On 9/23/2018 9:54 AM, Joerg wrote:
On 2018-09-22 13:42, jbeattie wrote:
On Saturday, September 22, 2018 at 11:40:39 AM UTC-7,
Joerg wrote:
On 2018-09-21 23:57, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Friday, September 21, 2018 at 5:34:11 PM UTC-4, Joerg
wrote:
Snipped
He is a machinist and tool & die maker by trade, has a
fully
equipped garage with lathe, mill and so on. He is building
stuff for his various vehicles all the time and made a
couple
of parts for my MTB so I could build a sturdy rack.

120mm is a pain though, 10mm is a lot of widening.
Looks like
this one can be shortened by grinding off the outer cog:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Shimano-TZ3...4/322007138705





Snipped

Is he going to grind down the body too?

He should read Sheldon Brown:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/speeds.html and
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/freewheels.html

"The freewheel threading on these older hubs is generally
interchangeable except for some very old French units.
If you go
from a 5-speed freewheel to a 6- or 7-speed freewheel,
you will
usually need to add some spacers to the right end of the
axle
between the cone and the locknut. Once you have done
this, you'll
also need to re-dish the wheel to bring the rim back to the
centerline. You may need to re-space the frame if you
have added
spacers to the axle. See my Frame Spacing Article for
details on
this."


Right. I also had to re-dish my rear wheel after UG
freehubs were
no longer available. It wasn't fun but I got it all done
in under
an hour including replacing the freehub.


"How Many Speeds?


Doesn't matter. Actually, the less speeds the better.

Really? Wasn't the complaint that he needed more gears to
get up and
down the monster hills?


No, just a much larger cog than is on the corn cob right
now. We all become older and often due to a slowing
metabolism also heavier. This nonsensical 9-10-11-12 speed
craze is unnecessary. Same with me, I always shift across
2-3 gears, or 5-8 on the MTB, in one swoop. However, I do
need that 32T in back which I could do without when I was 25.


The olde tymie wide step 5sp freewheels weren't much fun
with the big
jumps.


I loved those! Except, of course, that these were prone to
axle breaks which I had a lot.

My old MTB has 7-speed, the new one has a 10-speed cassette.
I did not perceive any advantage whatsoever. It's just that
when I bought it they were all 10-speed and I wish they
weren't because then the chain would still be a sturdier
wide one.


... but it's a better arrangement than the current
corn-cob. Also
check his crank. Some of the PX10s were spec'd with weird
chainring
sizes with big small rings. I think mine had a 45t inner
or something
like that.


My road bike has 42T and the smallest available for that set
was 39T. So some day I might throw a 40T in back as the
largest cog but that would also required a longer cage
derailer.


... Again, he could make some good money selling the
bike in
the collector's market and then go out and buy a nice
gravel bike
with lots of gears, lighter and stiffer where it matters
with even
more tire clearance for the gnarly gravel riding that you
have to do
in the wilds of Cameron Park. There are some really good
deals out
there on aluminum frame gravel bikes with hydraulic
discs. I think
updating a mid-fi French bike is a waste of money. If he
can get by
with throwing on a freewheel, then I would stop there --
otherwise,
go shopping.


That's also what I'd do. Especially since he is a mountain
biker by heart so doesn't want to spend much time fixing a
road bike.

As for gravel bikes, most of our trails are really not
suited for that. Lots of loose rocks and stuff, it won't be
fun and likely break the new bike. Even if the gravel bike
survives it could result in serious back pain for older riders:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5cjAW_nrl4


Five speed FW 13~32 is a standard current product:
http://www.yellowjersey.org/irdclass.jpg

AFAIK there hasn't been any year without such freewheels all
my adult life.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971