Touring and recreational cycling · Public discussion

Old Dawes + New Deore... compatible?

Started by rwk123 · · Last activity · 7 posts · 3,583 views

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Touring and recreational cycling
Published
6 June 2011
Last activity
9 June 2011
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rwk123
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  1. Hey there,

    I was hoping that the combined wisdom of the forum community here might be able to help me out of the latest bike-building quagmire that I've found myself fallen into. I picked up an old Dawes Sterling (Reynolds 501 steel) bike and I'm now in the process of swapping out the drivetrain. My hope is to fit it with a complete Shimano Deore set-up (if you're interested I was thinkign of going for 22.32.44 front, 11-34 rear). BUT (aren't there always problems with buts when you're a cyclist!?), I'm worried that the frame geometry won't accommodate the external bearings that are on the new Deore stuff, and so I might instead have to get myself an Alivio cranckset plus ES51 Octolink BB.

    I'm certainly more in favour of the Deore... and it even works out a fiver cheaper!
    So does anyone have any ideas of whether the frame will support the Deore chainset, or whether Alivio is my best bet?

    Many thanks,
    Rob.

  2. To add a little more info here that might be of interest, I'm heading out to East Germany to do a tour around that part of the world and then crossing into the Czech Republic, Austria and then Northern Italy. If anyone's done a tour around this part of the world I'd be interested to hear your experiences and hints of any really nice roads that I should try and catch.

  3. Presuming your Dawes has an English threaded BB (there is a 99.999% probability that the BB has English threads), then either a Shimano Hollowtech II or an FSA MegaExo BB should fit in your Dawes frame ... just remember, the driveside cup has LEFT HAND threads.

    You will need the appropriate tools to remove the old BB ...

    But, after someone "borrowed" my Hollowtech II BB installation tool, I found that the size of the Hollowtech II cups is large enough to provide sufficient leverage so that I can install them with my bare hands.

    FYI. There is a belief that the BB shell needs to be faced prior to the initial installation of external BB cups ... maybe yes, maybe no ... THAT will depend on how well the frame was manufactured and/or prepped in the past ...

    • If the BB shell isn't square, the the bearings will wear out sooner.

    You can check to see if the BB faces are square by using a piece of typing paper -- roll it up, insert in the BB shell, set one edge flush to one face & unroll, square the other edge of the paper & compare. Hopefully, it will be square ... if not, a good, FLAT [censored] file + a good eye & deft hand will remove the irregularity ... OR, bring the frame to a bike shop to have the BB faced ... just be certain that your frame isn't the first one they learning to use the facing tool on because I am certain that some professionals are overly enthusiastic when using some frame prep tools!

    BTW. You may want to change the 44t chainring to either a 46t (a common size) or even a 48t (an uncommon size -- Shimano is the only company which has a 104BCD chainrig in this size, AFAIK, so your choice is simply between steel or alloy) chainring.

  4. Wow! lots of information. Really thank you very much. The worry wasn't actually that the new BB wouldn't simply fir the frame, but that the chain line would prevent me from being able to shift through all of the gears (I should probably have made that clear) - I went into my LBS the other day and I was regaled with a tale of just such a nightmare scenario happening.

    I hadn't heard about the possible need to face the frame though, so thanks very much for the advice and I'll check it out - though I am a little lost in the instructions that you gave about the typing paper!?

  5. Quoted post said:

    Originally Posted by rwk123 [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

    The worry wasn't actually that the new BB wouldn't simply fir the frame, but that the chain line would prevent me from being able to shift through all of the gears (I should probably have made that clear) - I went into my LBS the other day and I was regaled with a tale of just such a nightmare scenario happening.


    While chainline is something to consider, it is NOT as important as it was 30+ years ago because of the evoluton of bicycle chain design ushered in (by my recollection) with the SEDIS NARROW chain which allows for more lateral flex AND which is a reason that a Triple can be used on a "Racing" bike which has relatively short chain stays when compared to the stays on a Touring bike ...

    Chainline DOES remain important for Single Speed bike ...

    FYI. About a dozen years ago, I put an old, square taper LX crankset mounted on a too-long 118mm spindled BB ... no problem.

    More to the point, here is a more recent example where a Shimano XT crankset is mounted on a "normal" 113mm Octalink BB (the shortest available for Octalink V2 cranks):

    [CENTER] [IMG]cyclingforums.com500[/IMG]
    [/CENTER]
    With the chainring mounted on the inner shoulder (i.e., where the middle ring would be located), the chainline is "off" line by 2-or-3 millimeters ... less than the width of the chain ... not perfect for a Single Speed, but close (or, close enough as far as 'I' am concerned) AND not so far off that there is any real friction.

    • the frame's rear spacing is 120mm & the hub is a vintage Campagnolo Nuovo Record hub whose flanges are centered on the axle.

    The point being that while the chainrings may be slightly more outboard with a MTB crankset, they will not be extraordinarily so ...

    I do NOT know if a Hollowtech II MTB crankset's chainrings will be offset more the Octalink MTB crankset is offset ...

    Of course, the over-rated Q-Factor will be much more outboard with a MTB crankset (~170mm) than with a Road crank (~150mm for a Double & ~160mm for a Triple).

    Quoted post said:

    Originally Posted by rwk123 [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

    I hadn't heard about the possible need to face the frame though, so thanks very much for the advice and I'll check it out - though I am a little lost in the instructions that you gave about the typing paper!?


    So, if you were to take a paper towel core & randomly cut it in half, the odds are that the cut edge would not be perfectly square/perpendicular with the core's axis whereas the machine cut edge would-or-should be ...

    • insert a rolled up piece of typing paper into the shortened cardboard core ...
    • and then, unroll it
    • and then, press one edge of the typing paper against the cut edge & square the OTHER edge
    • you should be able to make the typing paper perfectly flush with the edge of the machine cut edge when the typing paper's OTHER edge is flush with itself ...

    When you do the same thing to the other side of the cardboard core, you will see that the edge you cut will probaby not be square when you square the OTHER edge of the typing paper unless you did an extraodinary job cutting the core into two pieces.

    You can do the same thing with most BB shells where the exception might be some lugged steel frames where the tubes where not carefully trimmed prior to being brazed OR if the bolt that holds the under-BB cable guide intrudes on the interior of the BB shell -- in the latter case, temporarily remove the bolt.

  6. Aha, got it now.
    And thanks for assuaging my worries.

    Also, looks like a lovely bike you've got there (especially nice looking colour), have you any photos of the whole thing ensemble?

  7. FWIW. The frame is an old Trek (51x53) whose rear triangle I narrowed from 126mm to 120mm ... TruTemper CroMo tubing ... I used a long, 130mm stem to compensate for the short (for me), 53cm top tube.

    [CENTER] [IMG]cyclingforums.com500[/IMG][/CENTER]

    The bike is geared for Mountain roads with a steel, 32t chainring + 22t ACS Claw Freewheel ... by my reckoning, the 32x22 is roughly equivalent to a 39x27 ...

    The brake calipers are Campagnolo MonoPlanar ...

    [CENTER] [IMG]cyclingforums.com500[/IMG][/CENTER]

    The seatpost is an odd-sized (i.e., not 27.2), Ritchey-copy with a Campagnolo cradle ...

    The saddle is a WRIGHTS which was on my Raleigh Grand Prix.

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