Aging Cyclist Needs a Drop Gear.

[billybek]

I had posted a thread about road bike tires a while back and I have started riding my old road bike to work and for some conditioning rides around town.
I have a big hill getting to work and getting home and I don't have the legs to climb on those little gears on the back. (I can do it but it isn't pretty)
I don't think a triple up front will work for me and I am not sure how wise it would be to upgrade the old 6 speed indexed cluster and derailleur to something more modern (or if it is possible). The bike also has downtube shifters and brake leaver shifters seem like such a great idea.
Any ideas other than not being such a cheap azz and buying a new bike??

[Joe Bob]

Upgrading is expensive compared to buying a whole new bike......

[sc_rufctr]

You could get a rear wheel with an internal 3 speed trans and then put your 6 speed cluster on that.
That will give you 18 gears! You'll find your climbing gear in there somewhere.

It might sound strange but I've seen it done. Do you know an aging bike mechanic?

If you know a good one? Ask him... I bet he smiles when you do.
He should be able to build you a rear wheel using your rim with new spokes and trans hub.

A great site for ideas.

Lugged steel bicycles, wool clothing, and leather saddles from Rivendell Bicycle Works

[billybek]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

I bet he smiles when you do.
A great site for ideas.
Lugged steel bicycles, wool clothing, and leather saddles from Rivendell Bicycle Works

Do you mean he will smile with dollar signs in his eyes??
Thanks for the link, I will check it out when I get home tonight.

[Talewinds]

Mikez is right on. Drivetrain components are dangerously expensive. My guess is you would have to upgrade the crank, cassette (maybe rear hub), chain, front derailleur, and rear derailleur to do it right. At that point you're WAAAYYY into new bike territory.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by billybek

I had posted a thread about road bike tires a while back and I have started riding my old road bike to work and for some conditioning rides around town.
I have a big hill getting to work and getting home and I don't have the legs to climb on those little gears on the back. (I can do it but it isn't pretty)
I don't think a triple up front will work for me and I am not sure how wise it would be to upgrade the old 6 speed indexed cluster and derailleur to something more modern (or if it is possible). The bike also has downtube shifters and brake leaver shifters seem like such a great idea.
Any ideas other than not being such a cheap azz and buying a new bike??

I took my old 14 speed Trek 400 (1990) and rebuilt it into a modern bike with a triple crank, modern brifters and rear for about $650, all Schimano 105. Add in the wheels, CF seat post and CF handle bars (vibration reduction, not weight), and new saddle, and I'm about $1000 into this. It is a great bike now.

For $1400, I could have had a Carbon Fiber frame bike with all Ultegra Equipment. It all depends on what you want to spend. The same company that sells the CF bike also sells good aluminum bikes for $700.

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My next bike is going to be this:

Shimano Ultegra Carbon Fiber Road Bikes, Roadbikes - 2010 Motobecane Century Pro

[cantdrv55]

Is Red-Beard a Bikesdirect shill? Just kidding. I've had my eye on their CF and Ti models for a long time.

My advice would be to buy a used bike off Craigslist. Upgrading the drivetrain would cost $$ so it might be cheaper to buy a used bike with a triple or compact double crank and 12/28 cassette.

[cantdrv55]

Just looked o Craigslist for Calgary and there isn't much inventory so eBay might be better.

[Steve Viegas]

I would think you could have the rear cluster rebuilt and replace the largest cog with an even larger cog. If your set-up has a cassette, you may need to replace the entire thing (group of gears).

You could also change your chain ring(s). If you go smaller up there (instead of larger in back) you would save weight too.

[Joe Bob]

As much as I hate to admit it....I may be selling my Carbon Fiber Lemond....all Campagnola Chorus. It was only made for a couple of years in CF and it's a collectors item. New tires and tubes....I added the bars, has LED front and rear tell tales and seat bag. It has an old school Rolls seat and an updated headset.

The back just isn't getting any better and I just stare at the damn thing....has a ten speed rear cassette, double up front. Good climber and very light.

Make me an offer....I hate to tell ya what I paid for it. I think it's a 58cm. I'm 5'10 with a 32 inch inseam.

[ghost1001]

Originally Posted by Steve Viegas

I would think you could have the rear cluster rebuilt and replace the largest cog with an even larger cog. If your set-up has a cassette, you may need to replace the entire thing (group of gears).

You could also change your chain ring(s). If you go smaller up there (instead of larger in back) you would save weight too.

Steve is right on the money...smaller front ring (by the pedals) and larger back cog (on the rear wheel) and you will be good to go....maybe

there are practical limitations to this, if you can find the parts as well as chain lengths and derailleur lengths, etc.....

The front ring should be straight forward, available and the cheapest option start with that it may work for you....then take a look at the rear gearing 18 speeds should be plenty to get you up and down just about anything if geared right.

My bike only has one speed, fast....downhill that is.

[dd74]

To OP: it is possible to go with a wider (nee larger) gear set in back, but that will may entail changing to a longer rear derailleur and chain. But parts from the downtube shifter era are hard to come by; you might be looking around for a while. At any rate, Bike Forums.com has a very good vintage site you should check, and pose your same question as here.

Personally, I would not upgrade your bike much further than a gear set, RD and chain, because at that point you will most likely be in for much of what a new bicycle costs. These days, you can probably get a newer, more efficient, lighter bike with modern components that is easier to live with for much less than a $1,000. Check out the major brands, (Trek, Giant, Specialized, etc), and I'm sure you'll find something to your liking.

[ghost1001]

Another option...

I remeber back when i was a bike mechanic there was a bolt on 3rd ring.....like a really tiny chainring that you could climb mounteverest with....

Now if you can locate this your front shifter would most likely work with it, there are 2 limit srews on the front derailleur if you open up one you should be able to drop to the third ring....it may take some tweaking but i am 99% sure it will work.

On an older bike a 3 ring crank should bolt right up and shift fine especially with down tube shifter, they do not index on the front rings it is a friction set up and again with the limit screws you should be able to get to all 3 with no problem.

[Joe Bob]

On the more modern bikes maybe....older bikes with the six speed rear hubs, they use a thicker chain and you most likely need to swap out the axle (wider) and crank arms that have the third ring busses.

Easier to drop the little ring up front a tooth or more.

[look 171]

Mike is right. The cheapest way is to get a smaller ring up front. If that still doesn't work, then try to get an old style ultra 7 speed freewheel with a larger cog. Add a spacer on the drive side of the rear hub and cold set the frame a little.

[gtc]

SHIMANO MFZH MEGARANGE 6 SPEED BIKE FREEWHEEL 13-34 NEW - eBay (item 400114945437 end time Apr-12-10 18:39:03 PDT)

I guess you would need a long cage derailleur with this thing...

[billybek]

Thanks for the replies.
It is pretty unrealistic to outfit an old frame with a new gruppo, but I was hoping for that unbelievable deal to do an upgrade.
Mike, that looks like a beautiful bike and we are about the same size, but I don't think I can afford it and I wouldn't want to insult you with a low ball offer, thanks anyway.
The bike is a very nice steel (Columbus 753) frame. It is still a very nice handling bike but I remember the 3 hour+ rides it would beat you up a little bit.

[dd74]

Billy - you might want to consider what I did. I obtained a 1987 race frame and bought for it newer used Ultegra brakes, Ultegra cranks, Ultegra rear cluster and Dura Ace downtube index shifters. The bike has Shimano 105 clip-in pedals and Mavic CXP 33 wheels. It uses a quill Nitto stem, Cinelli classic bars, a Thomson 27.2 seatpost and a modern race seat. The forks are Goodrich steel, since I don't like carbon forks on steel bikes.

I rode this bike today in the mucky L.A. runoff from the rains we had last night and this morning, and the bike, for an older machine, worked flawlessly. As old as it is, it weighs 19lbs for a 53 cm all-steel Columbus SL frame. The upgrades less the wheels, cost me about $400. The beauty of the shifters is they can be adjusted to friction shift, and will then adapt to any gearset made as long as the big gear in back is not above 29 teeth. In short, you could run any wheel/gear combination you want with the bike because of the Shimano downtube index shifters.

Option #2 is what I did with my old Colnago - just went ahead, took some old lighter wheels with a 9-speed cog, and thought WTF, let's see if this thing will fit on the back. Well, it did. Again, because the Colnago uses downtube friction shifting, it will shift anything from a six speed on up to a ten speed cog just as long as the hub fits in the rear. The cool thing is the old style derailleurs can handle upwards of a 29-tooth cog if you adjust them correctly. That should get you up most hills with a little effort. And, because you'll more than likely be going faster, you might want to upgrade your brake pads.

Something like what I did with my Colnago should only cost you the wheels, a gearset in the rear, and brake pads. My old Colnago is otherwise stock as it was in 1985 when I bought it.

Of course, for the first frame, I had to do some looking around and playing catch-as-catch-can. But with patience, as did I, you can net a lot of nice used parts for a fraction of their original price. It becomes sort of a fun game after a while. Kinda' like building a hotrod.

[dd74]

These are going for some pretty good dinero since LeMonds are no longer made. Greg mouthed off too much about Lance juicing and hence, blew up his LeMond bike marriage with parent company, Trek.

Trek then tried to do the same deal with Gary Fisher as LeMond, but Fisher, supposedly, was selling his bikes out the back door without Trek knowing about it. That deal soured in about 6 months.

[Joe Bob]

Originally Posted by billybek

Thanks for the replies.
It is pretty unrealistic to outfit an old frame with a new gruppo, but I was hoping for that unbelievable deal to do an upgrade.
Mike, that looks like a beautiful bike and we are about the same size, but I don't think I can afford it and I wouldn't want to insult you with a low ball offer, thanks anyway.
The bike is a very nice steel (Columbus 753) frame. It is still a very nice handling bike but I remember the 3 hour+ rides it would beat you up a little bit.

Go ahead, insult me.....I know it's not going to get top dollar. email me at porschemikey AT gmail dot com

If it goes to someone that can appreciate it, I'm happy....