Old 07-20-21, 03:09 AM
  #19  
canklecat
Me duelen las nalgas
 
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Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Texas
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Bikes: Centurion Ironman, Trek 5900, Univega Via Carisma, Globe Carmel

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A couple of my road bikes are still set up for 7-speed, one with a freewheel, the other with cassette.

The steel bike has a 50/38 chainring and 13-28 SunRace chromed MFM30 freewheel. It's darned near perfect, lacking only a big gear for downhills with a tailwind. In other words, it's not lacking anything important.

The carbon fiber bike came with an Ultegra 6700 crankset and 53/39 chainrings. Good enough, not cost effective to replace for minor differences. I'm currently borrowing a wheelset set up with a 7-speed cassette, the SunRace 11-28 cassette (CSM40, I think). I'd prefer the same cog setup as the 13-28 MFM30 freewheel. Stretching an 11 to 28 gap across only 7 cogs results in some awkward jumps that take me out of my rhythm. But the 39T chainring and 28T cog are fine for whatever climbs we have around here.

While I like the SunRace -- great values, no problems with quality in three years -- I don't care for the cog spacing in that particular 7-speed cassette with the 11-28 cogs.

So if you can find a 7-speed cassette in 13-28, try that. I had an older Shimano cassette in that range that felt about right, although it's worn out now. Unless I'm going downhill with a tailwind, I'll never spin out with a 53T big ring and 13T cog. I ain't that strong or fast. But the better spacing of the 13-28 across 7-speeds would be useful every ride.

If your crankset/chainring is 130 BCD, pretty standard back then, try a 38 or 39 small chainring. Vuelta sells some for a very reasonable price. I've used Vuelta SE Plus big rings and standard SE small rings in 39 and 38. They're as good as any of my older Suntour or Shimano chainrings.

I do have and occasionally need a smaller chainring and larger rear cog for climbing on my heavier hybrid. My old Univega hybrid has a 50/40/30 triple and 12-34 cassette, and sometimes I need that 30/34 combo on some short, steep climbs with that 30 lb bike, especially if I'm hauling stuff from errands. But I've never felt the need for that kind of gearing on my lighter road bikes. Subjectively, on a bike weighing 18-24 lbs, a 38 or 39 chainring and 28 cog feels about the same as the 30/34 combo on the heavier hybrid.
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