9 speed chains and old chainwheels!

[Floyd Sense]

OK - I give up - guess I'll have to bite the bullet and convert my drivetrain to 9 speed just for better availability of parts and components. My current setup is an 8 speed with all Shimano components and an SRAM chain. The crankset is an old Shimano triple with Bio-Pace chainrings that just won't wear out. I've had it for perhaps a couple of decades now and originally used it with a 6 speed setup (or was that five?!). The question is: will my chainrings accommodate the narrower 9 speed chain or will I have to replace the chainrings? If someone could give me the maximum thickness of a 9 speed chainring, I can do the measurements myself.

 

[meb]

Originally posted by Floyd Sense
OK - I give up - guess I'll have to bite the bullet and convert my drivetrain to 9 speed just for better availability of parts and components. My current setup is an 8 speed with all Shimano components and an SRAM chain. The crankset is an old Shimano triple with Bio-Pace chainrings that just won't wear out. I've had it for perhaps a couple of decades now and originally used it with a 6 speed setup (or was that five?!). The question is: will my chainrings accommodate the narrower 9 speed chain or will I have to replace the chainrings? If someone could give me the maximum thickness of a 9 speed chainring, I can do the measurements myself.

The analogous circular wider chainring teeth of the same will fit in the 9 speed chain and many people leave the old chainrings. They don't fit as well as with the narrower teeth of the 9 speed cranks so your shifting will be a little less smooth, you'll need be more precise with shifts and calibration and you may occasinionally throw chains a little more often. Try it and see if its tolerable. Most people don't change chainrings when converting in that direction.

If its not tolerable and you want to keep the Biopace rings, grind the sides of the teeth down to 9 speed width. In particular, if you have a Biopace size that is still available or has a proximate size still available, you might grab some as spares in case after you grind em down you prefer the wider chainrings.

BTW: anyone have any data on whether there might be less friction on the narrower 9-speed chain vs. the 8 speed and if so how much? I suspect it's negligible unless there is a difference in construction technology/quality since the force on the links remains the same.

 

[Sheldon Brown]

Floyd Sense wrote:

> OK - I give up - guess I'll have to bite the bullet and convert my drivetrain to 9 speed just for
> better availability of parts and components. My current setup is an 8 speed with all Shimano
> components and an SRAM chain. The crankset is an old Shimano triple with Bio-Pace chainrings that
> just won't wear out. I've had it for perhaps a couple of decades now and originally used it with a
> 6 speed setup (or was that five?!). The question is: will my chainrings accommodate the narrower 9
> speed chain or will I have to replace the chainrings? If someone could give me the maximum
> thickness of a 9 speed chainring, I can do the measurements myself.

This is a Frequently Asked Question.

Here's my Frequently Replied Answer:

There is a lot of confusion about the compatibility of narrow 9-speed chains with older cranksets.
Shimano says you should replace the inner chainring(s) with specially designated 9-speed ones, but
then they're all too eager to sell you stuff, whether you need it or not.

Shimano is also concerned about clueless users. The worst-case scenario is that you will be riding
along with the bike in its highest gear (large front, small rear) and then for some bizarre reason
shift down in front before downshifting in the back. (There is no shift pattern in which it is
reasonable to shift in this sequence.) If you _do_ shift this way, there's a small chance that the
chain might "skate" over the edges of the teeth for maybe half a turn.

In practice this "problem" almost never materializes. Many, many cyclists are using 9-speed chains
with older cranksets and having no problems whatever.

My advice is to go ahead and upgrade your drivetrain, but leave the crankset alone until you've
tried it out with the new chain. Most likely, you don't need to do anything to it.

Sheldon "Eff Ay Cue" Brown +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Check out the Shostakovitch 24 Preludes & Fugues for Piano, Op. 87. | Sort of like "Das
| Wohltemperierte Klavier" on drugs. Way cool! |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West
Newton, Massachusetts Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 http://harriscyclery.com Hard-to-find
parts shipped Worldwide http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

 

[Floyd Sense]

OK - I thank you gentlemen for your input. Guess I'll give it a try after the holidays. Seems like only yesterday I was riding a one speed bike, then it was a five gear cluster, then a 6, then... Where will it end!

 

[Peter Cole]

"Floyd Sense" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> OK - I give up - guess I'll have to bite the bullet and convert my drivetrain to 9 speed just for
> better availability of parts and components. My current setup is an 8 speed with all Shimano
> components and an SRAM chain.

Why? There's still tons of 8-speed stuff around, and it's way cheaper than 9-speed.

 

[Tommy Gabele]

I have used chainrings like yours with a nine speed. It works.Sometimes the shifting is not as
smooth....But if your riding biopace..... "Floyd Sense" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:[email protected]...
> OK - I give up - guess I'll have to bite the bullet and convert my drivetrain to 9 speed just for
> better availability of parts and components. My current setup is an 8 speed with all Shimano
> components and an SRAM chain. The crankset is an old Shimano triple with Bio-Pace chainrings that
> just won't wear out. I've had it for perhaps a couple of decades now and originally used it with a
> 6 speed setup (or was that five?!). The question is: will my chainrings accommodate the narrower 9
> speed chain or will I have to replace the chainrings? If someone could give me the maximum
> thickness of a 9 speed chainring, I can do the measurements myself.
>
>
>
> --

 

[Qui Si Parla Ca]

Floyd-<< The crankset is an old Shimano triple with Bio-Pace chainrings that just won't wear out.
I've had it for perhaps a couple of decades now and originally used it with a 6 speed setup (or was
that five?!). The question is: will my chainrings accommodate the narrower 9 speed chain or will I
have to replace the chainrings? If someone could give me the maximum thickness of a 9 speed
chainring, I can do the measurements myself.

--

>><BR><BR>

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 http://www.vecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

 

[Qui Si Parla Ca]

<< The crankset is an old Shimano triple with Bio-Pace chainrings that just won't wear out. I've had
it for perhaps a couple of decades now and originally used it with a 6 speed setup (or was that
five?!). The question is: will my chainrings accommodate the narrower 9 speed chain or will I have
to replace the chainrings? If someone could give me the maximum thickness of a 9 speed chainring, I
can do the measurements myself. >><BR><BR>

The rings will work with the 9s chain w/o problem...

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 http://www.vecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

 

[Dvt]

Floyd Sense wrote:

> Seems like only yesterday I was riding a one speed bike, then it was a five gear cluster, then a
> 6, then... Where will it end!

Maybe here: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/internal-gears.html#rohloff

Dave "way too cheap to fork out that kind of cash" dvt at psu dot edu

 

[Floyd Sense]

Originally posted by Dvt

Maybe here: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/internal-gears.html#rohloff


Man, I've paid less than that for a car! It would be fun to try one of those hubs, but it's my policy not to buy anything from Harris. Last time I did, I installed the new hardware on my bike, went for a ride, got run over by a car. A friend suggested the bicycle gods were warning me about not buying from a LBS! Who knows?!