Rejuvenate an old road bike

On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 18:03:22 -0700, Steve Kirkendall
wrote:

I have an old Centurion Lemans road bike which I love. The frame and
most of the fittings are in great shape but the wheels are worn out,
so I'm looking to replace them. This bike uses Shimano Exage components,
including downtube shifters and a 6-speed freewheel.

Nobody sells 6-speed freewheels anymore. However, I noticed that
Nashbar has 8-speed Exage downtube shifters (and they're on sale!)
so I was thinking of getting the following:

Shimano Exage 8-spd downtube shifters (for steel frame)
Mavic CXP2/Shimano 2200 wheelset
SRAM R 8-speed road cassette (12x26)

All together, the cost would be about $145. Can you think of any
reason why this wouldn't work?

Can I continue to use my old rear derailleur? What about my old front
derailleur and crankset? Do I need to replace the chain too? These
parts are still in good shape, so compatibility is the issue here.

Is there anything else I'm forgetting?

This looks easy -- Is it? Will I need any specialized tools? Actually,
as far as I can tell, I won't need any tools at all which seems unreal.

Thanks!

Dear Steve,

Others have mentioned that Sheldon Brown sells six-speed
freewheels.

Lord knows whether these others would fit, but . . .

So does BikeToolsEtc (Suntour):

http://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cg...m_i d=SU-HG60

And so does Loose Screws (Shimano):

http://www.loosescrews.com/index.cgi...id=16363219920

http://www.loosescrews.com/index.cgi...id=16363219920

And so does Andrew Muzi (Suntour):

http://www.yellowjersey.org/stfw.html

Good luck,

Carl Fogel

Bill Bradley wrote:
Steve Kirkendall wrote:
I have an old Centurion Lemans road bike which I love. The frame and
most of the fittings are in great shape but the wheels are worn out,
so I'm looking to replace them. This bike uses Shimano Exage components,
including downtube shifters and a 6-speed freewheel.

Have the same one myself. Do you still have the Biopace 52/42 on the
front?

Yeah. I still haven't decided whether I like those weird oblong
chainrings or not... but after all these years, it's still in
great shape, so I'm sticking with it for at least another year.

I was thinking of getting the Megarange freewheel (a few too many hills
around here) and switching the 42 for a 28 (did I mention hills?) The
Exage set on mine at least is 11x26 so a 12x26 cassette would actually
have less range than the existing one.

My current freewheel is 12x26.

Actually, that's an interesting idea. I could get an 11x28 or 11x32
for the same money. I'm a bit worried that the rear derailleur might
not have enough clearance for the big gear though. It's pretty tight
even with the 26-tooth ring.

Bill Bradley wrote:
Steve Kirkendall wrote:
I have an old Centurion Lemans road bike which I love. The frame and
most of the fittings are in great shape but the wheels are worn out,
so I'm looking to replace them. This bike uses Shimano Exage components,
including downtube shifters and a 6-speed freewheel.

Have the same one myself. Do you still have the Biopace 52/42 on the
front?

Yeah. I still haven't decided whether I like those weird oblong
chainrings or not... but after all these years, it's still in
great shape, so I'm sticking with it for at least another year.

I was thinking of getting the Megarange freewheel (a few too many hills
around here) and switching the 42 for a 28 (did I mention hills?) The
Exage set on mine at least is 11x26 so a 12x26 cassette would actually
have less range than the existing one.

My current freewheel is 12x26.

Actually, that's an interesting idea. I could get an 11x28 or 11x32
for the same money. I'm a bit worried that the rear derailleur might
not have enough clearance for the big gear though. It's pretty tight
even with the 26-tooth ring.

A Muzi wrote:
Steve Kirkendall wrote:

I have an old Centurion Lemans road bike which I love. The frame and
most of the fittings are in great shape but the wheels are worn out,
so I'm looking to replace them. This bike uses Shimano Exage components,
including downtube shifters and a 6-speed freewheel.

Nobody sells 6-speed freewheels anymore. However, I noticed that
Nashbar has 8-speed Exage downtube shifters (and they're on sale!)
so I was thinking of getting the following:

Shimano Exage 8-spd downtube shifters (for steel frame)
Mavic CXP2/Shimano 2200 wheelset
SRAM R 8-speed road cassette (12x26)

Going to eight is committing to another dying format.

I realize that. But my bearings are shot, and my rim walls are
seriously worn from braking. I need new wheels. So my choice is
to either get a wheelset that uses an obsolete freewheel, or get
a modern freehub/cassette wheelset and use whatever other parts
work best to bridge the technology gap. The freehub/cassette path
sounds better to me.

If 6-speed cassettes existed, I'd probably use one. But they don't.
8-speed seems like the easiest alternative, even if it is a dying
format.

Yes get a chain with your new cassette. Your other parts
should go OK, assuming they are not overly worn.

Excellent! Thanks for the advice.

A Muzi wrote:
Steve Kirkendall wrote:

I have an old Centurion Lemans road bike which I love. The frame and
most of the fittings are in great shape but the wheels are worn out,
so I'm looking to replace them. This bike uses Shimano Exage components,
including downtube shifters and a 6-speed freewheel.

Nobody sells 6-speed freewheels anymore. However, I noticed that
Nashbar has 8-speed Exage downtube shifters (and they're on sale!)
so I was thinking of getting the following:

Shimano Exage 8-spd downtube shifters (for steel frame)
Mavic CXP2/Shimano 2200 wheelset
SRAM R 8-speed road cassette (12x26)

Going to eight is committing to another dying format.

I realize that. But my bearings are shot, and my rim walls are
seriously worn from braking. I need new wheels. So my choice is
to either get a wheelset that uses an obsolete freewheel, or get
a modern freehub/cassette wheelset and use whatever other parts
work best to bridge the technology gap. The freehub/cassette path
sounds better to me.

If 6-speed cassettes existed, I'd probably use one. But they don't.
8-speed seems like the easiest alternative, even if it is a dying
format.

Yes get a chain with your new cassette. Your other parts
should go OK, assuming they are not overly worn.

Excellent! Thanks for the advice.

It may not make perfect economic sense, but I'd say keep and upgrade the bike
if you like the frame so much.

Personally I'd keep the downtube shifters, spread the rear triangle to 130 mm
(see how-to info on Sheldown Brown's website) and go with 8 speed. That gives
you a big functional advantage over 6 speeds. Your Exage rear derailleur
should work fine after you readjust the inner and outer stops. Get a new chain
as a worn or "stretched" chain can accelerate wear on your new cassette. Also
consider clipless pedals (SPD) if you don't have them already.




Mike Yankee

(Address is munged to thwart spammers.
To reply, delete everything after "com".)

It may not make perfect economic sense, but I'd say keep and upgrade the bike
if you like the frame so much.

Personally I'd keep the downtube shifters, spread the rear triangle to 130 mm
(see how-to info on Sheldown Brown's website) and go with 8 speed. That gives
you a big functional advantage over 6 speeds. Your Exage rear derailleur
should work fine after you readjust the inner and outer stops. Get a new chain
as a worn or "stretched" chain can accelerate wear on your new cassette. Also
consider clipless pedals (SPD) if you don't have them already.




Mike Yankee

(Address is munged to thwart spammers.
To reply, delete everything after "com".)

On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 18:03:22 -0700, Steve Kirkendall wrote:

I have an old Centurion Lemans road bike which I love. The frame and
most of the fittings are in great shape but the wheels are worn out,
so I'm looking to replace them.

What do you mean by the wheels being "worn out"? Hubs last practically
forever. Rims wear out, but rims are cheap. Spokes will last through
several rims if you get the same size.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | You will say Christ saith this and the apostles say this; but
_`\(,_ | what canst thou say? -- George Fox.
(_)/ (_) |

On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 18:03:22 -0700, Steve Kirkendall wrote:

I have an old Centurion Lemans road bike which I love. The frame and
most of the fittings are in great shape but the wheels are worn out,
so I'm looking to replace them.

What do you mean by the wheels being "worn out"? Hubs last practically
forever. Rims wear out, but rims are cheap. Spokes will last through
several rims if you get the same size.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | You will say Christ saith this and the apostles say this; but
_`\(,_ | what canst thou say? -- George Fox.
(_)/ (_) |

(Robin Hubert) wrote:
The intellegent approach would be to measure the reach on the current
setup and see if it'd transfer.

Can you explain how this is done?

In comparing the reach specifications of different brakes, I've no
idea how to relate these numbers to my current frames.



-- Dave
==============================================
"It is impossible, or not easy, to do noble acts
without the proper equipment."
Aristotle, Politics, 1323a-b, trans Jowett
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