Hi MattHB. I am bidding on E Bay for a Dawes Odyssey, which of course I may be outbidded. It has 21 gears and I just wondered what would be the easiest and least expensive option if I wanted to change. I live in a hilly area and I am getting on in years, so need as many gears as possibleNew cassette, new mech (possibly) and a new changer on that side (certainly). Easy but expensive.
Would you see much benefit? It likely that you can just change the cassette to alter the gearing and achieve almost the same effect.
What have you currently got?
No, sorry. It is of course a Claud Butler Odyssey. Thank you to all who helped me with my question+1 to what tyred said.
Can I add that 7 speed on the rear can come as either a screw on freewheel or cassette version. If it is a cassette type an upgrade should be quite easy but if it is the more common screw on freewheel you will need a different hub (or complete rear wheel) which might not fit into the dropouts on that bike (freehubs have a wider spacing than most threaded type hubs).
Edit: BTW I have done a quick search for Dawes Odyssey to look at specs and cannot find any references but did find a Claud Butler Odyssey. Is it definitely Dawes?
The Claud Butler Odyssey does use the screw on freewheel so I'm afraid upgrading to 24 speed is complicated.No, sorry. It is of course a Claud Butler Odyssey. Thank you to all who helped me with my question
What he said ...The Claud Butler Odyssey does use the screw on freewheel so I'm afraid upgrading to 24 speed is complicated.
You can however stick to 21 speeds but widen the gear range by using one of these: http://www.cyclelife.com/Product.aspx?pc=2&pt=95&pg=4103 (ignore the picture it looks different to this).
Shimano also do one: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/shimano/tourney-7-speed-megarange-freewheel-ec025606 which is more expensive and only has a 14 tooth high gear
A new chain will be needed to cope with the larger cog.
I have the Sturmey Archer/Sunrace version on one of my bikes and find it excellent - nicely geared for fast cruising but with a bottom gear that will climb practically any hill I care to try.