Gear replacement

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A

antrock101

Regular
Hello,

My old Apollo mountain bike has just about died and i using this as an excuse to learn more about bike building. The gears are not working very well and they don't shift without weird noises. I am planning to replace the cassette. I also only use the first 5 gears (it's 2x5) so I also want to replace the chain-ring with a single and remove the front derailer (is this possible). I am wondering if this is likely to resolve my problem or if you guys think I will need a new derailer (I have already changed cables and chain). My current gear is shimano if i buy a single chainring (same amount of teeth) and a new 5 speed cassette are they all compatible with each other or do specific shimano gear only go with each other?

Cheers Ant
 
Ticktockmy

Ticktockmy

Guru
Location
Crawley, West Sussex
If you just reduce your chain-ring set to one Chain ring then you will need to make sure that your Rear cassette, matches for a correct set-up I would think a 14-28 tooth would be best. Personally I would leave both Chain rings on, as that will allow you greater flexibility gearing wise. Whilst using the same Manufacturer parts for for the drive chain should allow for a smoother gear change, I have found that mixing and matching different manufacturers parts has not presented me with any problems.
 
02GF74

02GF74

Über Member
what is it you want to do? a replacement frame willl not solve you gearing issues.

BTW, that ebay frame you link to has a quill type steerer, only found on low end i.e. cheap i.e. shoot frames.

I suspect your Apollo is pretty low end, so my gut feeling is it is not worth spending a vast amount of money to sort it.

What is your budget? What is the intended use of your MTB?
 
OP
OP
A

antrock101

Regular
I'm just looking to learn by building my own bike or fix up my old one. I understand theirs a large cost attached compared to buying new.

I recently got a new bike second hand and saved £200 , I was going to spend £200 + on learning by building a mountain bike that i could throw around and wouldn't worry about being stolen.

Ideally I need a frame with the heatset and fork installed already
 
RecordAceFromNew

RecordAceFromNew

Swinging Member
Location
West London
antrock101 said:
Hello,

My old Apollo mountain bike has just about died and i using this as an excuse to learn more about bike building. The gears are not working very well and they don't shift without weird noises. I am planning to replace the cassette. I also only use the first 5 gears (it's 2x5) so I also want to replace the chain-ring with a single and remove the front derailer (is this possible). I am wondering if this is likely to resolve my problem or if you guys think I will need a new derailer (I have already changed cables and chain). My current gear is shimano if i buy a single chainring (same amount of teeth) and a new 5 speed cassette are they all compatible with each other or do specific shimano gear only go with each other?

Cheers Ant
Click to expand...


I admire your interest to learn. It is going to be time consuming, but should be fun too.

I don't see any reason not to learn by working on the Apollo despite its questionable build quality, and indeed for that reason it might be considered an advantage, as long as you avoid putting parts more expensive than you need to on it (unless they can also be used on a future bike).

Replacing a double by a single chainset because of difficult shifting is bypassing the problem, rather than addressing it. ;)

Unless they are established to be worn out or broken beyond economic repair, generally parts replacement should be the last resort in bike maintenance.

This and this are amongst the best resource for a learner at ANY level. Certainly better than any book, and are free. So is CC here!

5 speed freewheels (cassettes and freewheels are different things, as you will find) are generally interchangeable, although the size of the largest cog has implications on chain length and potentially rear mech compatibility. I would also recommend thinking through tool requirement when selecting a replacement freewheel, because some can have horrendous removal implications (e.g. see here). Your existing one is likely to require a Shimano freewheel removal tool.
 
OP
OP
A

antrock101

Regular
Hey,

Thanks for the encouragement!

After further evaluation it appears it is not economically viable to fix the appollo properly, i will be giving it to a friend to get him into cycling and building from scratch.

I agree that removing the cog is avoiding the problem so I will be building a full MTB.

Those links are great I also got zinns roadbike book which is awesome aswell, just need to find a cheap frame now
 
OP
OP
A

antrock101

Regular
I'm just putting together a gear list to work with what do people think (are these compatible)


Frame
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330840034996?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2648

crank/chain ring
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SHIMANO-A...sure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item43b921dd88

bottom bracket
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SHIMANO-S...cycling_bikeparts_SR&var=&hash=item43b5e480ee

chain guide
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130947520196?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2648

Derailleur
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/sram-x3-78-speed-rear-derailleur/

Gear Shifter
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/sram-mrx-comp-twist-shifter/

Wheel(Rear)
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/sram-406-race-mtb-rear-wheel/

Cassette
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/sram-pg730-7-speed-cassette

I will be removing 2 chain rings hence the guide and no front derailier
 
RecordAceFromNew

RecordAceFromNew

Swinging Member
Location
West London
antrock101 said:
Do you need a particular type of derailer for gear shifter type?
Click to expand...

If you are building a mtb you will have flat bars. With flat bars you need flat bar shifters, the vast majority of which currently are either from Shimano or sram. They are different in terms of feel so worth trying them out yourself, and they usually need rear mechs from the same brand/category. Within Shimano 10 speed mtb shifters/rear mechs are incompatible with those that are 9 speed and under. Within sram the 1:1 and Exact :whistle: groups are not cross-compatible. If it is too confusing just ask in KnowHow before ordering.
 
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