Albion 

TBTBIO = The Best Two Bikes I Own. One is a 1974 Araya (no model name), and the other a 1980 Fuji Gran Tourer SE. I would be truly grateful for any advice on a couple of technical challenges on these lovely old bikes. As follows:

Araya: There is about 1/8th of a turn between the FD not changing up to the outer chainring and it casting the chain onto the crankarm. I think I have everything aligned, no tension in the cable when selecting High that would stop the FD cage moving. I'm stumped.

Fuji: Clicking, once per revolution of the wheel under when being driven in the highest gear (14T). Seems to be in good adjustment, although the freewheel bearing is now worn to the extent it allows a few degrees of wobble on its axis (maybe an additional shim? - if I could ever find one). Teeth look good.


The cell phone camera has a bit of pin-cushion distortion, it is better than it looks.


Aligned OK?


Is this worn enough to click?

nlerner

Araya FD: You can lower it a smidge and rotate it just a bit clockwise; the cage doesn't quite look lined up with the big ring.

Albion 

Here's the Suntour Perfect 6-speed 14-30 freewheel side view:



Maybe replace with a modern twist-tooth freewheel - if I could ever find one?

Albion 

Hi Nlerner, just to say thank you for the advice. Boy, a tiny rotation made all the difference, about 5 deg. and it's now fine. I also used PCB's method of using (his term) a lever between the crank arm and BB cup with a "BFS" (big screwdriver) to straighten the chainring to within <1mm runout. Back to my magic carpet of a bike!

gaucho777 

Glad you got the Arya sorted out. I agree with the prior assessment that the FD cage was out of alignment with the crank, and the gap between the cage and chainring much too big. I usually aim for a gap of only ~3mm.

For the Fuji, really hard to diagnose a click over the internet. Could be anything from a shoelace to a kickstand to a saddle rail or anything in between. Sometimes process of elimination is the best approach.

You sure your '86 Fuji Team doesn't crack the top two?

Albion 

Oh yeah - I am so looking forward to getting the Team Fuji built up! I rode wifey's lifeless lump of carbon fiber when she first got it and good grief what a difference. Projects (AKA "life") have been allowed to get in the way of the Team Fuji, but I am getting there. I am currently looking for a six-speed, 14/30 freewheel to replace the 40-year-old item on the Fuji that has developed a maddening click once per revolution, regardless of the speed. Any thoughts where I might get one? I was thinking of stepping up to twist-tooth if I could. Here's a pic . . .


Suntour Perfect WG 14/30

Not worn? But wobbly!

francophile 

First, @nlerner may need to change his name to "Nail" because he nailed it

General rule of thumb, FD cage, if straight, should be in-line (parallel) to the chainrings There's debate about cage height, but if you RTFM with most manuf'er manuals they'll tell you the bottom edge of the cage should be in the range of 1mm-3mm above the top of the teeth. Shimano's newer stuff actually has a guide taped on for you to reference during install, and sometimes it's actually right. There are situations where you either can't abide by this or certain mechs perform better in different ways.

Meanwhile, those Perfect freewheels kinda live up to their name. I personally prefer the New Winner models, but I've got several of the Pro Compe and New Winner models I keep for my favorite bikes, they're just really damn good freewheels and versatile, with easily serviceable cogs with the right tools. Never throw it away. And if you need to know more about what beauty you have there, consult Sheldon: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/suntour-freewheel.html

Pieces of advice:

If you have another similarly-threaded freewheel with similar range, try swapping it in for one ride. Still hear the click? Ok, it's NOT the freewheel. Try to find what it is.

If it IS the freewheel, this is going to sound absolutely absurd, but it works to clean up sandy, gunky, stuck-pawl freewheels to a usable state - it'll also de-gunkify the worst of the worst parts. I keep a $15 crock pot, a tiny 1.5 quart unit, on my shop table. On the LOW setting, you can gently cook caked grease off parts. It works exceptionally well for freewheels, to fully clean them out. Here's what I do: Fill the 1.51t crock pot with 4 cups water (2/3 full). Add about half a shot glass of purple Simple Green HD degreaser. Pop the lid on it, turn it on LOW, then let things cook overnight. Fish out a clean part the next day with a wire and gloves (it'll be hot). If you have a compressor, blow as much air through the body as possible to blow any extra bits out, then leave it to cool. If it was extra sandy, I'll flush the body with a jet of hot water, change my crock pot water out, and run another cycle, then blow out. If you're worried about residual water, put in an oven at 150-170ºF for 30 minutes to steam out any water. Once completed, be sure to lube the body. Note: This is absolutely not an alternative to a proper rebuild. I prefer to rebuild my stuff, but if it's a cheap part, or too far gone and I just need it to work, I'll go this route.

Albion 

Hi Francophile, thanks so much for this. Definitely a useful approach where the locking ring is stuck fast!

nlerner

The challenge I’ve often found with lining up vintage front derailleurs is that for whatever historical reason, the front and rear cage plates are no longer parallel. You could straighten one or both, but that usually makes things worse, in my experience. Then it’s a matter of choosing to line up the chainrings with the inner or outer cage. I usually opt for the latter.