New bicycle enthusiast wonders about adding a 3rd chainring to a 70's era 10 speed.

Hello, folks. First time poster to this group.

So, I've become very interested in cycling over the summer. My dad had
an old 10 speed (Nishiki) that saw no use in over 15 years, so I went
to work on it and did a complete overhaul rather than buying a new bike
on a college students budget.

The overhaul went well, and the bike is running great now, yet I'm
still a bit unsatisfied. I live in Utah, and I'd like to hit some
steep mountain roads and do a good climb now and then, yet the gearing
seems to be way too high to do this with my current leg
strength/endurance.

so, the question is this: is it possible to add a granny chainring to
the drivetrain? I realize that I'll need to put on a new fron
derailure to do this (if it's even possible).

OK, question no 2. Is it possible to move the shifters from downtube
to somewhere closer to the hands? Also, is it possible to make a
changeover to index shifting from the current friction shifting.

Thanks,

Matt

You'd probably just want to grab a new triple crankset. The budget
Suguino ones are pretty nice. I'd see if your LBS had something in the
parts bucket first.

Upgrading to clicky shift can be done on old ten speeds with a pretty
affordable low-end shimano kit that replaces the derailleur and the d/t
shifters with stem mounted shifters. It's pretty cheap and cheesy--but
my neighbor had his ancient Schwinn Varsity converted like this and it
rides great.

If you want higher end, we're talking new wheel, shifters, chain,
cassette--basically a few hundred bucks.

Either go the low end Shimano route or look for a new bike.

You might also consider sticking with friction but getting a new
derailleur for the rear like a Shimano 105--it'll work loads better
than the old one, even in friction mode.

wrote:
Hello, folks. First time poster to this group.

So, I've become very interested in cycling over the summer. My dad had
an old 10 speed (Nishiki) that saw no use in over 15 years, so I went
to work on it and did a complete overhaul rather than buying a new bike
on a college students budget.

The overhaul went well, and the bike is running great now, yet I'm
still a bit unsatisfied. I live in Utah, and I'd like to hit some
steep mountain roads and do a good climb now and then, yet the gearing
seems to be way too high to do this with my current leg
strength/endurance.

so, the question is this: is it possible to add a granny chainring to
the drivetrain? I realize that I'll need to put on a new fron
derailure to do this (if it's even possible).

Yes, either a 'triple-izer, a new middle ring onto which you attach the
small ring(new BB required), or a triple crank, new BB required along
with triple fd and probably longer cage rear der. Easy and certainly
possible on that Nishiki



OK, question no 2. Is it possible to move the shifters from downtube
to somewhere closer to the hands? Also, is it possible to make a
changeover to index shifting from the current friction shifting.

Yes it is but you may need a new rear wheel or at least a freewheel
that is index compatible. Very easy as well. Got a decent bike shop
around/ One that will actually help you and not just snear and say ya
need a new bicycle?

In article
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wrote:

Hello, folks. First time poster to this group.

So, I've become very interested in cycling over the summer. My dad had
an old 10 speed (Nishiki) that saw no use in over 15 years, so I went
to work on it and did a complete overhaul rather than buying a new bike
on a college students budget.

The overhaul went well, and the bike is running great now, yet I'm
still a bit unsatisfied. I live in Utah, and I'd like to hit some
steep mountain roads and do a good climb now and then, yet the gearing
seems to be way too high to do this with my current leg
strength/endurance.

so, the question is this: is it possible to add a granny chainring to
the drivetrain? I realize that I'll need to put on a new fron
derailure to do this (if it's even possible).

OK, question no 2. Is it possible to move the shifters from downtube
to somewhere closer to the hands? Also, is it possible to make a
changeover to index shifting from the current friction shifting.

Get the Sugino XD600 touring triple. You may have to
replace the front derailleur. A new rear derailleur will
shift much better. That's it. Ride on.

On a college student's budget (note the apostrophe) forget
moving the shifters; expensive , fiddly, and unnecessary.
Suck it up and use the down tube shifters until you have
some experience and more money. Then just spend that money
on the new bicycle that you will want by then; and sell
the perfectly serviceable Nishiki to a poor college
student.

If you really must have indexed shifting, get some
inexpensive indexed down tube shifters, but you will have
to buy the new rear derailleur and replace the cable
housing.

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/shifters.html#downtube

--
Michael Press

Unfortunatly, no. It seems like every bike shop I stop by is just
trying to get me to buy a new bike. That's Ok with me, though, because
I really want to learn how to work on my bikes, and have a substantial
ammount learned already. I figure that this group is as good as a
local bike shop as far as adive goes. Thanks guys!