Carrera subway gears

cyberknight

Bit the bullet today and bought the tools to get the free wheel off so i could service the bearings on the back wheel and i noticed that my 7 speed cassette is really a 6 speed with on extra cog on the "highest" gear.

I know i have seen a lot about people saying they think the subway is a bit under geared so if you really wanted you could swap the cog for one with less teeth (its currently a 12 tooth )

Salsa

Cassettes are made like that, on a 7spd the first 6 gears are in a carrier & the last one will be separate. It's the same on all cassettes especially higher end ones where 2 or even more will be separate. But yes I suppose you could swap that out for an 11 tooth (smallest you can get) for a small increase in top speed.
I don't really get the under geared thing though, I tend to blitz most commuter style bikes on my xc mtb using only 32/11 in city streets & rarely feel the need to chuck it in the big 42 ring, just spin your legs faster

galaxyboy

I was thinking of upgrading my sons subway gears to thumb shifters as he does not like the twist grips. What else would i need to upgrade?

nicklouse

galaxyboy
it depends on what you buy. maybe nothing other than replacing the cables.

if Sram mechs then get Sram shifters. If Shimano mechs get Shimano shifters. and make sure the Speeds are the same as the cassette.

galaxyboy

Started to strip it down to see what was needed only to find the BB u/s and totally siezed :x Teeth missing from the chainset and the rear cassette rattles a little even when tightened up. Is it beyond repair?

chrisinleedsuk

Nah, piece of piss mate. Unless things are jumping don't worry about your missing teeth as you'll probably need a new again and cassette if you replace the rings. This is unless you've wiped out quite a few teeth in succession. As for the bottom bracket, just slip a new one in there. If you have a shimano unit but don't have the tool I can highly recommend the Race Face tool. It was the cheapest at the time i was buying and is made beautifully. Whilst the bb is out maybe drill a small (3 maybe 4mm) hole at the lowest point of the bb shell. This is best done after your warranty expires, as you can kiss it goodbye but the advantage is your bb will no longer sit in trapped water. As for the bb unit itself I'd go for a mid range shimano unit as they're cheap, plentiful and actually pretty darn good, provided compatibility isn't an issue. Now to the back end. Remove your axle from the non drive side. If you've got a shimano freehub the mechanisin bolts to the hub with a large (10mm hex or T55 should fit) hollow bolt. This should be pretty tight as it's holding the whole show together. Now with the cassette off the freehub mechanism should not wobble when gripped by it's outer shell. If it does wobble then the tiny bearings inside have worn, don't try to service them as even if you can get in it's a very fiddly job. I'd try and run it as is and if problems persist just put on a new freehub mechanism. Now reassemble the axle remembering that cleanliness is next to godliness and use some good thick grease and new bearings from your lbs, i'm currently using putoline racing blue stuff that would resist nuclear attack let alone a jet wash. Note there should be no preload on the bearings and they should run smoothly, in fact there should be a tiny bit of play in there because the action of tightening the wheel in the frame moves things slightly due to thread tolerances. Someone used to make a little ring tool to simulate this but common sense is all that's required. Finally, refit the cassette to the lightly greased freehub mech and check it fit's correctly. Are all the spacers doing there job? Are they all there? Now give it a test ride and see how she goes.

chrisinleedsuk

Sorry for the typos, again should read chain. Bloody t9!

galaxyboy

Thanks chrisinleedsuk.

Got the bb out and will price a new one up then i'll have a go at that cassette.