keidal

Can anyone please tell me if a 130 mm rear hub will take a 7 speed freewheel, or an 8 speed freewheel if Italy's Regina etc. made them ? I'm presuming that 130 mm drop-outs were used in the 1980's - 1990's period ?
If this is possible, will say, a Campagnolo Super / Nuovo Record down tube shifter cater for all these sprockets, or would a 6 speed freewheel be the maximum ?

79pmooney

You could do it but you really don't want to. That makes for a very long distance from the right-side hub bearings to the right dropout. Result? The hub axle will break on a regular basis at the bearings. (Not a ride ender -as long as you do not open the quick-release! If you do, your hub bearings will spill out.)

Historically, I think things progressed as follows: hubs went to 126 for 6-speed. SunTour started making Ultra 6s that used 5-speed spacing, then Ultra 7s that used 6 speed spacing. 8-speed freewheels came out and 130 spacing was used to accommodate it. 8-speed cassettes happened soon after, I suspect driven by the axle failures in freewheel hubs. (I never got past 7-speed and jumped to 9-speed.)

I haven't heard many success stories with freewheels and 130 spacing. (A Cyclone MK-II should shift it OK, it did flawlessly for my 9-speed.)

Ben

keidal

Thank you for this explanation.
If I used a 5 or 6 speed freewheel, would the same possibility of axle breakage still be a problem or do I have to accept that a cassette is the real deal please ?
I've no experience of cassettes, being in the 80 year old age band, but I do have some braze-on type Campagnolo Nuovo Record shifters, which I'd like to use. 10 speeds would be more than sufficient for my use !
I really appreciate all this help and advice.

pastorbobnlnh 

Sachs made very nice 7 & 8 speed Aris freewheels, which came with different spacers for either Shimano or Campagnolo indexed shifiting.

Sachs Aris freewheel 8 speed | eBay

Sachs Aris freewheel 7 speed | eBay

JohnDThompson 

No, the issue is that the more cogs you pile onto the freewheel, the longer the unsupported section of hub axle protrudes beyond the drive side bearing. This acts as a lever to flex the axle; the longer the unsupported section, the more leverage to bend the axle. This continued flex permanently bends, and often eventually breaks the axle. Heavy riders and rough roads exacerbate this problem. This is why modern hubs use freehubs and cassettes instead of freewheels, as the freehub design allows the drive side bearing to be placed further outboard than is possible with a freewheel hub, minimizing the unsupported section of axle between the bearing and the dropout.

dunrobin

I picked up a pinarello from a triathlete who had it set with an 8 speed free hub. Spacing is 130, hub is mavic. I'm guessing durability would depend on your weight and riding style. I'm converting a 7 speed setup to 8 for my son. He's less than 60lbs. What little experience I have with free hubs makes me prefer cassettes.

El Chaba

To the original poster's question, there were several brands of 130mm road hubs in the early-mid 1990's that were specifically designed with 8 speed freewheels in mind. Regina made them as did Sachs/Maillard. During that time period, Sachs was a holdout with the freewheel-as opposed to cassette-format for their road groups. While it makes for a lot of unsupported axle on the drive side, the Sachs New Success setup that I had in that era-and still have on a bike today-was dead reliable with a beefy spacer to reinforce the axle.

John E

My Bianchi (ca. 1980) came with a standard 6-speed Regina America freewheel on an Ofmega hub with a 126mm overlock Campag. axle, which I have broken once already.

hueyhoolihan

i've have ridden thousands of miles using an American Classic freewheel hub (circa 1995) and 7 and 8 speed freewheels. no problem. i was touring, with a load. BTW, i weighed about 170 at the time.

anyway, problems are not necessarily guaranteed WRT to the bent axle problem.

keidal

I'm considering using a 5 or 6 speed Regina freewheel, with a double chainwheel and this should give this doddery 80+ old geezer sufficient gears to ride around and get some exercise - wouldn't you agree ?
Thank you for all your comments.

Vintage Raleigh

In answer to your question - Absolutely!
If you have 130mm spacing on your frame though and 121 or 126mm spacing for your wheel, I'd suggest a cold set to narrow the spacing on the frame.
If the levers are friction then all good if they're indexed, someone here can advise on set up with your chosen freewheel.
Well done for getting out on the bike, nice way to get around.

SteelCharlie

YES! That is only 4mm (2mm/side) to get to a standard 6gear spacing and a setup for all intents and purposes devoid of trouble. The cold set and properly re-aligned dropouts should cost way less than putzing around with trying to make something else work as well. The only downside is that most of the children pretending to be bike mech's these days may not have a clue about cold setting so chose carefully.

hueyhoolihan

your 130mm freewheel hub will accept 5,6,7, and probably 8 speed freewheels and fit your frame. and just about any non-indexed friction shifter will work.

BTW, it's the OLD of the hub that must fit the frame. the freewheel's width or number of cogs is unimportant. that only comes into play WRT chainline for non-indexed friction shifters. and even then a simple spacer put on before the freewheel is threaded on can account for any discrepancies caused by a too narrow freewheel.

keidal

Thank you for your encouragement. I'm restoring a 1990 Colnago Superissimo frame, which the previous Italian owner had [disgracefully in my opinion] allow it to become virtually useless and had repainted it maroon, on top of the bright pink original paint. The only savior being that the thick gooey varnish he'd put on top, had also been sprayed on the chrome front lugs and saved them from rusting.
I've tried using paint strippers - useless and butane burning the awkward bits - hopeless, so I'm back to scraping all the paint off by hand and that bottom bracket is a real fiddly job !
My first bike after WW2 was a new green Raleigh Lenton, since when, I've been restoring bicycles from the UK, USA, France and Italy, probably well over one hundred. I'm not really familiar with the modern technology and engineering, so I'm guessing that "indexing" is something to do with gear changing via the brake lever.
I'd prefer to use the down-tube bosses and if possible use either Campagnolo Super Record shifters or whatever followed - was it C Record ? However, I've a soft spot for Gipiemme, which I've read was used on Colnago frames, so I might save a few quid and go with that option !
I can't put photos on here, I've tried in the past with no success being a computer / PC / modern electronics nerd, but if anyone cares to do it for me, my email address is oldlampman@oldlampman.karoo.co.uk
I used to restore old UK railway lamps and USA railroad lanterns as well !
Thanks once more for all your help.
Keith