RE: [CR]New IRD Freewheels for classic bikes

(Example: Production Builders:Cinelli:Laser)

Date: Sun, 01 Oct 2006 17:09:36 -0400
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
From: "John Betmanis" <johnb@oxford.net>
Subject: RE: [CR]New IRD Freewheels for classic bikes
In-Reply-To: <002501c6e598$2b03b210$8a5dc647@DEATHBOX>
References: <200610011729.k91HTjlb006068@cascade.cs.ubc.ca>


At 01:28 PM 10/1/06 -0700, Tom Martin wrote:
>Why NOT shimano??
>
>Their spacing is standardized from one cog to the next, the cogs themselves
>are the same thickness, they are more reliable than anything made in China.
>They have been made in singapore for over 15 years

When the 13-21 Suntour freewheel on my Nishiki Ultimate got too tough for my ageing legs, I picked up a Shimano 14-28 6-speed one at the LBS. I never missed the 13-T cog, but there was a disconcerting gap here and there in this wide ratio block. So I replaced it with a 7-speed 14-28 Shimano from Sheldon, closing up the ratios somewhat. The first Shimano was made in China and the second in Singapore, but I saw no difference in quality. The cogs have similar ramps and twists and odd shapes and shift perfectly with the Nuovo Record RD and SRAM PC58 chain. (However, going from 6-speed to this 7-speed with 126mm spacing is not plug-and-play. I had to add about 1mm of washers behind the locknut on the RH side to keep the chain away from the dropout and re-adjust the RD.)

As for too big a gap between the 24T and 28T cogs, when I have to go to a bigger cog than the 24, the 28 is quite welcome. Sometimes I wish it was even bigger.

John Betmanis
Woodstock, Ontario
Canada