Cassette/hub advice for a 1989 Dawes

[countrybumpkin]

Hello all

I'm currently on a nostalgia adventure to restore my 1989 Dawes Kick Back. The rims were somewhat sorry for themselves so I've ordered a set of these to replace them
https://www.rutlandcycling.com/componen ... heel_97545

I'm totally novice to this and wondered if I'm going to be able to retain the existing 6speed Shimano Hyperglide cassette? The hubs are designed for 8/9/10 speed I believe, so I'm guessing I'll need at least a 4.5m spacer????

I'd like to keep the existing Exage Country dereillure set-up if I can, rather than changing it. Having said that, these 10/1 conversions look great.

Any thoughts and advice would be really appreciated.

Thanks

 

[velomaniac]

Re:

You want to replace the rear wheel of your bike with a new one as shown.
First step does the rear wheel of your present bike have a 6 speed cassette on a freehub body, now very rare or 6 speed screw on freewheel. If the latter then the reuse of the 6 speed gear cluster is a no chance as its a completely different system.
If you do have a cassette then reuse might be possible but probably not.
Your replacement wheel is modern, it takes up to a 10 speed cassette. The width of your frame to take this wheel is 135mm.
As your frame has a 6 speed gear cluster it is likely the frame is 130mm wide at the rear dropouts or even the even narrower 126mm size.
So take your old wheel out and measure the distance between the inside faces of the rear dropouts.
If they are not 135mm do not immediately dispair, all is not lost. If your frame is steel the frame can be bent slightly to spread the dropout width to 135mm. A competent mechanic should be able to do this, or read up on cold forging via Sheldon Brown's website and do it your self.
If you don't want to do this and the space is too narrow then alas you have bought the wrong wheel. Old bikes have old standards, old parts can be found on this site via the buying and selling pages.
Good luck and welcome aboard.

 

[countrybumpkin]

Re: Re:

You want to replace the rear wheel of your bike with a new one as shown.
First step does the rear wheel of your present bike have a 6 speed cassette on a freehub body, now very rare or 6 speed screw on freewheel. If the latter then the reuse of the 6 speed gear cluster is a no chance as its a completely different system.
If you do have a cassette then reuse might be possible but probably not.
Your replacement wheel is modern, it takes up to a 10 speed cassette. The width of your frame to take this wheel is 135mm.
As your frame has a 6 speed gear cluster it is likely the frame is 130mm wide at the rear dropouts or even the even narrower 126mm size.
So take your old wheel out and measure the distance between the inside faces of the rear dropouts.
If they are not 135mm do not immediately dispair, all is not lost. If your frame is steel the frame can be bent slightly to spread the dropout width to 135mm. A competent mechanic should be able to do this, or read up on cold forging via Sheldon Brown's website and do it your self.
If you don't want to do this and the space is too narrow then alas you have bought the wrong wheel. Old bikes have old standards, old parts can be found on this site via the buying and selling pages.
Good luck and welcome aboard.

Thanks so much for this velomaniac. I've checked the old sales brochure and it confirms that it's a freewheel. So that's decided that I guess.

I measured the rear dropouts and it's coming in at 130mm, so I guess I have to choose between spreading the frame to accommodate the new 135mm hubs, or looking for some 130mm hubs. Maybe it would be worth getting the dropout widened anyway, if I'm going to go for a new groupset.

Thanks again

 

[retrobikeguy]

Re:

Hi CB,
as above really, your freewheel wont work with the new wheelset and a cassette to fit would be at least 7 speed then you would need a spacer to fit the cassette to this hub so it doesnt move side to side, you will probably need a new chain also ..... I can see the chainset is worn, the teeth look waaay past theyre best so probably a replacement is needed too.
unfortunately its a knock on thing with drives (chain/cassette/freewheel/chainset) as they just wont hold a chain after a while, you will usually find that a chain and cassette/freewheel needs changing 3 times as much as a chainset if its looked after well.

You can get a lot of period parts to restore or upgrade on here, just ask and people will be forthcoming.

RBG

 

[Splatter Paint]

Re:

Yeah, those rings look past it. A decent retro used back wheel and rings might be the way to go.

SP

 

[countrybumpkin]

Thanks SP.

On reflection, I'm going to get the drop out widened to accommodate the 135mm hub. With that in mind, do you think I'll need to change the front and rear derailleur in order to accommodate a 9speed cassette? Would the Biopace chainset even work?

Sorry, my sheer lack of knowledge is clear to see!

 

[MT62]

If you decide to widen it and accomodate 9sp cassette, you would most likely need to change:
rear derailleur - because it probably won't take the width and number of teeth on the cassette.
shifters - as the 3x6 ones won't work with the rear derailleur.
front derailleur - not sure about this, maybe customizing the cage will be enough.
crankset - the current would probably work, just not perfectly and would be difficult to set correctly for the narrower chain. Considering the current one looks a bit worn, I would just go for a newer one.
bottom bracket - in case another chainset needs different length, which is quite likely.

If it is worth it? Not sure, I would say that if you are going to go through this, you could also consider 1x9/10 conversion. Another way would be searching for 3x6 parts, or more common 3x7.

 

[Takingabreak]

I've done exactly the same thing you are considering on a Raleigh Montage. The thing is, once I replaced one thing I ended up replacing absolutely everything. The frame was 126/127 rear spacing and it could be sprung apart to accept the 135 more modern hub. I'd read that doing this would damage the hub bearings but it didn't. I think if I did it again I would look for good condition and high quality period correct parts rather than fitting modern parts.

 

[countrybumpkin]

Thanks oaklec. On the back of your comment, I've decided to try and keep the dereillurs and chainset original, and just to go for a Shimano 7 speed cassette and replace the shifters. I was hoping for a budget restoration and looking at the cost to replace everything to a modern drivetrain is giving me the heebie jeebies.

I guess I'll need a spacer, maybe 4.5mm on the 8/9/10 speed 135mm hub do you guys think?

 

[hamster]

Sounds good! Yes, you will need the spacer.