Upgrading Custom Paramount OS....

I have a Paramount OS that was made for me in 1991. The frame is in great
shape. I am trying to understand if it is possible to upgrade to integrated
brake levers/shifters from shifters on the tube. I don't necessarily want
to buy all new Dura stuff, too $$$. My bike has a mixture of Dura-Ace and
Ult.600 with a seven speed cassette. I have been told Shimano makes the
equipment to accommodate the 7 speed cassette, but it is not of the highest
quality components. I think it is called Sora.

I have also been told that it is possible to spread the stays (not
permanently) in the back to accommodate a wheelset that would normally fit a
bike with a 130mm spread and therefore a 10 speed cassette. Mine is spaced
at 125mm. Getting a new wheelset seems the best stratedgy, but does it
really work?

Any thoughts or questions would be great!

Alan

On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 18:36:30 +0000, Alan wrote:

I have a Paramount OS that was made for me in 1991. The frame is in great
shape. I am trying to understand if it is possible to upgrade to integrated
brake levers/shifters from shifters on the tube. I don't necessarily want
to buy all new Dura stuff, too $$$. My bike has a mixture of Dura-Ace and
Ult.600 with a seven speed cassette. I have been told Shimano makes the
equipment to accommodate the 7 speed cassette, but it is not of the highest
quality components. I think it is called Sora.

I'd go with 105 or better, not Sora. The thumb levers are not easy to use
from the drops, so I have heard. You won't regret changing from downtube
shifters.

I have also been told that it is possible to spread the stays (not
permanently) in the back to accommodate a wheelset that would normally
fit a bike with a 130mm spread and therefore a 10 speed cassette. Mine
is spaced at 125mm. Getting a new wheelset seems the best stratedgy,
but does it really work?

Why not spread them permanently? It's a steel frame, it can be done. But
for only 5mm I'd just push the 130mm wheel in there.

You don't need a new "wheelset", you need a rear wheel. Or, if you want
to rebuild it yourself, a rear hub.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President
_`\(,_ | should non no account be allowed to do the job. -- Doug Adams
(_)/ (_) |

Thanks for the quick bounce back.

Will I have to change other components (front/rear derailleur, chain and
rings) to use a thinner chain? Also, is it diffcult to drop the new
wheel/tire in place should I flat out when out riding?

Alan


"David L. Johnson" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 18:36:30 +0000, Alan wrote:

I have a Paramount OS that was made for me in 1991. The frame is in
great
shape. I am trying to understand if it is possible to upgrade to
integrated
brake levers/shifters from shifters on the tube. I don't necessarily
want
to buy all new Dura stuff, too $$$. My bike has a mixture of Dura-Ace
and
Ult.600 with a seven speed cassette. I have been told Shimano makes the
equipment to accommodate the 7 speed cassette, but it is not of the
highest
quality components. I think it is called Sora.

I'd go with 105 or better, not Sora. The thumb levers are not easy to use
from the drops, so I have heard. You won't regret changing from downtube
shifters.

I have also been told that it is possible to spread the stays (not
permanently) in the back to accommodate a wheelset that would normally
fit a bike with a 130mm spread and therefore a 10 speed cassette. Mine
is spaced at 125mm. Getting a new wheelset seems the best stratedgy,
but does it really work?

Why not spread them permanently? It's a steel frame, it can be done. But
for only 5mm I'd just push the 130mm wheel in there.

You don't need a new "wheelset", you need a rear wheel. Or, if you want
to rebuild it yourself, a rear hub.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President
_`\(,_ | should non no account be allowed to do the job. -- Doug Adams
(_)/ (_) |

On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 19:24:25 +0000, Alan wrote:

Thanks for the quick bounce back.

Will I have to change other components (front/rear derailleur, chain and
rings) to use a thinner chain? Also, is it diffcult to drop the new
wheel/tire in place should I flat out when out riding?

I'm not sure about the derailleurs. The front should be OK, but the rear
may or may not be, and it may or may not be able to even shift across a
9 or 10-speed cassette. Best way to find out is to try it. That will
also let you know whether just squeezing the wheel in will make it too
hard to remove (I doubt that, though).

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Do not worry about your difficulties in mathematics, I can
_`\(,_ | assure you that mine are all greater. -- A. Einstein
(_)/ (_) |

Once again, thank you.


"David L. Johnson" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 19:24:25 +0000, Alan wrote:

Thanks for the quick bounce back.

Will I have to change other components (front/rear derailleur, chain and
rings) to use a thinner chain? Also, is it diffcult to drop the new
wheel/tire in place should I flat out when out riding?

I'm not sure about the derailleurs. The front should be OK, but the rear
may or may not be, and it may or may not be able to even shift across a
9 or 10-speed cassette. Best way to find out is to try it. That will
also let you know whether just squeezing the wheel in will make it too
hard to remove (I doubt that, though).

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Do not worry about your difficulties in mathematics, I can
_`\(,_ | assure you that mine are all greater. -- A. Einstein
(_)/ (_) |

On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 19:24:25 GMT, "Alan"
wrote:

Thanks for the quick bounce back.

Will I have to change other components (front/rear derailleur, chain and
rings) to use a thinner chain? Also, is it diffcult to drop the new
wheel/tire in place should I flat out when out riding?

You will need a new chain, but front and rear derailleurs should work,
unless there's some specific Dura Ace incompatibility somewhere (DA, being
the semi-experimental high-end group, sometimes gets stuff that doesn't
get promulgated to lower groups if there's a problem with it. Most of the
rest of Shimano is very nearly mix'n'match.). In many Shimano rear wheels,
you can change out the freehub body to an 8/9/10 speed one, put in a
slightly longer axle, and you wouldn't have to rebuild the wheel. Whether
or not that works with yours depends on exactly what kind of DA/Ult it is
(and I'll have to leave that to the experts once you dig out that
information). Either way, a new rear wheel with Ultegra hub and Open Pro
or Aerohead OC rim and 32 or 36 spokes should cost $150, so might be
worth it.

Pushing a 130 mm rear wheel into a 126 mm set of dropouts takes a bit of
force, but you can try it out and see if it's more than you're willing to
live with. If it's not, a steel frame can be cold-set (or, in other
slightly scarier words, bent) easily to become 130 mm spacing instead of
126. There's a recent thread a bit upwards with one paranoid android who
insists that his steel frame is too fragile to respace and about one or
two dozen experts telling him at length why it's perfectly safe for him --
that'll give you a fairly correct flavour of whether or not it's a good
idea.


Jasper

Alan Wrote:
Once again, thank you.


"David L. Johnson" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 19:24:25 +0000, Alan wrote:

Thanks for the quick bounce back.

Will I have to change other components (front/rear derailleur,
chain and
rings) to use a thinner chain? Also, is it diffcult to drop the
new
wheel/tire in place should I flat out when out riding?

I'm not sure about the derailleurs. The front should be OK, but the
rear
may or may not be, and it may or may not be able to even shift across
a
9 or 10-speed cassette. Best way to find out is to try it. That
will
also let you know whether just squeezing the wheel in will make it
too
hard to remove (I doubt that, though).

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Do not worry about your difficulties in mathematics, I
can
_`\(,_ | assure you that mine are all greater. -- A. Einstein
(_)/ (_) |


http://sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html
&
http://sheldonbrown.com/k7.html
are two articles you should read.


--
daveornee

I put the 7 speed sti shifters on an older bike and they work quite
well. (Much better than I thought they would since they're cheap). You
could also put on an older set of Dura-Ace or Ultegra 8 speed sti
shifters which will work with the 7 speed cassette. These could be
found used easily. Those are the cheaper options than moving to 9 or
10 speed.

Mike

snippage of Alan's Q's

You sure are lucky you don't have a Holdsworth with hardened campy
dropouts - they can't be respaced 'cuz as the crystalline structure of
the steel ages the very act of respacing the rear triangle will induce
a latent failure by which the whole time space continuum will be
destroyed when you try to ride it.

Whew! Sure glad we're all safe.

App

Alan wrote:
I have a Paramount OS that was made for me in 1991. The frame is in great
shape. I am trying to understand if it is possible to upgrade to integrated
brake levers/shifters from shifters on the tube. I don't necessarily want
to buy all new Dura stuff, too $$$. My bike has a mixture of Dura-Ace and
Ult.600 with a seven speed cassette. I have been told Shimano makes the
equipment to accommodate the 7 speed cassette, but it is not of the highest
quality components. I think it is called Sora.

I have also been told that it is possible to spread the stays (not
permanently) in the back to accommodate a wheelset that would normally fit a
bike with a 130mm spread and therefore a 10 speed cassette. Mine is spaced
at 125mm. Getting a new wheelset seems the best stratedgy, but does it
really work?

Yes, a competent bike shop can 'coldset' your rear triangle to 130mm
and yes you can upgrade to shimano(not best) or to Campagnolo lever
mou8nted shifting.


Any thoughts or questions would be great!

Alan