Retro Drivetrain - 6 speed

[chris217]

anyone know where i can get replacement 6 speed cassette / chain etc.

just bought an old 80's steel and comes with 6 speed shimano / suntour mech / chain / cassette etc but they need replacing.

also can i easily upgrade or use 7 / 8 speed kit ? would it be compatible with the downtube shifters ? or would i need to change the downtube shifters,

excuse my retro ignorance.

cheers

 

[hamster]

If you have friction shifters, then anything is compatible with anything else.

Assuming it's a compact 6, then you can run 7/8 speed chain and derailleurs. If it's indexed its a little harder, but Shimano have not changed their derailleur design much and any rear (even up to 9 speed) will index OK. 10 speed will still work provided it's a road derailleur.

A 7/8 speed chain works fine in later rear mechs.

 

[martinb]

6 spd cassette

I've got a 6 speed indexed shimano 600ex cassette, and the chain that it was used with, a sedis of course, think it's a 13-21. Go the shimano tool for the cassette too.

used but good

£15 posted

 

[David B]

If you want to progress to 7 or 8 speed, check that your wheel dishing and spindle length are OK. 8sp. chains will work on a 6 or a 7, although Union and Wippermann both make good 6/7 speed chains too, which will cost a bit less than their 8 speed cousins.

David

 

[hamster]

Eh? 7 and 8 speed chains are the same!
6 can be the same as 7 and 8, depending on whether it's a 'compact 6' or not.

 

[chris217]

retro drivetrain

thanks guys, ok it is suntour and shifter are indexed not friction.

apparently they work fine with shimano 7 speed cassettes according to the late great Sheldon Brown/

so i intend to get the existing system working as well as i can then look to try to replace if required

thanks all

 

[chris217]

retro drivetrain

further info, the fitting of the existing cassette / freewheel is slighlty problematic.

it appears to be part slide on / part screw in and these are no longer available ?

anyone know where i can get these?

 

[hamster]

They still exist - try here:
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/shimano-6400 ... prod20077/

You might need to ditch one cog and re-use the spacers from your 6 speed, although I think that the 7 will fit (as-is) as the cogs are closer together.

 

[David B]

Eh? 7 and 8 speed chains are the same!
6 can be the same as 7 and 8, depending on whether it's a 'compact 6' or not.

Wippermann's 700 series chain is labelled as 5/6/7 speed. Not tried it myself - I bought one for a 7sp. transmission - but it's apparently a bit rough & clunky when used on 8sp. set-ups.

David

 

[forcutty]

They still exist - try here:
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/shimano-6400 ... prod20077/

You might need to ditch one cog and re-use the spacers from your 6 speed, although I think that the 7 will fit (as-is) as the cogs are closer together.

Nope you can't do it quite as easily as that!
The last screw on cog has a built in spacer of 3mm! So unless you surface grind it down .35mm and add a 1mm it won't index properly!
This then makes it the 3.65mm spacing as found on a usual 6spd
I've found this out to my avail in the past!