This may be in the wrong section, so forgive me if it is. I have an older Raleigh Record (1977-ish, I believe). I have not been on it too much until recently (I got it a little over a year ago) and have recently started to ride a lot more. I'm almost 100% certain that the majority of it are original parts. I've noticed that the gears stick a bit (even after a tune up). My question is, does anyone have experience with regards to upgrading the drive-train parts with more modern components? Is this possible or will I have issues since it is an older model? Thanks!

-Jon

I used a modern rear wheel and cassette with the original Suntour deraillers on an '84 Schwinn. There was enough movement in the derailleur and it shifted fine.

The wheels are 130mm wide though; yours is 120 or 126 if it's a six speed. You will need to spread the frame then bend the dropouts back so they bear squarely on the ends of the hub.

You cannot put a modern cassette on an old freewheel wheel. It's a totally different hub.

Not totally sure but I think your frame is compatible with any modern Shimano bottom bracket or crank unless it says "Nottingham" anywhere on it.

How do the gears stick? It could be an easy fix.

Thanks for the info! They feel sluggish when I shift almost as if they aren't really shifting (they are though). I'm at work right now so I'll check out the bottom bracket tonight. I've never really done any work myself on a bike, but I'd like to learn. And I'd prefer to learn on a bike like this that I acquired for almost nothing rather than a new bike. Haha.

It sounds like the chain and freewheel could be full of wax or heavy grease and are deadening the feeling of a chain snapping into place after a shift. Back in the day, people used to soak their chains in molten wax.

I don't know that that's a problem, but you could soak the heavy lubricants out if you really hate it. You would need to ask a shop to pull the freewheel off, then immerse it in a coffee can full of diesel fuel or something.

I would just leave it.

Fair enough. Thanks for the advice.

I suggest posting this over on the C&V forum, but for now I'll give you my 2 cents. If you're into tinkering, a Record is a good bike to learn on. It was the bottom-of-the-line bike and they're everywhere, so you won't be risking messing up a collectible. However, it's easy to spend more time & money "modernizing" it than it's worth. The easiest transmission upgrade is a new chain & a 6 or 7 speed freewheel. While you're at it, overhaul the hubs & bottom bracket. You'll need a freewheel removal tool (about 10 bucks), a crank puller, a chain tool, lockring wrench (for the bottom bracket), cone wrenches (typ 13, 15 mm), plus some good lube. You can probably buy all that for about 100 bucks.

I don't know about a 1977 vintage Raleigh, but I have a 1985 Raleigh Technium 440 that I stripped of it's Suntour triple and Dia Comp components and replaced them with a full Shimano 105 (5600) component group. I could only get an 8 speed on the rear and I built new wheels for it, too, but it works just fine. I use it for commuting. The only original component left is the headset.

You cannot easily upgrade to 6 or 7 speeds because the hub will become wider, all on the right side. You will then have to redish the wheel by loosening the spokes on the left and tightening on the right in order to move the rim back to the center. Then you will have to respace your frame to make it wide enough for the wider wheel.

If you just spread the frame apart and clamp the wheel in extra hard, you can ruin the hub because you will get extra pressure on the front. You can ruin a wheel with excessive skewer tightness. Bolt-on wheels may have an issue as well.

If STP could get 8 speeds on the rear, 9 or 10 should have fit just as well. The freehubs are the same.

I would definitely go with a new chain if yours measures more than 12-1/16" between any 24 links because new 3/32 chains are cheap at big box stores and it can keep you from wearing out your drivetrain.

It should measure exactly 12".

You're right, it has a 9 speed on it, not an 8 speed. I was thinking of a different bike.

Thanks for all the advice! I'll definitely look into the chain length. I might look into the other components once I know that I absolutely have time to try doing some work myself.

#1 Incorrect. Use the original freewheel hub, with new 6/7 speed chain, no issues. No re-dishing or cold setting required.
#2 Also incorrect, at least with the "old-school" loose ball bearing/cone nut arrangement. Just adjust the cone nuts so the axle spins freely with no play, tighten stopper nuts, recheck, you're done. There's no way you can hand tighten down a quick-release and ruin a wheel.
#3 For 8 speeds, yes, 130 mm spacing was used, cold-setting 126 mm dropouts like the Record would be preferred. I'm running 8 speed Campy with friction shifters on a bike right now- but I wouldn't go beyond that without an indexing setup.

Measure your hub before you listen to this guy. There were a few "ultra-6" freewheels designed to work with 120mm but most 6 speed fw's are for 126mm hubs. Same with 7 speed-a few are as narrow as 6, most aren't. You would also need a new spacer and axle.

There's a chance a wider freewheel would still fit in your frame, maybe, but 6 or 7 speeds will be wider than your stock 5-speed freewheel.Yes there is, and your adjustment method is wrong too. A 130mm hub will slip forward in a 126mm bike if you don't cold set the frame or overtighten the skewers, and you can ruin a hub by overtightening the skewers. Do research it before you take bad advice. 130mm spacing is used for road 8, 9, and 10 speed cassettes. 135mm spacing is used for 8 & 9 speed mountain bikes.

I don't know ANYTHING about the 1977 vintage, but on my 1986 440 Technium, I got a standard 130mm axle to with with my indexed 105 9-speed cassette. It could indeed have a 127 mm chain stay dimension because it's a tight fit. Incidentally, the tight fit is preferred in my case because my dropouts are HORIZTONAL (or mostly horiztonal, anyway) rather than vertical which makes quick release and wheel alignment paramount each time I removed the wheel.

By the way, I think my shifters are 10 speed because I have what I call a "ghost shift" at the top of the stack where I can index one more time with no more gear selection. I'm also using a standard 53/39 front with a 11-25 (5500, 105) rear and a long cage rear der.

Again, I don't know nearly as much as you two. I'm just trying to provide more information for discussion. Good luck.

xdoomriderx - Some really sketchy advice so far in this thread.

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