Classtime 

I just got a new Regina chain for my 79 Raleigh Competition G.S. and now I want a nice 5 speed FW with a 24 tooth large cog. The Maillards I've looked at appear quite worn and it was a Maillard 13-24 that is catalogue spec. I've seen good prices on Suntour Perfects but I don't know if I will get that vintage sound of my 5 speed chain on a Suntour. Are the teeth profiles similar enough that I won't hear a difference?
It will go on this. Currently with a 14-22 because I thought it was a '78.

bikemig 

Wait you can hear the difference in sound between one freewheel and another? And you are basing your buying decision not on the gear ratios you might need but the music your freewheel makes with your chain?

You sir are a bicycle poet and my hat is off to you.

repechage

Regina Extra or better yet G.S. Course as wide as you can get to work, 14-26 would have been typical and the rear derailleur should shift it.
Your saddle position, tilt and forward set pains me, especially with the stem set so low.

Classtime 

Eroica is poetry in motion.

Where is Regina oro in the Regina hierarchy? I intend to have the biggest cog a 24 to keep it Catalog Correct.
Brooks saddles are so weird. Why on earth does it need to be pointed up like that to keep me from sliding forward? It is mounted in the center of the rails and the saddle to bar drop is my usual 7cm. (Not measured from the weird Brooks saddle nose.)

non-fixie 

I'm a member of the same club. My favorite freewheels are the ones that sound best. I love that silvery tingle some produce when coasting.

Wildwood 

OK - But those valve stems are lined up. So credits.

Besides, the first pics are often before final check-ride adjustments. Tires may have wrong psi, too.

To OP : contact pastorbob in nh for possibilities from: www.freewheelspa.com (he sometimes has an inventory of For Sale items)

bikemig 

I wouldn't lose much sleep over factory specs for a bike I was planning on doing the CA eroica ride on. It is definitely one of the things that would have been swapped out back in the day depending on rider fitness and riding conditions. That's equally true today.

That RD can handle 26 teeth; 28 if you are willing to take out the adjustment screws and shove the wheel all the way back.

And no vintage freewheel makes a more pleasing sound than a suntour IMHO.

Salamandrine 

Regina Oro was top of the line during my main era of reference, until it was superseded by the CX sometime in the 80s. I liked Oro freewheels because they were relatively inexpensive and lasted a long time. Frankly I never had a bad experience with Atom or Maillard freewheels either. I also really liked the Cyclo-Pans kit freewheel, but good luck finding one of those now.

Suntour Perfect was the entry level freewheel. You want a winner/new-winner/procompe for a high end bike. Also great freewheels. They actually cost more than oro BITD.

Spaghetti Legs 

Well I was gonna say the one with 34 teeth on it.

iab

If you are heroic, a 14-18 corncob.

Anything else, you are not.

Bad Lag

Dura Ace - they are excellent. Mine is over 40 years old and still going strong.

It has a wonderful sound when freshly oiled and even afterwards - very nice.

P.S. - from what I've read of the event and experienced riding in the area, you might want larger than 24T in the rear. I ride 42-24 as my low gear and can master some pretty long grades but not on dirt/gravel. Also, you may want a tire with a bit of tread (gravel can kill tire cords).

Salamandrine 

I remember having a bit of that sensation after not riding a Brooks for a long time. Even so, I've always kept mine dead level. After a while you get used to it and the micro muscles compensate or something, at least that was my experience. I've not felt the sliding forward sensation in years. I couldn't be comfortable with the saddle pointing up like that. Wtih Turbos and Avocets etc I always preferred a very slight down tilt, maybe 1/10". My saddle to bar drop is about the same as yours, just slightly less at 6cm.

Maybe try tilting up the bars a couple degrees, and moving up the levers maybe 1/4"? You've got some room to play there without giving up traditional set up.

jeirvine 

24 should be OK, if you are riding the coastal route, or if you have 1930's cyclists legs.

davester

That is almost always an indication that the saddle is located too far forward relative to the pedals. Try sliding the saddle back and flattening it out. That should get you into a better position on the bike. Unfortunately, it will almost certainly necessitate getting a shorter stem (stem length should always be the last thing you adjust when fitting a bike).

Kabuki12

Yes I definitely hear the difference in my freewheels . My favorite is the Regina that Pastor Bob at the freewheel spa built for me. It has that classic sound that just clicks. I rode it mounted on my ItalVega last year on the coastal route , 14-28 5 speed with 52-41 Super Record front chain rings. To me it was perfect. The other freewheel that I like a lot is a Suntour Perfect , not quite as nice sounding as the Regina , but classic just the same. I would have the low at 26 minimum. Joe joesvintageroadbikes.wordpress

gugie 

There's a fine line between heroic and just plain crazy. For Eroica, the over/under is 24t largest cog.

Classtime 

Could be. This bike has a pretty steep seat tube but I've had this saddle on other bikes and it always sits like that. I'll experiment some. Thanks.

repechage

The Regina "Oro" lived a long life, when introduced the body used was an upgraded tolerance unit. The body will be the two prong remover type and be stamped G.S. Corse SICC on the body lock-ring.

Later came the Regina Extra with Oro cogs instead of all dark, even later arrived the spline remover engagement.

and later the Regina Oro...also with splines.

The Extra bodies were meh, and often noisy and wobbled. Some were good, tolerances were all over the place. The G.S. Corse SICC bodies actually pre-date Oro cogs, but for a long time the Oro freewheels were the stars of the peloton.

The bodies marked Regina Oro with splines are better than the Extra bodies for the most part, but not as good as a G.S. Corse SICC


Regina played fast and loose with the Oro chains too. When the Recod Oro chain was introduced, narrowed width side plates and drilled plates, the Oro chain became the Extra Oro.

That is the chain most often sold on ebay to the gold starved masses for big dollars.

The Real Oro chain is the SC Oro, rounded edge side plates like the Record Oro, but taller, wider, however you wish to describe it. Those sell for 2x the Extra Oro chains.

Mad Honk 

So after all of this banter........ would you be interested in a new in the box ORO 14-21 free wheel? And somewhere, I remember a Regina box full of free wheel cogs in the for sale or trade part of this forum. Just a suggestion. If you would like it , please PM me, Smiles, MH

repechage

I agree, 99% chance your knee is too far forward as you pedal. As to stem length and... have to see you on the bike.
By the way, the UCI has a rule that the saddle needs to be no closer than 5 cm behind the bottom bracket- this is a curious rule, lots of ways to work around it, but it was written at a time where this saddle was King.
No idea on saddle height either.
People are all over the map in proportion and flexibility.
I see most often out on the road, guys with the saddle too high, cleats adjusted wrong so their knees swing out and in while pedaling and guys with their arms locked.
Can't save them all.
When I catch them at a signal light, I do ask the question that comes to mind from what I see:
arms hurt?
or saddle bother you? back hurt? knees give you pain?
Always without exception, "how do you know?"

ramzilla

Suntour

rccardr 

Shimano. Simply...the best.

nlerner

It ain’t heroic unless you have 1978 air in your tubbies.

gugie 

Depends on which ride. The shortest route is up and down the coast, a corncob would do just fine. All three of the other rides go over some very steep climbs on gravel roads. A 42-24 would mean walking a good portion of it for just about any rider. Even TdFrance riders are using 42-28 nowadays in the mountains, and they're all paved.

The gravel on Eroica California doesn't need any tread, IMO, and I've done it twice on 700c x 33 1/3 Jack Browns. As a matter of fact, up here in the PNW we ride gravel without knobs, and tread is limited to minimal file pattern. And we've got a lot of gravel roads to ride up here.

jackbombay

This is setting yourself up for total lack of adherence to rule #69 :

// Cycling shoes and bicycles are made for riding.Any walking conducted while wearing cycling shoes must be strictly limited. When taking a slash or filling bidons during a 200km ride (at 38kmh, see Rule #68) one is to carefully stow one’s bicycle at the nearest point navigable by bike and walk the remaining distance. It is strictly prohibited that under any circumstances a cyclist should walk up a steep incline, with the obvious exception being when said incline is blocked by riders who crashed because you are on the Koppenberg. For clarification, see Rule #5.7

I break plenty of rules, but that doesn't mean I don't love them.