06-27-2010, 06:10 PM
My Raleigh International had a 1971 era racing configuration and living in a very hilly area it was eating my up legs. So I had the front Campi 44-52 swapped out for a Sram 34-50 at the suggestion of a local shop for more climbing fun.
Turns out that they had to put on a shorter chain which in turn maxes out the old Record derailleur at about the fourth gear and would positively tear it off at the fifth. Their solution to barely avoid this was to move the rear wheel forward for more chain and call it good(resulting in a pretty limp chain in my low gear).
Though I know that one would never really ride in this chain straining big-big gear combination, it seems perilously close to a disaster waiting to happen. Being a newbie here and to the world of bike mechanicals, it has been suggested by a friend that I replace my rear derailleur with a Shimano Tiagra long cage, replace the chain, and the free wheel for additional climbing gears.
It is all starting to make sense but is this good advice considering the components and is it realistic to tackle this as first time bike project? I really think your tutorials are the cat's pajamas and would feel comfortable following your advice.
Turns out that they had to put on a shorter chain which in turn maxes out the old Record derailleur at about the fourth gear and would positively tear it off at the fifth. Their solution to barely avoid this was to move the rear wheel forward for more chain and call it good(resulting in a pretty limp chain in my low gear).
Though I know that one would never really ride in this chain straining big-big gear combination, it seems perilously close to a disaster waiting to happen. Being a newbie here and to the world of bike mechanicals, it has been suggested by a friend that I replace my rear derailleur with a Shimano Tiagra long cage, replace the chain, and the free wheel for additional climbing gears.
It is all starting to make sense but is this good advice considering the components and is it realistic to tackle this as first time bike project? I really think your tutorials are the cat's pajamas and would feel comfortable following your advice.