc 9-speed chain.



the chain shifts flawlessly now: no more hanging up on the cogs, and it's much quieter. and it looks damn good, which is just as important.

thanks for the help!

dddd

Good to hear that you got some good, inexpensive parts working for you. I went with a similar setup and couldn't be happier.

bobbyl1966

Hello how are you. What is the best crank size and cassete size. For road bike cassete is 9 speeds. I ride in bike trail with 900 feet elevation. I put crank 53/39 and casssete 12-25. I select good or i need other crank size and cassete

ThermionicScott 

AGAIN, start your own thread!