Increasing gear range on old road bike
 

I have an 1974 Raleigh International that works great but I'm
considering going on a trip next summer that involves about 10000 ft.
of climbing and descending in 150 miles. I don't think I can hack it
with the gears I have now. It has 52/42 front and 13/17/19/22/25 in
the rear, all old Campy NR. I'm looking for low cost ways of
increasing the gear range. I really don't want to buy another bike,
but if this costs too much I'll have to consider it. Should I be
looking at a triple? Larger rear cogs? Any suggestions?

Increasing gear range on old road bike
 

On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 17:20:51 GMT, "cheg" may have
said:

I have an 1974 Raleigh International that works great but I'm
considering going on a trip next summer that involves about 10000 ft.
of climbing and descending in 150 miles. I don't think I can hack it
with the gears I have now. It has 52/42 front and 13/17/19/22/25 in
the rear, all old Campy NR. I'm looking for low cost ways of
increasing the gear range. I really don't want to buy another bike,
but if this costs too much I'll have to consider it. Should I be
looking at a triple? Larger rear cogs? Any suggestions?

Hanging a used triple crank and front der on it is probably the easy
fix if the rear der has enough take-up capability, which it may not.
If it doesn't, then swapping the rear der for a long-cage and
upgrading the freewheel to a megarange seems to be the prudent way
out. Big-step 5-speed freewheels exist. You might also take this as
an opportunity to step up to a 6 or 7 speed freewheel, although you'll
probably need a longer axle shaft and a couple of spacers for 7.

That's just my opinion, influencd by the presence of a couple of extra
triple cranksets on the shelf...

--
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Increasing gear range on old road bike
 

On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 17:20:51 GMT, "cheg" wrote:

I have an 1974 Raleigh International that works great but I'm
considering going on a trip next summer that involves about 10000 ft.
of climbing and descending in 150 miles. I don't think I can hack it
with the gears I have now. It has 52/42 front and 13/17/19/22/25 in
the rear, all old Campy NR. I'm looking for low cost ways of
increasing the gear range. I really don't want to buy another bike,
but if this costs too much I'll have to consider it. Should I be
looking at a triple? Larger rear cogs? Any suggestions?


I had the same thing with a mid-70's Raleigh Grand Prix after moving
to an area with more hills. Solved it with a triple on the front.
Got a long cage rear derailleur (Suntour Accushift) to accomodate the
extra range and a front derailleur that could handle a triple. It
worked fine and the parts now live on a newer frame.

Check ebay for parts. I probably spent too much for the upgrade and
would buy used parts if I did it again.

Good luck,
Jim

Increasing gear range on old road bike
 

"cheg" wrote:
I have an 1974 Raleigh International that works great but I'm
considering going on a trip next summer that involves about 10000 ft.
of climbing and descending in 150 miles. I don't think I can hack it
with the gears I have now. It has 52/42 front and 13/17/19/22/25 in
the rear, all old Campy NR. I'm looking for low cost ways of
increasing the gear range. I really don't want to buy another bike,
but if this costs too much I'll have to consider it. Should I be
looking at a triple? Larger rear cogs? Any suggestions?

Easiest and cheapest way is to put on a big freewheel. Back in the '80s I
toured Colorado with a 52/42 and a 15-34 (5-speed) freewheel in the back. I
used a Sun Tour VGT derailleur, but today you could use a MTB rear der.
Adding a triple would be a more elegant approach.

Art Harris

Increasing gear range on old road bike
 

"Jim, N2VX" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 17:20:51 GMT, "cheg"
wrote:

I have an 1974 Raleigh International that works great but I'm
considering going on a trip next summer that involves about 10000
ft.
of climbing and descending in 150 miles. I don't think I can hack
it
with the gears I have now. It has 52/42 front and 13/17/19/22/25
in
the rear, all old Campy NR. I'm looking for low cost ways of
increasing the gear range. I really don't want to buy another
bike,
but if this costs too much I'll have to consider it. Should I be
looking at a triple? Larger rear cogs? Any suggestions?


I had the same thing with a mid-70's Raleigh Grand Prix after
moving
to an area with more hills. Solved it with a triple on the front.
Got a long cage rear derailleur (Suntour Accushift) to accomodate
the
extra range and a front derailleur that could handle a triple. It
worked fine and the parts now live on a newer frame.

Check ebay for parts. I probably spent too much for the upgrade
and
would buy used parts if I did it again.

Good luck,
Jim

Sounds good. It happens that I just converted another bike to Nexus 7
hub shift and I have a long cage Suntour Accushift 2000 available.
What kind of crank did you use?

Increasing gear range on old road bike
 

On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 17:20:51 GMT, "cheg" wrote:

I have an 1974 Raleigh International that works great but I'm
considering going on a trip next summer that involves about 10000 ft.
of climbing and descending in 150 miles. I don't think I can hack it
with the gears I have now. It has 52/42 front and 13/17/19/22/25 in
the rear, all old Campy NR. I'm looking for low cost ways of
increasing the gear range. I really don't want to buy another bike,
but if this costs too much I'll have to consider it. Should I be
looking at a triple? Larger rear cogs? Any suggestions?


I just so happen to have a Sugino, new, early AT right crankarm x 170.
I'd sell it to you for $20 and you can use if for your trip. Should
you want 48/34 chainrings to go with the right arm, I'd do the whole
thing for $60. You'd use your existing right arm. The AT arm is new
but the only downside is that is annodized blue. I'm told that is
takes the same spindle as your Nuevo Record.

Increasing gear range on old road bike
 

On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 20:45:35 GMT, "cheg" wrote:


"Jim, N2VX" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 17:20:51 GMT, "cheg"
wrote:

I have an 1974 Raleigh International that works great but I'm
considering going on a trip next summer that involves about 10000
ft.
of climbing and descending in 150 miles. I don't think I can hack
it
with the gears I have now. It has 52/42 front and 13/17/19/22/25
in
the rear, all old Campy NR. I'm looking for low cost ways of
increasing the gear range. I really don't want to buy another
bike,
but if this costs too much I'll have to consider it. Should I be
looking at a triple? Larger rear cogs? Any suggestions?


I had the same thing with a mid-70's Raleigh Grand Prix after
moving
to an area with more hills. Solved it with a triple on the front.
Got a long cage rear derailleur (Suntour Accushift) to accomodate
the
extra range and a front derailleur that could handle a triple. It
worked fine and the parts now live on a newer frame.

Check ebay for parts. I probably spent too much for the upgrade
and
would buy used parts if I did it again.

Good luck,
Jim

Sounds good. It happens that I just converted another bike to Nexus 7
hub shift and I have a long cage Suntour Accushift 2000 available.
What kind of crank did you use?


It was a Stronglight crank from the LBS.

Jim

Increasing gear range on old road bike
 

"cheg" writes:

I have an 1974 Raleigh International that works great but I'm
considering going on a trip next summer that involves about 10000 ft.
of climbing and descending in 150 miles. I don't think I can hack it
with the gears I have now.

The front derailleur can handle a triple (at least 36-54, which is
what's on my paramount p-15.) one way to do this is to get a
triplizer 144 bcd ring from TA (www.harriscyclery.com, or peter white
cycles.)

As for the rear derailleur, it's best to get a low-cost modern campy
one like centaur or whatnot. you'll need a granny freewheel on the
back - maybe a 13-34.

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

Increasing gear range on old road bike
 

"cheg" wrote in message
news:Tfttb.7055$Dw6.48939@attbi_s02...
I have an 1974 Raleigh International that works great but I'm
considering going on a trip next summer that involves about 10000
ft.
of climbing and descending in 150 miles. I don't think I can hack
it
with the gears I have now. It has 52/42 front and 13/17/19/22/25 in
the rear, all old Campy NR. I'm looking for low cost ways of
increasing the gear range. I really don't want to buy another bike,
but if this costs too much I'll have to consider it. Should I be
looking at a triple? Larger rear cogs? Any suggestions?



Thanks to all who replied. I'm going to mount my spare Suntour
Accushift alpha-2000 long cage and try swaping the NR crank for a
Suguino AT 48/36/26 triple from another old bike I have. That should
do the trick if the crank fits. If I go to a 12 toooth small cog in
the back I'll still have the same top gear. Thanks again.

Increasing gear range on old road bike
 

Thanks to all who replied. I'm going to mount my spare Suntour
Accushift alpha-2000 long cage and try swaping the NR crank for a
Suguino AT 48/36/26 triple from another old bike I have. That should
do the trick if the crank fits. If I go to a 12 toooth small cog in
the back I'll still have the same top gear. Thanks again.

Sounds like a plan, but if I'm not mistaken, the square taper on the crank
spindle is different for Campy NR compared to Sugino. Also, you will want to
get the right length spindle to get the right chainline. You will want to
swap the bottom bracket from the old bike, too. Or your LBS should have an
inexpensive Shimano or other brand of bottom bracket that will fit your
Sugino crank.