11-34 Shimano Type C Megarange freewheel shortage?

[meb]

Several online bike shops have dropped the 11-34 & 11-28 freewheels.
There seem to be split opinions out there on whether Shimano has discontinued them or whether there is a temporary shortage pending a new production run.

Anyone know what the true sitation is?

 

[Peter@vecchios]

Several online bike shops have dropped the 11-34 & 11-28 freewheels.
There seem to be split opinions out there on whether Shimano has discontinued them or whether there is a temporary shortage pending a new production run.

Anyone know what the true sitation is?

Maybe I haven't been paying attention but 'freewheels' like these start with a 13t or 14t, the 'megarange' ones.

Don't remember any freewheels starting with a 11t and no megarange ones starting with a 12t.

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Shimano-7-Speed-HyperGlide-HG-Freewheel-13x34_W0QQitemZ220291767187

MegaRange freewheels are in short supply at our main supplier, but these are 13x or 14x...

 

[meb]

Maybe I haven't been paying attention but 'freewheels' like these start with a 13t or 14t, the 'megarange' ones.

Don't remember any freewheels starting with a 11t and no megarange ones starting with a 12t.

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Shimano-7-Speed-HyperGlide-HG-Freewheel-13x34_W0QQitemZ220291767187

MegaRange freewheels are in short supply at our main supplier, but these are 13x or 14x...

The inquiry related the Shimano Type C freewheels:
http://sheldonbrown.com/mega7/

I bought one of the 11-34s earlier this summer, and was intended to get a couple of 11-28s and a couple more of the 11-34s, but noticed both Harris and Nashbar had since dropped them from their webpages.

Harris indicated the Type C freewheels were discontinued.
Those two freewheels had a newer improved body than other shimano freewheels so the discontinuing made me wonder if the better body was too expensive to be profitable, but if you are indicating shortages on the older freewheel body style that the 13-34 and 14-34 have, it makes me wonder is Shimano is cutting back on all freewheels.

 

[Dan Burkhart]

Several online bike shops have dropped the 11-34 & 11-28 freewheels.
There seem to be split opinions out there on whether Shimano has discontinued them or whether there is a temporary shortage pending a new production run.

Anyone know what the true sitation is?

I can tell you that my suppliers who listed them in their 2007 catalogues did not list them in 2008. I have tried them all to see if they had any still laying around, no luck. I think they have joined the do-do bird.
Sure wish I would have stocked up when I had the chance.

 

[alfeng]

The inquiry related the Shimano Type C freewheels:
http://sheldonbrown.com/mega7/

I bought one of the 11-34s earlier this summer, and was intended to get a couple of 11-28s and a couple more of the 11-34s, but noticed both Harris and Nashbar had since dropped them from their webpages.

Harris indicated the Type C freewheels were discontinued.
Those two freewheels had a newer improved body than other shimano freewheels so the discontinuing made me wonder if the better body was too expensive to be profitable, but if you are indicating shortages on the older freewheel body style that the 13-34 and 14-34 have, it makes me wonder is Shimano is cutting back on all freewheels.

Do you REALLY want more of the 11-34 freewheels?!? Freewheels generally last a LONG time if you don't throw the bike into a lake & retrieve it several days/months/years later.

FWIW. Unless you have a PHIL WOOD hub, in the long run it will undoubtedly be less expensive to CHANGE the rear hub OR rear wheel & use a contemporary cassette because Shimano's Freehub + cassette design is vastly superior (as in, more reliable ... because it is much more difficult to bend/break an axle on a rear wheel which has a Freehub) to a threaded rear hub + Freewheel.

If you have an OLD tandem & want to use either of the particular, "re-designed"11-34t/-28 freewheel(s), then find a shop that specializes in tandem bikes & ask them if they have any in their back room ...

If you really want to know, you should/could FAX Shimano's Irvine office and ask them whether ANY are available OR which retailers (beyond from whom the Freewheel was purchased in the past) may have bought some in the distant past.

 

[meb]

Do you REALLY want more of the 11-34 freewheels?!? Freewheels generally last a LONG time if you don't throw the bike into a lake & retrieve it several days/months/years later.

FWIW. Unless you have a PHIL WOOD hub, in the long run it will undoubtedly be less expensive to CHANGE the rear hub OR rear wheel & use a contemporary cassette because Shimano's Freehub + cassette design is vastly superior (as in, more reliable ... because it is much more difficult to bend/break an axle on a rear wheel which has a Freehub) to a threaded rear hub + Freewheel.

If you have an OLD tandem & want to use either of the particular, "re-designed"11-34t/-28 freewheel(s), then find a shop that specializes in tandem bikes & ask them if they have any in their back room ...

If you really want to know, you should/could FAX Shimano's Irvine office and ask them whether ANY are available OR which retailers (beyond from whom the Freewheel was purchased in the past) may have bought some in the distant past.

Yes I do want 11-34 & 11-28 freewheels and the discontinuing caught me by surprise.
I have over 20 bikes and about 60% of my rears are freewheel. In particular, there are some folders, recumbents, and some small diameter freewheel thread electrics for use on the bents and folders of which the cassette option doesn't exist and 13 or 14 is not optimal for 20 and 16 inch diameter, and I intend build a sailtrike and may occaissionally try it with an electric wheelset. My disc wheel on my time trial bike is also a freewheel type.

The tandem shop option might be worth while, there were also some aftermarket makers such as TNT over a decade ago that made an 11T threadout extension for DuraAces:

http://www.bikepro.com/products/freewheels/tnt.html

-I might be able to do something similar if the Shimano freewheels can't be had, or maybe building a multispeed body onto the electric scooter freewheels (they take a single 64bcd 4 hole sprocket), or graft a cassette body end onto a 5 speed/compact 6 speed freewheel add a middrive.

Anyone know the cog inside thread diameter and pitch on Suntour, Sachs, Shimano, freewheels- both type C and the non-type C ?

Also Sunrace and IRC freewheels?