I've just started commuting again, measured my chain wear to discover it's off scale 🙁I doubt a new chain will not slip). So, I need to replace my 7 speed (8 speed spacing) freewheel. A phone call to Highpath informed me that my Sachs freewheel is now a greasy paperweight.
My frame has been coldset from 126 to 130 several years ago (30yr old C Butler) & have been told fitting a 135mm will probably be OK but will confirm this, so what would people recommend? My current is 12 13 15 17 19 22 26, XTR rear & 50 38 front with Gripshift 7 speed on riser bars. 12 to 28 would be ideal but the ratios available for screw-on is very limited. Do I cut my losses & go for a shimano 9 hub speed & new Gripshift? The front rings are neither new or that worn so I /could/ start over. Highpath can supply most combination of ratios to fit Shimano cassettes.
My tentative choice is 36 hole XT135 cassette hub, db on Open Pros - 9 speed 12 to 27 Ultegra cassette unless someone has an alternative.
I've just started commuting again, measured my chain wear to discover it's off scale 🙁I doubt a new chain will not slip). So, I need to replace my 7 speed (8 speed spacing) freewheel. A phone call to Highpath informed me that my Sachs freewheel is now a greasy paperweight.
I would carry on riding it until it starts to give problems. Spa Cycles (spacycles.com, but best to 'phone) have some 5/6/7/8-speed Shimano freewheels in limited ratios (14-24 or 14-28 mostly)
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My tentative choice is 36 hole XT135 cassette hub, db on Open Pros - 9 speed 12 to 27 Ultegra cassette unless someone has an alternative.
That's what I use (or will when my MA2 rim wears out). XT hubs are bomb-proof.
One thing to note is that if you go 9-speed, the chain/cassette/chainrings will wear out a fair bit quicker than 7-speed, and cost more into the bargain. On the other hand, with 9-speed you'll have more choice, and a generally better quality of component (ie shifters). Your choice.
I've just started commuting again, measured my chain wear to discover it's off scale 🙁I doubt a new chain will not slip). So, I need to replace my 7 speed (8 speed spacing) freewheel. A phone call to Highpath informed me that my Sachs freewheel is now a greasy paperweight.
I would carry on riding it until it starts to give problems. Spa Cycles (spacycles.com, but best to 'phone) have some 5/6/7/8-speed Shimano freewheels in limited ratios (14-24 or 14-28 mostly)
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Quoted message said:
My tentative choice is 36 hole XT135 cassette hub, db on Open Pros - 9 speed 12 to 27 Ultegra cassette unless someone has an alternative.
That's what I use (or will when my MA2 rim wears out). XT hubs are bomb-proof.
One thing to note is that if you go 9-speed, the chain/cassette/chainrings will wear out a fair bit quicker than 7-speed, and cost more into the bargain. On the other hand, with 9-speed you'll have more choice, and a generally better quality of component (ie shifters). Your choice.
Andrew
My MTB is 8sp 11-28. The one thing that stopped me going the freehub route was 130mm spacing but I'm told going another 5mm is unlikely to be a problem. I could go 8sp but will wear out 8 sprockets probably just as fast as 9 which is the new standard. The seals on XT hubs have proven themselves over the years & this is a commuting bike not a race machine where good sealing is worth a small amount of weight. I hope that 9sp Gripshift is as faultless as my 7sp.
limited. Do I cut my losses & go for a shimano 9 hub speed & new Gripshift? The front rings are neither new or that worn so I /could/ start over. Highpath can supply most combination of ratios to fit Shimano cassettes.
My tentative choice is 36 hole XT135 cassette hub, db on Open Pros - 9 speed 12 to 27 Ultegra cassette unless someone has an alternative.
I don't quite understand why you can't just replace the freewheel.They can be hard to get off but the shop can always do it by destroying the old freewheel and using a bench vice.I have had various makes down the years and they all seem to fit the same thread on the hubs.Settle cycles for example seem to have a wide choice available. As previously mentioned the older 6/7/8 speeds are tougher and cheaper than cassettes with freehubs.Ideal for the hard work of commuting, just not so easy to swap in a hurry.
One thing to note is that if you go 9-speed, the chain/cassette/chainrings will wear out a fair bit quicker than 7-speed, and cost more into the bargain.
[...]
Why is 9-speed more expensive, and why does it all wear quicker?
One thing to note is that if you go 9-speed, the chain/cassette/chainrings will wear out a fair bit quicker than 7-speed, and cost more into the bargain.
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Why is 9-speed more expensive
It isn't necessarily.
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and why does it all wear quicker?
Chain and sprockets are narrower but the difference is not enough to put me off 9-speed!
limited. Do I cut my losses & go for a shimano 9 hub speed & new Gripshift? The front rings are neither new or that worn so I /could/ start over. Highpath can supply most combination of ratios to fit Shimano cassettes.
My tentative choice is 36 hole XT135 cassette hub, db on Open Pros - 9 speed 12 to 27 Ultegra cassette unless someone has an alternative.
I don't quite understand why you can't just replace the freewheel.They can be hard to get off but the shop can always do it by destroying the old freewheel and using a bench vice.I have had various makes down the years and they all seem to fit the same thread on the hubs.Settle cycles for example seem to have a wide choice available. As previously mentioned the older 6/7/8 speeds are tougher and cheaper than cassettes with freehubs.Ideal for the hard work of commuting, just not so easy to swap in a hurry.
Terry
I would prefer to renovate my existing Sach - if I can get indexing sprockets, I don't anticipate having much trouble getting it apart. Screw-on freewheels are not only virtually obsolete but the bearing placement is poor & makes for a weaker rear wheel. I snapped the axle twice in my previous hub (Campag CDA) & only discovered so when undoing the quick release! I'll try Settle & Spa - St JS have run out. I'll have to go the cassette hub route at some point tho. The problem is that Sach stopped production in 2001, I've been told.
"Andrew Sweetman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
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That's what I use (or will when my MA2 rim wears out). XT hubs are bomb-proof.
Tell that to ours - blew the freewheel mechanism up last week after not very much use at all. Ok, there are two of us on quite low gears, but still...
Annoying prices too - about 35sq for the hub, which is jolly reasonable, but 30 for the replacement freehub bit, which isn't.
Still, for a solo I'd definitely consider it.
cheers, clive
I would investigate Hope hubs for a tandem, unless something specific is available for the loading encountered. Hope hubs have good pawl design that is user serviceable tho the sealed bearings are more difficult to do without a press.
"Paul Busby" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
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I would investigate Hope hubs for a tandem, unless something specific is available for the loading encountered. Hope hubs have good pawl design that is user serviceable tho the sealed bearings are more difficult to do without a press.
They're my next look, mainly because they're built about 20 miles away.
However I know of several people who've broken them on their MTB Tandems (hello James). One US retailer stopped selling them because he had so many rebuilds.
So I'll be checking how much they're prepared to warranty them...
"Andrew Sweetman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
That's what I use (or will when my MA2 rim wears out). XT hubs are bomb-proof.
Tell that to ours - blew the freewheel mechanism up last week after not very much use at all. Ok, there are two of us on quite low gears, but still...
Annoying prices too - about 35sq for the hub, which is jolly reasonable, but 30 for the replacement freehub bit, which isn't.
Still, for a solo I'd definitely consider it.
Just for the record: you have XT hubs for solo bikes and an XT tandem hubset. Which is *not* an XT hub with a longer axle but a different thing altogether. AFAIK, the only part the tandem hub shares with its MTB brother is the freehub bit.
I would prefer to renovate my existing Sach - if I can get indexing sprockets, I don't anticipate having much trouble getting it apart.
There are no such things as indexing sprockets. The indexing is in the shift lever. And I know from experience that an index shift lever can cooperate very nicely with straight old-fashioned sprockets.
"Paul Busby" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
I would investigate Hope hubs for a tandem, unless something specific is available for the loading encountered. Hope hubs have good pawl design that is user serviceable tho the sealed bearings are more difficult to do without a press.
They're my next look, mainly because they're built about 20 miles away.
However I know of several people who've broken them on their MTB Tandems (hello James). One US retailer stopped selling them because he had so many rebuilds.
It may prevent you from taking a holiday, but to rear hub problems on a tandem there is a solution: a Chris King hub. We managed to destroy two WTB (Wilderness Trail Bikes) hubs and finally bought - no, invested in - a CK hub. And after three years it's still in one piece. Our riding includes loaded touring (just back from France up to 19%!) and quite some off-roading. Really, a Chris King hub is *the* remedy to tandem rear hub failures.
I would prefer to renovate my existing Sach - if I can get indexing sprockets, I don't anticipate having much trouble getting it apart.
There are no such things as indexing sprockets. The indexing is in the shift lever. And I know from experience that an index shift lever can cooperate very nicely with straight old-fashioned sprockets.
Some freewheels don't have the right spacing for index systems.
"Marten Hoffmann" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Just for the record: you have XT hubs for solo bikes and an XT tandem hubset. Which is *not* an XT hub with a longer axle but a different thing altogether. AFAIK, the only part the tandem hub shares with its MTB brother is the freehub bit.
Yes, pity they couldn't make that stronger too. Our broken one is a solo bike one, and initially I thought I may be able to get a tandem freehub fitted. But no, they're the same...
"Marten Hoffmann" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Just for the record: you have XT hubs for solo bikes and an XT tandem hubset. Which is *not* an XT hub with a longer axle but a different thing altogether. AFAIK, the only part the tandem hub shares with its MTB brother is the freehub bit.
Yes, pity they couldn't make that stronger too. Our broken one is a solo bike one, and initially I thought I may be able to get a tandem freehub fitted. But no, they're the same...
cheers, clive
Especially in tandem hubs, there's always a weakest link. WTB reckons the easily replaced part (the standard Shimano freehub - available all over the world) should be the weakest part. Phil Wood has the FSC system. Where FSC stands for Field Servicable Cassette. Their "weakest link" are the pawls which can very easily be replaced. On a big tour you take along a set of pawls and you're prepared.
I would prefer to renovate my existing Sach - if I can get indexing sprockets, I don't anticipate having much trouble getting it apart.
There are no such things as indexing sprockets. The indexing is in the shift lever. And I know from experience that an index shift lever can cooperate very nicely with straight old-fashioned sprockets.
Some freewheels don't have the right spacing for index systems.
I would prefer to renovate my existing Sach - if I can get indexing sprockets, I don't anticipate having much trouble getting it apart.
There are no such things as indexing sprockets. The indexing is in the shift lever. And I know from experience that an index shift lever can cooperate very nicely with straight old-fashioned sprockets.
My basis for saying so was experience before using Sach. Can't remember if it was a Suntour or other make but it wouldn't index. I was told it was the tooth design, so presume it wasn't the spacing that was wrong. There's a high degree of probability that all existing sprockets will index well enough due to tooth design alone rather than also having profiled ramps as with Shimano.
MTBs went through a fad of not using Shimano & a whole cottage industry sprang into being to service this with rear mechs, hubs that were in production for months & Ti cassette sprockets among the many. Few worked as well as Shimano & many people remained very vague when quizzed on performance or gear shifting. When Shimano brought out the amazingly effect & superbly elegant V brake; they were back in fashion when the penny dropped that everything else worked well & nearly perfectly together. Fortunately, company's like Hope, X-Lite, Pace - to name some British one's are doing well still where many haven't.
