[CR] Why I don't like Regina Freewheels.

(Example: Production Builders:Peugeot:PX-10LE)

Date: Sat, 12 Jun 2010 17:06:47 -0400
From: "Harvey Sachs" <hmsachs@verizon.net>
To: Classic Rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: [CR] Why I don't like Regina Freewheels.


I rode the early Rauler today, and it's a nice bike. Shifts over the fairly narrow-range Regina 6-speed block right smartly, using a first gen Dura-ace. But, the occasional glitch and a recent post reminded me of all the reasons I don't like Regina (and Atom) freewheels.

1) Threaded cogs for all positions, instead of splined for most or all. Designed to never be changed, and a more expensive production process. Early feedback from my earlier post today on a related topic shows I'm not the only one who has found the FW cogs to be less interchangeable than theory suggests.

2) An almost infinite set of different thread diameters for different positions, depending on how many speeds and the phase of the moon. And cog thickness matters. A stockists nightmare.

3) That wonderful slot in the top of each tooth, designed to elegantly cradle the side plates of the chain, so mis-shifting can give you a wonderful freewheeling effect. I haven't seen anything quite so perverse since the big gap between 2 and 3 on the Sturmey-Archer trigger and hub, elegantly designed to give the same forward freewheeling effect. What were they thinking, to spend the extra effort on that slot?

4) And then there is the two-notch remover itself, a design that could not be improved by Satan himself as a way to provoke "interesting" outbursts from the naive who didn't know that you had to hold the FW in place with a QR skewer or a nut on the axle.

Other than the lack of a 13 tooth cog (or smaller), almost all of these problems were solved in one fell swoop by the Suntour Perfect. Yes, still a two-notch, but guarded instead of standing out. And the Winner solved the remaining problems.

"Note added in proof:" the early wide-range Suntour Perfects would not handle tandem torque. We shattered pawls on a couple of them. Tried substituting Regina pawls, lightly ground. Then the bodies split. Later Suntour "Tandem" FW were much stronger.

harvey sachs
mcLean va usa