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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