I'm putting a triple crank on an OLD 10-speed (the kind with 5 cogs in rear and 2 chainrings), and moving to a 6-speed hyperglide freewheel. I never use big gears so the 52 or 53 tooth ring is a waste of aluminum; I'll probably use a 45 or 46 as the big ring, with a 38 or 39 middle and 30 small (reconsidering the inner based on recent comment about going smaller at front and getting rid of the big cog in rear).
Are ramps and pins on the rings critical in this setup? Do they just make for smoother shifts, or do they prevent some sort of disaster that is lurking 'tween the rings?
I'm putting a triple crank on an OLD 10-speed (the kind with 5 cogs in rear and 2 chainrings), and moving to a 6-speed hyperglide freewheel. I never use big gears so the 52 or 53 tooth ring is a waste of aluminum; I'll probably use a 45 or 46 as the big ring, with a 38 or 39 middle and 30 small (reconsidering the inner based on recent comment about going smaller at front and getting rid of the big cog in rear).
Are ramps and pins on the rings critical in this setup? Do they just make for smoother shifts, or do they prevent some sort of disaster that is lurking 'tween the rings?
Ramps and pins are only "critical" for front indexing, which is fairly pointless anyway. In fact, when my old thumbshifters died I had to fit STX Rapidfire units to my old Cannondale MTB, which has DX chainrings and front mech, being made before front indexing. Guess what...it works fine. So maybe the ramps and pins aren't "critical" for anything.
I'm putting a triple crank on an OLD 10-speed (the kind with 5 cogs in rear and 2 chainrings), and moving to a 6-speed hyperglide freewheel. I never use big gears so the 52 or 53 tooth ring is a waste of aluminum; I'll probably use a 45 or 46 as the big ring, with a 38 or 39 middle and 30 small (reconsidering the inner based on recent comment about going smaller at front and getting rid of the big cog in rear).
Good plan. A 26 tooth chain wheel will allow you to use a xx->23 set of cogwheels on the rear wheel, thus giving you a more closely spaced set of gears.
Quoted message said:
Are ramps and pins on the rings critical in this setup? Do they just make for smoother shifts, or do they prevent some sort of disaster that is lurking 'tween the rings?
Ramps and pins are OK but not critical. One thing to watch for is the chain falling all the way off the chain wheels onto the bottom bracket when shifting onto the smallest chain ring. Devices to prevent this can be clamped to the down tube.
I'm putting a triple crank on an OLD 10-speed (the kind with 5 cogs in rear and 2 chainrings), and moving to a 6-speed hyperglide freewheel. I never use big gears so the 52 or 53 tooth ring is a waste of aluminum; I'll probably use a 45 or 46 as the big ring, with a 38 or 39 middle and 30 small (reconsidering the inner based on recent comment about going smaller at front and getting rid of the big cog in rear).
48-38-28 was a long time standard and is still in use on "hybrid" bikes should work fine for you. Works great (still) on my old 3x6 mountain bike.
Quoted message said:
Are ramps and pins on the rings critical in this setup? Do they just make for smoother shifts, or do they prevent some sort of disaster that is lurking 'tween the rings?
No, they just make "click and forget" index shifting easier on the mechanism. If you're shifting with friction, and I'm sure you are, it won't make a difference.
I'm putting a triple crank on an OLD 10-speed (the kind with 5 cogs in rear and 2 chainrings), and moving to a 6-speed hyperglide freewheel. I never use big gears so the 52 or 53 tooth ring is a waste of aluminum; I'll probably use a 45 or 46 as the big ring, with a 38 or 39 middle and 30 small (reconsidering the inner based on recent comment about going smaller at front and getting rid of the big cog in rear).
Are ramps and pins on the rings critical in this setup? Do they just make for smoother shifts, or do they prevent some sort of disaster that is lurking 'tween the rings?
Makes for better shifts up the ring and off the ring when under pedal load. If you still move your feet, but take the pedal perssure off, they will shift fine. Remember, once upon a time, long, long ago(like 11 years), no chainrings had pins/ramps and goop on them.
I'm putting a triple crank on an OLD 10-speed (the kind with 5 cogs in rear and 2 chainrings), and moving to a 6-speed hyperglide freewheel. I never use big gears so the 52 or 53 tooth ring is a waste of aluminum; I'll probably use a 45 or 46 as the big ring, with a 38 or 39 middle and 30 small (reconsidering the inner based on recent comment about going smaller at front and getting rid of the big cog in rear).
Are ramps and pins on the rings critical in this setup? Do they just make for smoother shifts, or do they prevent some sort of disaster that is lurking 'tween the rings?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
More or less repeating what others said. Ramps and pins help front shifting. Necessary, no. Nice, yes.
Two possible triple cranks that will more or less come with the chainrings you are after are 1. Nashbar brand triple hybrid crankset with 48-38-28 rings for $75. Requires ISIS bottom bracket for $25 from Nashbar.
The XD300 is the best crank deal in the universe. The rings will last forever, they're smartly sized if you're not racing, and cheap enough (and pretty enough) to buy 3 or 4 as wall art. I ran one with a 5-speed, and later a 7-speed freewheel and a 6/7/8 speed chain, worked great.
