New Freewheel ('85 Schwinn)

I want to replace my original 6-speed freewheel cluster with a new
Shimano "Megarange" 13-34t. My current freewheel is 14-30t. I am ok
staying with friction shifters for now, but I'm hoping the new fw will
shift better than the old straight-cut sprockets. Will I have to get a
longer cage rear der?

TIA,
David
dja dot mail at comcast dot net

DJA wrote in message ...
I want to replace my original 6-speed freewheel cluster with a new
Shimano "Megarange" 13-34t. My current freewheel is 14-30t. I am ok
staying with friction shifters for now, but I'm hoping the new fw will
shift better than the old straight-cut sprockets. Will I have to get a
longer cage rear der?

TIA,
David
dja dot mail at comcast dot net
...............................................

Will I have to get a longer cage rear der?

Yes. Not only will you have a little more chain to wrap up but you
need a derailleur that will shift up to the 34 cog without running
onto it.

Lewis.

**********************

A shy person wrote:

I want to replace my original 6-speed freewheel cluster with a new
Shimano "Megarange" 13-34t. My current freewheel is 14-30t. I am ok
staying with friction shifters for now, but I'm hoping the new fw will
shift better than the old straight-cut sprockets.

Most likely it will. Get a new chain to go with it.

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/freewheels

Will I have to get a longer cage rear der?

Depnends on the derailer you have now. My guess is that your bike
already has a wide range derailer that will handle the range, but it
won't shift as well as a modern $20 Shimano unit.

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/derai...r.html#shimano

Sheldon "MegaRange" Brown
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
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| from the Ravel or Stokowski "colorized" versions, (with |
| orchestra) seek out the original piano solo version. |
| I think it is much superior! |
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
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on 8/5/2004 11:51 AM Sheldon Brown said the following:
A shy person wrote:

I want to replace my original 6-speed freewheel cluster with a new
Shimano "Megarange" 13-34t. My current freewheel is 14-30t. I am ok
staying with friction shifters for now, but I'm hoping the new fw will
shift better than the old straight-cut sprockets.


Most likely it will. Get a new chain to go with it.

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/freewheels

Will I have to get a longer cage rear der?


Depnends on the derailer you have now. My guess is that your bike
already has a wide range derailer that will handle the range, but it
won't shift as well as a modern $20 Shimano unit.

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/derai...r.html#shimano


Thanks for the info. I had been lurking around on your site, that's how
I learned this type of swap was possible.

Since you mentioned using the $20 Shimano unit (C201), you answered my
next question about using a 7/8-speed compatible derailer. I'm assuming
I can adjust the high and/or low stops to eliminate the extra travel
needed for a wider cluster. I would just have to adapt to the
"low-normal" shifting feel of the C201.

Thanks again,

David
dja dot mail at comcast dot net