Triple project

[Dogtrousers]

I think my next project will be to put a triple on my Dawes.

I don't have any really good reason for this, it's mainly because I can, and out of curiosity. And so that I have a bike with low gearing for long hilly rides. The fact that I suffer from sore knees after anything over 100k with much up in it is part of the reason. When my knees get sore I can't stand on the pedals so at this point all climbing has to be seated. But really there's not too much logic in it.

I plan to use a Stronglight 48/38/28 from Spa along with the BB that they recommend.

The bike has an 11-32 8 speed cassette, but the old steel frame means that I can't use the little sprocket, so it's effectively 13-32 7 speed. I have an Alivio MTB long cage rear mech, which has 43T capacity, which is plenty. I run this with friction shifters, and it works fine.

As a front mech I'm not sure what I need. I'm guessing a Tiagra front mech, which has 20T capacity should be fine. Friction shifter means I don't have to worry about cable pull. Spa do an adapter thingy so I can use a braze on mech (no brazings on the frame). I'd replace the chain at the same time.

That would give me a 23" bottom gear, and the same 98" top that it has at the moment. I figure that with a 23" gear I could also help out on my friends' farm if their tractor breaks down.

The Dawes is currently my tough bike, with Marathon+ tyres, but I may replace those with Durano+ in the spring. Not that that has anything to do with it.

Any comments on this plan? I'm just posting this so someone can point out the obvious flaw in the plan - which I can't see at the moment.

 

[Tim Hall]

Looks good to me. Especially the tyre swap. Depending on the age of the chain you might need to replace the cassette too.

 

[Dogtrousers]

The tyres have to be tough because I have to spring the back wheel into the frame, which is a bugger of a job. I've only ever had to do it on the road once (and yes, it was raining, and muddy, and I was with a group who were all staring at me wanting me to get a move on)

Anyway, aren't you meant to be on your way to Dunwich now?

 

[Big_Dave]

My 1988 Raleigh was 2x6 and is now 3x10, The sky is the limit!

 

[Dogtrousers]

My 1988 Raleigh was 2x6 and is now 3x10, The sky is the limit!

10 speed? Are the rear dropouts narrow old ones (120mm?) or modern wide ones (130mm?)

I find that with a modern hub jammed into an old frame the teeny sprocket won't work.

I want to keep friction shifters, and I'm unsure whether 10 speed would be too fiddly. Anyway I never feel the need for more gears when I'm riding it.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

@Dogtrousers just got a Spa Triple 50/38/26 ( I already had the inner ring), this works well with a 5703 front triple and I suspect I could get another few teeth capacity out of the front, so its 50/38/26 with a 12-27 rear 10sp
giving 25-109".

 

[Dogtrousers]

Just wondering whether I need to take into account the slightly fatter 8 speed chain when choosing the front mech.

 

[Big_Dave]

the frame does need to made wider to take the 130 hub set up (cold setting as they call it these days), if you are on 130 OLN hub this will give enough clearance to run 8/9/10 speed, on a 120 OLN (old 5 speed) or 126 OLN (old 6/7 speed) 8sp will not work as you say the chain will not go on the smallest sprocket.
When my Raleigh was 3x8 speed I ran a 9 speed triple front derailleur on a 8 speed chain with no problems, the 8 speed cassette also also run a 9 speed chain perfectly as well. I would suggest indexed downtube shifters (front is still friction) once you've tried them you wouldn't go back to friction.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Cheers @Big_Dave . It's always interesting to see what other people have achieved. You and @Nigelnaturist are my gearing heroes.

I haven't cold set the frame ... it's on my list of things to do but pretty low down. But I can't see that would make it possible to use the 11T sprocket as, once the QR is tightened up the geometry will be the same. You won't be able to tell if it's been cold set or not. Surely cold setting will only change how easy it is to get the wheel in. I reckon a 12-32 cassette would be fine, but I don't think such a thing exists, at least not cheaply. And anyway, I rarely run out of gears at the top end. Maybe going downhill sometimes but that's it.

Anyway, that's not on the agenda for this project, which is just the chainset/front mech. As to the friction shifters I feel "if it ain't broke ... " so they're staying as is. And I don't want to introduce the fiddle of having to index the gears on my tough bike.

@Nigelnaturist , I've been looking at the spa chainset, and thinking maybe 50-38-28, which goes some way to ameliorate my "little sprocket" problem, to the extent that it is a problem at all.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

@Dogtrousers its a nice chainset, cranks could be finished better, but for £20 you can't complain.
If my 105 triple does 50/38/26 I am pretty sure many others will too, the FD3303 I had (sora) would do the same on 7/8 and 9sp. as I know it had a capacity of at least 22th, what you have to remember a 48x12 is the same as a 52x13.
If you are making a 12-32 on anything bar a 10sp, you can make your own ratios from separate cassettes, and 9 and 8sp the cogs are virtually identical being only 0.02mm difference in width, so if you have 8sp spacers, you can get a 9sp cassette giving more options.

 

[Dogtrousers]

@Dogtrousers
If you are making a 12-32 on anything bar a 10sp, you can make your own ratios from separate cassettes, and 9 and 8sp the cogs are virtually identical being only 0.02mm difference in width, so if you have 8sp spacers, you can get a 9sp cassette giving more options.

I'll save that for another day. Thanks

 

[Nigelnaturist]

The day my 9sp shifter failed, I had it set up 13/14/15/17/19/21/24/28/32, this was just a test for the one day, not sure why because the ride I took was flat, this was also with an RD5701, it shifted through the range well enough, gaps not to big coupled up with a 52/40/30 chainset, pretty much the same range I have now. The 13th lock ring actually comes from the orginal 7sp 13-26 cassette

 

[Big_Dave]

I'm presuming you must have the 126mm OLN hub, this would be why the 11T isn't working but there is a way around it without buying a new hub by spacers and longer threaded axle, if there comes a point you want to get the 11T working

Anyway good luck with the triple conversion

 

[Dogtrousers]

I can't remember the sizes off the top of my head but I think I have 130mm hub (pretty certain), and 120 or 126 frame.