swapping wheels over on two retro ralieghs, drivetrain goes stiff?

[2clepto]

hi everyone,

i got a retro raliegh r100 this afternoon and i thought id change the wheels over with another retro raleigh which has 105 hubs and mavic rims (a little worn lol). anyhow when i put the mavics on the rear wheels makes the drivetrain stiffen up if i change up into a smaller cog. the strange thing is when i spin the drivetrain i cannot locate where it is stiffening up. thought it was the chain, then the bottom bracket. maybe its the axle and spacers? of which i tried a few combinations to little effect. i return the original wheel to the r100 and the drivetrain returns to functioning normally.

any help much appreciated in advance.

 

[RebornBumbler]

Are you spreading the frame to get any of those in ?
(There are a number of different standards for rear axle width)

Otherwise, you probably just need to adjust the cones.

 

[2clepto]

Are you spreading the frame to get any of those in ?
(There are a number of different standards for rear axle width)

Otherwise, you probably just need to adjust the cones.

yes. i am spreading the r100 frame to get the mavic wheel on. i havent tried the other way because the wheels on the r100 are not that good.

would i good idea be to swap over the axles and the skewers too?

thanks mark.

 

[RebornBumbler]

It would be a good idea to use the right sized wheels!

If you must use a wider axle than the frame is designed for, then you will need to slcken off the cones to compensate (trial and error process).

 

[HovR]

Before you slacken the cones off, if you lift the rear wheel off the ground and spin it by hand, does it freewheel well? If it does, cones aren't the issue.

 

[2clepto]

It would be a good idea to use the right sized wheels!

If you must use a wider axle than the frame is designed for, then you will need to slcken off the cones to compensate (trial and error process).

thanks. yes it was the cones were too tight. its just the r100 came with standard wheels. ive managed to sort it nearly. and im bidding for longer 57mm calipers as we speak on ebay.

the r100 is beginning to feel like a sweet bike with the mavics installed. i sorted the slack stem out too. i think the guy, who was a cool guy, just didnt have the tools to set the bike up after storage. so ive just been tightening things up all day and trying to get the small callipers to work unsuccessfully on the rear just fits on the front.

i took it for a little test ride just now and the rear wheel kept slipping across as though i hadnt done the skewer up tight enough. (im purposely leaving some things a little slacker to find their sweet spots after nearly threading a few things and learning all about star nuts last year lol. but becasue ive been swapping axle parts maybe i left out a washer, ill check after ebay.

 

[2clepto]

Before you slacken the cones off, if you lift the rear wheel off the ground and spin it by hand, does it freewheel well? If it does, cones aren't the issue.

cheers hovr you were right they didnt spin when the frame was lifted. ive since moved the axle across a bit and changed the position of the lock nuts, but im still having trouble getting the cones to sit close and not tight because the wheels wobbling slightly in the frame.

 

[Nigeyy]

+1, but also just spreading the frame may not be enough if the smallest cog lands too close to the frame (your new smallest cog may now be bigger too).

Are you spreading the frame to get any of those in ?
(There are a number of different standards for rear axle width)

Otherwise, you probably just need to adjust the cones.

 

[2clepto]

+1, but also just spreading the frame may not be enough if the smallest cog lands too close to the frame (your new smallest cog may now be bigger too).

"your new smallest cog may now be bigger too" what do you mean thanks?

it was the cones i had tightened them way too tight. id also left of a locking nut on one side of the axles by mistake lol, i also had your problem the small cog was too close to the frame, and on a test ride the rear wheel kept slipping which im hoping i just tightened up too slack, but there may be another washer missing but im just looking for faults to fix now lol again.

what i found out was, should have maybe swapped the axles as well?, and maybe cassettes?, shouldve took a few photos.

i know where i kinda went leftfield a bit and got exited by the new bike. the day before i was watching youtube vids on servicing hubs and got down to servicing the two mavic wheels. the new bike came half a day after with low grade wheels and tyres, and i got thinking hmm... i didnt think i would win the r100 on ebay because i had a limit and id lost out to a few other large size racers over the previous few weeks, demand appears strong.

so, got the wheels to fit pretty good now. brakes that came with the bike would not function with the mavics being short arm callipers, then took the campy callipers from the other raleigh to put on the r100 which is large 60inch and i find i need long drop brake callipers. so the bike sits looking great waiting for the brakes either cheap off ebay or ill try a recycling centre tomorrow.

Another nice surprise was the Rolls seat.

photo,

,

 

[Nigeyy]

I wasn't sure if you'd swapped your wheelset including freewheel/cassette. E.g. if your old smallest cog was 11 teeth, and the new one 12 teeth, then the new cog will be bigger -possibly allowing the chain to hit the seat stay when you are in the smallest cog. I have an old Raleigh Supercourse where the clearance is just enough; I know I couldn't possibly go to more teeth on my smallest cog. Sometimes you can get a bit more space by using a spacer on the gear side of the axle too -though this might then necessitate realigning your rim as well.......or if your frame is spread to its max, it might just be too tight of a fit. Still, it sounds like you're on your way to sorting it out.

Good luck, and nice piccie!

"your new smallest cog may now be bigger too" what do you mean thanks?

it was the cones i had tightened them way too tight. id also left of a locking nut on one side of the axles by mistake lol, i also had your problem the small cog was too close to the frame, and on a test ride the rear wheel kept slipping which im hoping i just tightened up too slack, but there may be another washer missing but im just looking for faults to fix now lol again.

 

[2clepto]

I wasn't sure if you'd swapped your wheelset including freewheel/cassette. E.g. if your old smallest cog was 11 teeth, and the new one 12 teeth, then the new cog will be bigger -possibly allowing the chain to hit the seat stay when you are in the smallest cog. I have an old Raleigh Supercourse where the clearance is just enough; I know I couldn't possibly go to more teeth on my smallest cog. Sometimes you can get a bit more space by using a spacer on the gear side of the axle too -though this might then necessitate realigning your rim as well.......or if your frame is spread to its max, it might just be too tight of a fit. Still, it sounds like you're on your way to sorting it out.

Good luck, and nice piccie!

thanks. i never considered the amount of teeth making the cog larger. excellent tip thanks very much. i did try a spacer on the gear side but that was the moment i realised i had omited to replace the locknut on the gearing side, or it didnt have one and i failed to notice that too lol.

it does feel like an option would be to swap over the cassettes also if you can when swapping wheels?