I have an old (1997) Vision R-85 recumbent tandem that is my wife's and my pride and joy. We ride it about 2000 miles a year. Recently I replaced the chains, which had stretched considerably, and not surprisingly I realized the freewheel is also worn and in need of replacement. The bike has beautiful and rugged Phil Wood hubs with a 7-speed threaded freewheel, currently a Sachs 12-28, which is no longer made. The only 12-tooth 7-speed replacement I can find is a 12-19 racing model, not something that would ever be used on a recumbent tandem. I can find 13-28 replacements, but I really don't want to give up the 12-tooth cog, which is extremely useful when powered by two riders with a tailwind or on descents.
Is there a source for a 12-28 7-speed threaded freewheel anywhere today?
(05-02-2010, 01:45 PM)BillPierce Wrote: I have an old (1997) Vision R-85 recumbent tandem that is my wife's and my pride and joy. We ride it about 2000 miles a year. Recently I replaced the chains, which had stretched considerably, and not surprisingly I realized the freewheel is also worn and in need of replacement. The bike has beautiful and rugged Phil Wood hubs with a 7-speed threaded freewheel, currently a Sachs 12-28, which is no longer made. The only 12-tooth 7-speed replacement I can find is a 12-19 racing model, not something that would ever be used on a recumbent tandem. I can find 13-28 replacements, but I really don't want to give up the 12-tooth cog, which is extremely useful when powered by two riders with a tailwind or on descents.
Is there a source for a 12-28 7-speed threaded freewheel anywhere today?
Not sure if you are a fan of ebay but I did find this for you...
http://sporting-goods.shop.ebay.com/Cassettes-Freewheels-/42328/i.html?_kw=12&_kw=28&_kw=7&_kw=speed
if that is not what you need please come back and let us know.
Good maintenance to your Bike, can make it like the wheels are, true and smooth!
Perhaps I have missed something, but aren't the freewheels in the link you supplied from eBay all cassette models? I am in need of a threaded freewheel, unless there is some way (I can't imagine this) to adapt a Phil Wood threaded hub for a cassette.
Oh noooo, I am so sorry!! I will look again got mixed up with freewheel and freehub lol.
Good maintenance to your Bike, can make it like the wheels are, true and smooth!
Ok here is one BUT the price is outrageous!!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310207289173
Keep trying google is all I can say, sorry not able to find another one
Good maintenance to your Bike, can make it like the wheels are, true and smooth!
Wow, Bill, your're right; the price for the Suntour Winner 12-28 freewheel you found on eBay is absolutely outrageous. No one in their right mind would pay that much. I'll bet they never sell it.
And George, I'm not going to change to a 14-28 freewheel. Giving up the "road gear" on a tandem is a major loss. As it is, we can sometimes out-spin the 12-28 with a good tailwind.
I've already visited Sheldon Brown's site, which is my go-to spot for obscure bike issues.
10-4 , I do not consider that a major change. However youse got to be some spinners if you out -spin the 12T.
The small freewheel cog may be loose with a spacer under it, perhaps you can buy a 12T cog and replace the 14T.
Ever consider going to bigger cog in the front? So you do not out-spin.
Never Give Up!!!
I did find a Suntour Winner 7-speed 12-30 freewheel at Loose Screws for $60, still a little expensive but within the realm of possibility. I'll have to see how my front dérailleur would handle the granny combination of 28-30.
Which leads to another thought. I've got an old Suntour Winner body and 7-speed spacers in my parts bin, along with a few cogs. Is anyone still selling Suntour Winner cogs? Back in the day (of course we're talking 25 years ago) they were really common, and any good shop had a cog board. I could (and did) custom-build any reasonable gear combination.
George, I've already got a 54-tooth chainring, as big as the front dérailleur can handle. If you don't think it's possible to out-spin a 54-12 combination you're not a tandem rider, especially a recumbent. They're no fun to climb, but on flat ground with a tailwind they're unstoppable; 33-34 mph is not uncommon. On my single recumbent I've got a 9-speed cassette (11-32) with a 53-11 road gear. Now that's a combination I don't often out-spin, but two strong riders on a tandem would give it a run for its money.
Thats interesting. I did some googling for 12-28 cause its Sunday and found your post on another site too. :-) I am always looking for stuff thats no longer made. Just found out my favorite motorcycle grips were NLA boo hoo. Glad you got a possibility.
Ye if you got 54 front thats BIG. I just got some 38T from a tendon to replace my center chain ring. Funny that one wore out but the rest chain and all other cogs were fine. Could be a bad steel batch, and that one gets used the most
Recumbent eh, got photos? BTW where are you? Not in bio.
Never Give Up!!!
George, I'm in Burlington, ON, sort of between Toronto and Niagara Falls, but I lived most of my life in the US (mostly Michigan, Iowa and Illinois, but also seven other states at various times). I've been biking halfway seriously since 1972, so that makes me an old fart for sure. I call it the yin for the yang of my other hobby, brewing beer.
I bought the tandem used in 2003; it was six years old then but very well maintained. My wife and I have put just shy of 12,000 miles on it. I'm not so old school that I wouldn't consider new equipment, but it gets expensive. I don't want to have to replace my bulletproof Phil Wood hubs, which is what would be required if I changed to a cassette. So by necessity I have to be a scrounger of old stuff. Furthermore, there's something to be said for the tried and true when you finally get everything tricked out just the way you like it.
I don't have any good digital photos of the recumbent tandem. I guess I'll have to rectify that.
Hi Bill
I thought only Californians had reclining bikes and two up yet. Cool, better be nice to your partner.
Ye I been biking since 1968 motor kind , always had pedal pushers to supplement my weight training since I was kid.
Just went through my 1992 USA Schwinn MTB. Ye, I prefer the old stuff not made all over Asia. My wife calls me el grouchy when I see all the China stuff.
Never give up exercise.
Says I with my favorite Becks Beer in hand. :-)
Never Give Up!!!
I think the rear dérailleur would handle a 30-tooth cog, but I have doubts about 32.
(05-06-2010, 10:22 PM)BillPierce Wrote: I think the rear dérailleur would handle a 30-tooth cog, but I have doubts about 32.
Do you know the make?
I know you don't want to change but the final option may be to fit a new hub with a freehub. This would open up a lot more options. Even going to 8/9 speed later.
You could possibly get a hub and cassette for the price of a freewheel.
Ride hard or ride home alone!
(05-07-2010, 04:19 PM)DoctorRad Wrote: As far as I know, any long-cage Shimano, SunTour or Sachs / SRAM rear dérailleur will handle a 32-tooth rear cog. Short-cage ones usually will too, but you lose 'total tooth difference', i.e. the total of the largest-minus-smallest number of teeth at both front and rear.
Sorry if I am preaching to the knowledgeable here. Bottom line is, you're unlikely not to be able to run a 32-tooth rear cog unless you have a very unusual rear mech.
Not strictly true.
Road rear dérailleurs, even long cage versions, have a different parallelogram movement to MTB ones. If you use a "road" mech' with a larger sprocket than 28T then the top jockey wheel will probably catch the large sprocket. You have to use an MTB rear dérailleur version.
( talking Shimano here. Don't know about the latest Sram?)
Ride hard or ride home alone!
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