Which freewheel for vintage wheel build?

term1te

I'm building a wheel set for a vintage Colnago. The hubs are Campagnolo Croce d' Aune with Ambrosio Nemesis rims. I'll need a 7 speed freewheel, looking online all I can find are either very expensive vintage NOS, or are cheap and not very cheerful looking. Can anyone recommend a freewheel of good quality, but not the price of a 80s Campagnolo or Regina America? It doesn't need to be vintage, but it should be good enough to grace the Master. Thanks

mercia_man

Sunrace freewheels may be cheap but they work well and look better in the flesh than you might think. They have a shiny chromed appearance. Certainly better looking than those brown Shimano ones. I use them on my wife's electric bike.

Monty Dog

10 years ago they could be had for very little money but the likes of L'eroica have rekindled interest in old bikes. It's simply the economics of supply vs demand - NOS are reducing in number so the other variable of price goes the other way. The Sunrace ones work fine and will last for years. Alloy/titanium ones were always expensive and don't last very long.

ugo.santalucia

Don't waste money of freewheels... ask the cycle clinic to provide you one, no point in spending a lot of money for Regina, they're no better than a cheap Suntour. The same applies to chains... 5 quid Shimano (HG 40?) work well

cycleclinic

The problem with most cheaper freewheels is not the quality, it the 14T start cog. Sunrace is one of the few brands that seem to do a 13T start 7 speed. for 6 speed though 13T start cogs seem unobtainable which is shame. A bigger shame is a 6 speed freewheel that actually fits my ALAN the only one that does is the suntour winner 13-18T:shock:. All the other 6 speed freewheels I have tried foul the dropouts which is a pain as every time I ride the ALAN I have to squint alot at the hills to make them flat.

So thats also something to check the width of the freewheel, if the current clearance to the dropouts is close then the next freewheel might be a bit wider and bind against the frame.

Sound like a nice build term1te have fun with it.

ugo.santalucia

thecycleclinic wrote:

The problem with most cheaper freewheels is not the quality, it the 14T start cog. Sunrace is one of the few brands that seem to do a 13T start 7 speed. for 6 speed though 13T start cogs seem unobtainable which is shame. A bigger shame is a 6 speed freewheel that actually fits my ALAN the only one that does is the suntour winner 13-18T:shock:. All the other 6 speed freewheels I have tried foul the dropouts which is a pain as every time I ride the ALAN I have to squint alot at the hills to make them flat.

So thats also something to check the width of the freewheel, if the current clearance to the dropouts is close then the next freewheel might be a bit wider and bind against the frame.

Sound like a nice build term1te have fun with it.

It's funny as I recall back in the 80s all the freewheels had odd numbered teeth (13-15-17-19-21 etc)... now we seem to find all the even numbered ones... probably old stock that didn't have a market back then?

TBH 14T is plenty...

term1te

Thanks for the replies. Back in the day I ran Suntour and the 6 speed freewheels I used then were fine. When it got harder to find Suntour freewheels (before the days of the internet, just many calls to SJS) I switched to some other brands, which were generally pants, wearing quickly and/or having eccentricity and wobbles in the bearings. So I was very glad when freehub based wheels came along.

14T is fine, but I'm going to need 24+T at the other end with the hills around here.

mercia_man

Have a look at Spa Cycles website. I've just noticed they've started selling high quality freewheels by IRD, nickel-plated and heat-treated with good seals and high quality bearings. They say they are appropriate for use on a high quality classic bike such as a Cinelli. Expensive though at £36. They do seven speed in 13-28 which might be suitable for you.

term1te

Mercia Man wrote:

Have a look at Spa Cycles website. I've just noticed they've started selling high quality freewheels by IRD, nickel-plated and heat-treated with good seals and high quality bearings. They say they are appropriate for use on a high quality classic bike such as a Cinelli. Expensive though at £36. They do seven speed in 13-28 which might be suitable for you.

Good find! Thanks