Roypercy

Hi all:

I recently acquired a 1987 Schwinn Super Sport. I like the bike a lot, but it has Shimano 600EX indexed gears. I'm just not a fan. The rear derailleur slips slightly when going to from the smallest cog to the next one up, and I have no idea how to adjust it. I'm sure I could learn, but I like the feel of friction shifting much more and I'm thinking of switching the gears out.

So, I know if I switch to a friction system I'll need to change the shift levers too. What about the freewheel? The chain? I've heard that indexed shifters take a slightly more compact freewheel, is this true?

Any recommendations for friction derailleurs that would be a nice upgrade for this bike?

As always, any advice is appreciated.

Giacomo 1 

I have a 600 group on one of my bikes, also an 87 as it turns out, and on the shift lever there is an adjustment screw you can turn to make it index or friction depending on where you set it. Super simple. Not sure if your EX has that, but check it out.

By the way, my 600 shifts like butter. Its a very nice group. Hard to upgrade IMHO.

GrainBrain

Nope, nope, nope, no way.

Modern hyperglide freewheels do shift better in both friction and indexed modes, imo. Try adjusting the cable tension on the rear derailleur with the barrel adjuster by a turn until you tune out the delay from 1 to 2.

Murray Missile 

Agreed, it just needs a little tweak. Do yourself a favor and learn to adjust it. It's not rocket surgery.

JohnDThompson 

As others have noted, your indexing issue may simply be an adjustment issue.

But if you really want to convert your bike too friction shifting, you don't need to change anything. The D-ring on the right shift lever is used to switch between indexed and friction mode on the lever. Turn the ring so that the red triangle points to the "FRICTION" setting on the lever:



Your current derailleurs will work fine in either indexed or friction mode; indeed, any derailleur designed to work with an indexed system will also work with friction levers (but not vice-versa).

You may enjoy marginally better shifting performance with a modern "hyperglide" freewheel or cassette, but likely not dramatically better.

Try any of the suggestions here or above before investing in new components.

ryansu

Or Brain Science

OP there is lots of info out there and probably even a owners manual exploded view of your specific shifter. Google is your friend.

T-Mar

+1. All you have to do to engage the friction mode is turn the D-ring counter-clockwise by 1/2 turn. All the early Shimano SIS levers included a friction mode. This is because SIS was originally released on Dura-Ace, a competition group. In the case of flat tyres, racers sometimes had to resort to neutral support and could not be guaranteed a wheel having a freewheel or cassette with SIS compatible spacing. Friction mode allowed the racer to continue to compete on any freewheel or cassette, though there could still be issues with the inner and cogs.

As noted. all index derailleurs are friction compatible but few friction derailleurs are index compatible. While other factors may be at play, probably all you need is cable tension adjustment. If you have local bicycle co-op, they are typically excellent places to gain guidance in such matters.

Regarding Hyperglide cogs, the improvement is not so noticeable for those for have proper shifting technique. However, it is capable of executing shifts under very loads. So, if you're caught off guard by a terrain change, such as a sudden uphill, it can make the difference between walking and riding a hill.