Removed front derailleur.

[elmore leonard]

i have  Hunter Shadow from years ago, probably the 80's, not a high end bike from Hunters in California.
it has 1.25" tubing. i sent it to a bike shop a year ago because I couldn't remedy it and they did a home made type of repair. the bike would never shift into low. same after they repaired it. no difference. the derailleur is the wrong one as it had no cable stop to attached the sheath or jagwire that fed up from the bottom cable stop.. now to the chase. i removed the front derailleur and the small and large chain rings and now have a 36 tooth middle chain ring left on the same crank assembly. the back free wheel has 5 cogs on it. anyway I will test ride it this weekend and see if it will make a good cruiser. Is there a freewheel that matches a 36 tooth front middle ring that might give better performace then a 5 cog freewheel?

[nfmisso]

(04-20-2015, 08:53 PM)elmore leonard Wrote:  ...... Is there a freewheel that matches a 36 tooth front middle ring that might give better performace then a 5 cog freewheel?

Better performance in what way?  What are the cogs on the current freewheel?  What brand is the current freewheel?  How much space is there between the smallest cog of the freewheel and the frame?  How fast do you peddle?

I am a pretty slow peddler, and if going to a single ring at the front, probably would have moved the big ring to the center.  

If there is a lot of space between the little cog on the freewheel and the frame, you might be able to fit a 6 or 7 speed freewheel.

Personally, I would fit a front derailleur that works, using Origin 8 cable stops and under BB cable guide as required.

[elmore leonard]

(04-21-2015, 11:18 AM)nfmisso Wrote:  

(04-20-2015, 08:53 PM)elmore leonard Wrote:  ...... Is there a freewheel that matches a 36 tooth front middle ring that might give better performace then a 5 cog freewheel?

Better performance in what way?  What are the cogs on the current freewheel?  What brand is the current freewheel?  How much space is there between the smallest cog of the freewheel and the frame?  How fast do you peddle?

I am a pretty slow peddler, and if going to a single ring at the front, probably would have moved the big ring to the center.  

If there is a lot of space between the little cog on the freewheel and the frame, you might be able to fit a 6 or 7 speed freewheel.

Personally, I would fit a front derailleur that works, using Origin 8 cable stops and under BB cable guide as required.

Thanks Nigel, I just got off the golf course and will look tomorrow to see if I can move the large chain ring into the middle. But from memory the fastener design is not the same as fpr the middle chain ring. I like the ride right now on the middle chain ring and the second high gear. I was looking for a freewheel with a better selection of high gears (smaller cogs) as I ride on the dike and roads around here which are basically flat lands.

[elmore leonard]

(04-21-2015, 11:18 AM)nfmisso Wrote:  

(04-20-2015, 08:53 PM)elmore leonard Wrote:  ...... Is there a freewheel that matches a 36 tooth front middle ring that might give better performace then a 5 cog freewheel?

Better performance in what way?  What are the cogs on the current freewheel?  What brand is the current freewheel?  How much space is there between the smallest cog of the freewheel and the frame?  How fast do you peddle?

I am a pretty slow peddler, and if going to a single ring at the front, probably would have moved the big ring to the center.  

If there is a lot of space between the little cog on the freewheel and the frame, you might be able to fit a 6 or 7 speed freewheel.

Personally, I would fit a front derailleur that works, using Origin 8 cable stops and under BB cable guide as required.

Thanks for the idea Nigel. I was able to install the 46 tooth large chain ring into the middle chain ring position. Serviced the bottom bracket as well. Here are 4 pictures. 

[1FJEF]

Nigel has been a huge help to me in the past with  front chain ring & crank set issues, but I don't have his power, so I would like the 36T front with a standard 14-28T freewheel. If it had a cassette I'd go to a 25T as the largest rear cog.
My daily rider is a 43lb cruiser with upgraded wheels & drive train.
 With the rear 12-28T cassette I've tried 44, 42 & 40 teeth in the front and have really enjoyed every reduction. Your bike looks great, I think I'd change the tires!

[nfmisso]

My commuters are geared:

• PDG 70: 48-36-26 with 12-28 8 speed with 40-559 tires.
• World Tourist: 50-38-28 with 14-32 8 speed with 37-622 tires
  

Both are custom cassettes.

I do not use the granny ring on my commute, and use the middle ring only on one short steep grade.

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(04-21-2015, 06:20 PM)elmore leonard Wrote:  

There is something wrong with the RD in the above picture.

[DaveM]

There is something wrong with the RD in the above picture.


Chain's too short

[elmore leonard]

(04-21-2015, 11:11 PM)DaveM Wrote:  There is something wrong with the RD in the above picture.


Chain's too short

That is possible. The picture shows it on the largest rear wheel cog. I may have to add a few links into it as it is a new chain.

[1FJEF]

(04-21-2015, 11:15 PM)elmore leonard Wrote:  

(04-21-2015, 11:11 PM)DaveM Wrote:  There is something wrong with the RD in the above picture.


Chain's too short

 I may have to add a few links into it as it is a new chain.

Another reason to put the 36T back on (lol). I like that bike. I'd raise the quill stem to the upper limit & lessen the upward rake of the handlebars a bit.
As Nigel showed me, it's great fun to experiment with chain rings. Perhaps you could determine the BCD of the crank set & try a 40 or 42T. Chain rings are often inexpensive.

[elmore leonard]

(04-22-2015, 12:07 AM)1FJEF Wrote:  

(04-21-2015, 11:15 PM)elmore leonard Wrote:  

(04-21-2015, 11:11 PM)DaveM Wrote:  There is something wrong with the RD in the above picture.


Chain's too short

 I may have to add a few links into it as it is a new chain.

Another reason to put the 36T back on (lol).

That is a option Dave as the chain rings are easily swapped out. I will ride it later in the week and go from there. How many chain links do you think I need to add back in to get the chain length right?

[DaveM]

Quote:That is a option Dave as the chain rings are easily swapped out. I will ride it later in the week and go from there. How many chain links do you think I need to add back in to get the chain length right?

There's a couple ways to measure for chain length. I prefer to:
- Put the chain on the smallest cog/chainring
- make the chain as long as you can but where it won't rub on the bottom of the derailleur cage.

[nfmisso]

Sorry, I do not believe that the chain is too short.  If the chain was too short, the RD's arm would be pointing way forwards, not downwards as it is.

The RD housing (parallelogram) should be horizontal to pointing downwards, not upwards like it is in the picture.  This could be caused by a spring problem in the RD, or the RD was not mounted correctly, so that the "B" screw or equivalent feature is not engaging properly.

Regarding chain length, I follow the method Shimano publishes: large - large without derailleur plus one inch.  That has worked well for me.  Note, I only use long cage RDs.

[DaveM]

Maybe. I usually think of the parallelogram pointing down about 45 deg or horizontal on an older style derailleur like this. Looks to me like it is pulled so far forwards it is now pointing up at 45. But the picture's not great so YMMV. Something definitely looks off.

[nfmisso]

The RD is a Suntour VGT (or cousin), which is long cage.  The slant parallelogram should be pointing slightly below horizontal.

[elmore leonard]

(04-22-2015, 04:03 PM)nfmisso Wrote:  The RD is a Suntour VGT (or cousin), which is long cage.  The slant parallelogram should be pointing slightly below horizontal.

it turned out the spring in the rear derailleur was broken and the spring holder was cracked. I put a new Shimano derailleur on it and new chain. It's raining today so I wasn't able to test ride it but it shifts beautifully on the bike stand and now for the first time I can back peddle without the chain falling off and getting stuck.

[elmore leonard]

I did my test ride and the 5 speed set up is good. I really wonder now why mountain bikes really need more then 5 speeds after this conversion. The high gear is still the same and the low gear is very low and could manage any hill. Now the bike can be very easily maintained. Well worth the time. Thanks for all the free advice guys.

[DaveM]

(04-24-2015, 01:56 PM)elmore leonard Wrote:  it turned out the spring in the rear derailleur was broken and the spring holder was cracked

@nfmisso - well there you go

[nfmisso]

(04-24-2015, 03:18 PM)DaveM Wrote:  

(04-24-2015, 01:56 PM)elmore leonard Wrote:  it turned out the spring in the rear derailleur was broken and the spring holder was cracked

@nfmisso - well there you go

thank you   I know a little about the classic Suntour RDs

[elmore leonard]

(04-24-2015, 04:50 PM)nfmisso Wrote:  

(04-24-2015, 03:18 PM)DaveM Wrote:  

(04-24-2015, 01:56 PM)elmore leonard Wrote:  it turned out the spring in the rear derailleur was broken and the spring holder was cracked

@nfmisso - well there you go

thank you   I know a little about the classic Suntour RDs

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(04-24-2015, 05:06 PM)elmore leonard Wrote:  

(04-24-2015, 04:50 PM)nfmisso Wrote:  

(04-24-2015, 03:18 PM)DaveM Wrote:  

(04-24-2015, 01:56 PM)elmore leonard Wrote:  it turned out the spring in the rear derailleur was broken and the spring holder was cracked

@nfmisso - well there you go

thank you   I know a little about the classic Suntour RDs

The bike shop said it was not worth repairing. On a side note I wish more bikes had these style of fenders. There are no stays down to the wheel nuts and the fenders are fasten tight. The front fender fastens both to the front and back of the fork and the rear fastens to the frame at the bottom and at the top. Real nice set up.

[nfmisso]

(04-24-2015, 05:06 PM)elmore leonard Wrote:  The bike shop said it was not worth repairing. ...

Total BS  !!  They just don't have the skills required to take care of a classic RD. It is just like you would not take your Porsche to a Yugo mechanic. If you do not want it, please send it to me.

(04-24-2015, 05:06 PM)elmore leonard Wrote:  .... On a side note I wish more bikes had these style of fenders. There are no stays down to the wheel nuts and the fenders are fasten tight. The front fender fastens both to the front and back of the fork and the rear fastens to the frame at the bottom and at the top. ...

The reason you do not see this style of fenders is because they are not effective. To keep splash off your shoes and cranks, the back of the front fender needs to go as close to the ground as practical. To keep spray off riders behind, the back of rear fender needs to go down to axle level.