> >> cas962 wrote:
> >> > I'm getting a new wheel for my road bike. Should I stay with the freewheel or go to a
> >> > cassette?
"David L. Johnson" wrote:
> >> There really should not be a debate about this. Freewheels are as scarce as hen's teeth
> >> already, and that will only get worse. Currently you _might_ be able to find 2 different
> >> freewheels from a big shop like Sheldon's. You can get dozens of different cogs in any brand of
> >> cassette you want.
Bluto wrote:> > Nonsense. Most of the bikes in the world have thread-on freewheels.
"David L. Johnson >" <David L. Johnson <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Most of the bikes in the world have worn-out freewheels, too.
>
> From Sheldon Brown's site:
>
> SRAM/Sachs Freewheels SRAM (Formerly Sachs) freewheels were well made and durable, but have been
discontinued by the manufacturer. Supplies very spotty.
> SunTour Freewheels SunTour freewheels are very high quality, very long lasting and pretty
good shifting. SunTour has been out of business since the early 1990s, so these are all old stock.
> SunRace Freewheels SunRace freewheels are made in Taiwan. We've had trouble with some other
Taiwanese freewheels, but these seem to be OK.
>
> So, with the exception of Shimano freewheels, there really is not a reliable supply. Sheldon does
> list more sizes than I would have expected, but still not very many in any given type, and they
> are not all univerally compatible. A 120mm axle only takes 5speed, or ultra-6 (with a nearrow
> chain). There is only one size (of cogs) in 8-speed, and only from one manufacturer. "Supplies
> very spotty". and that 8-speed freewheel costs $70.
>
> Sheldon seems to have quite a selection of Sun Tour freewheels, but I wonder about stock, since
> they are simply no longer made. Shimano makes 1 5-speed freewheel. Hope you want 14-28. Shimano
> makes 3 6-speed. Sun-Tour stocks are the only available ultra-6. Shimano has 3 sizes of 7-speed,
> all but one mountain-bike ranges.
Bluto wrote:> > Crack open a QBP catalog and observe a palette of freewheel options that
> > well exceeds that of cassettes, inasmuch as you can find a freewheel in 5, 6, or 7 speeds to
> > match an older bike.
"David L. Johnson" wrote:
> Unless QBP has a wider selection than this, that would be about it. But they are not available
> to the public directly, only through a dealer. Dealers don't have a huge stock of freewheels.
> Wonder why?
Bluto wrote:> > But for a 15 year old
> > cassette hub? More than likely you are out of luck; the cure will cost more than the patient.
"David L. Johnson" wrote:
> Well, 15 years old is old for a cassette. I think that, in 15 years, they will be a lot easier to
> find than any freewheel.
Bluto wrote:> > A freewheel thread forces very little in the way of assumptions upon the
> > hub that threads into it.
"David L. Johnson" wrote:
> True, except for that critical distance from the dropout to the bearings. That is forced by the
> design, and that is what causes freewheel axles to break. You can use oversized axles, but only to
> a point, and few manufacturers are still providing them (Phil Wood, but who else?)
David, your review is pretty accurate but for a couple of things:
"Most bicycles" are indeed freewheel. But the overwhelming bulk of bicycles are single-speed
freewheel roadsters, not the sort of bike you ride.
Bluto's point is that any nearly freewheel is suitable with a threaded hub but just try to get a
Shimano 5 cassette start cog, DuraAce 6 cassette start cog, a Suntour cassette cog, an early
Campagnolo cassette cog. These are not everyday items .
And good service shops _do_ stock a few choices in each of five, six and seven freewheel. OK There's
just the eight SunRace but hey, how many eight freewheel bikes are there? not many at all. Suntour
was so overwhelmingly dominant in custom freewheels that n.o.s. inventories are plentiful and will
be for several more years. When you need a custom range that ends in 38, what else is there? Out of
business for over ten years hasn't hurt availability too much yet.
Regarding Steve Flagg's house (QBP), he's garnered a strong following by printing consumer catalogs
so many riders think he's the only distributor out there. Au contraire. A few dozen distributors
cover essentially the same or wider product ranges, they just don't have a public presence. I don't
even have an account there and we stock over thirty different freewheels, plus custom builds.
We all agree that cassettes have some real advantages. Bluto points out their limitations and some
features thet freewheel hubs still offer. No one is saying that one format is clearly superior in
all respects. Let's agree that choice is good!
--
Andrew Muzi
http://www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April 1971