help for utter newbie

[ojmit]

Hi all - I have recently started cycling - Last summer I got hold of an old raleigh mountain bike which I used to ride around on - all good fun. Recently I found a dawes racing cycle in a local recycling plant - paid a fiver for it! It is fine but.......I am finding going from Mountain bike gearing to a racer very tough! Can I buy a gear set that is similar to the mountain bike one for the racer and how easy is it to fit? I live in a hilly area and need the higher gears before I come to a standstill!

any info / advice would be great

cheers

 

[g00se]

Hi,

Should be possible but it depends upon what the current gears are - which may dictate whether it's just the rear cogs that need changing or more parts. Also, if the bike's old, replacements may be harder to come by.

To start with, let us know the make and model of rear dérailleur, how may cogs there are on the back - and if you can, could the teeth of the rear smallest and largest cogs. And also count the teeth on the smallest and largest cogs on the front (if that has more than one).

Cheers

 

[ojmit]

Thanks mate - just counted......front big cog has 52 teeth, front small cog has 40

rear big cog has 22, rear small has 13

deraliuer is "sachs huret" can't find a model number on it

thanks again

 

[ColinJ]

Those are pretty tough gears for climbing so I'm not surprised that you are struggling!

By the way - you want 'lower' gears. High gears are the hard ones used for riding fast.

Your lowest gear is 40/22 or 1.82:1. Mine is 30/28 or 1.07:1 so you can see that yours is 70% harder than mine.

I don't think it would be cost-effective to upgrade your bike so I'd be tempted to bung it on eBay and see if you can make a small profit on it and put the money towards a new bike with lower gears already fitted.

If you can't afford a new bike and still have the MTB, you could just fit narrower slick tyres to that and it would be a lot easier to ride on the road.

 

[marinyork]

It depends what the MTB gearing is. If it's something like 42/32/22 and 12-30 or something like that and the gearing on the dawes is 52/40 and 13-22 you probably won't be able to get the racer down to that gearing. You can however lower it to something more bearable.

Personally I think it'd be better putting something like a 13-28, 13-30 or whatever cassette on the back. This would at least give you 2 bearable climbing gears. Don't give up the dawes unless it's very heavy and not much good.

 

[swee'pea99]

I'm not sure I'd go along with Colin on this one, speaking as CC's resident bodger - you could replace your cogs at the back with this, and the 28 teeth big cog together with the 40 at the front would give you a pretty low gear. The only problem being you'd have to get the old block off first, and that a) needs a special tool, and b) can be a bugger of a job even then (they get stuck on real tight over time). You might be able to get someone in a LBS (local bike shop) to do it for you if you're nice. It would only take them a minute or so. And that's probably all you'd need to do. Not definitely, but probably. I'd certainly be tempted to give it a try. Those old Dawes racers tend to be pretty good bikes. (Incidentally, be under no illusions - you're never going to get MTB-type low gears with that bike.)

 

[marinyork]

I agree swee'pea99 but is it definitely a 5speed freewheel? freewheels are horrible and give less choice.

 

[ojmit]

the bike itself is actually in pretty good nick - a bit of rust here and there but basically sound - I have been after a racer type for ages so was chuffed to bag such a bargain - I hardly use the lowest gear on the mountain bike so it would'nt have to be an exact replication......so.......how easy is it to switch the cassette(?)on the rear wheel? can I do it myself? would I then need to replace the front cog wheels?

thanks for the help / advice and apols for being such a technological idiot!!

 

[ojmit]

also....how do I get rust off the frame.....and stop the brakes "sticking"

cheers all

 

[marinyork]

How many speed is the MTB cassette and how many speed is the racer?

 

[swee'pea99]

the bike itself is actually in pretty good nick - a bit of rust here and there but basically sound - I have been after a racer type for ages so was chuffed to bag such a bargain - I hardly use the lowest gear on the mountain bike so it would'nt have to be an exact replication......so.......how easy is it to switch the cassette(?)on the rear wheel?  can I do it myself?  would I then need to replace the front cog wheels?

thanks for the help / advice and apols for being such a technological idiot!!

It'll definitely be a freewheel rather than a cassette - find out about the difference here, where you should also scroll down till you get to 'Some Popular Freewheel Tools'...these are the 'special tool' I mentioned in my earlier message. They only cost a fiver give or take, but you need to get the right one, and yes you can probably do it yourself, but again as I said earlier, they can get very stuck over time, and be a bugger to shift. You'll find the 'how to' on that page. If you have problems, try a hammer.

 

[swee'pea99]

PS don't worry about rust - it adds character. As to the brakes, try dribbling oil down the cables, into the 'tubing' they run through. 3-in-1 is fine. 

 

[marinyork]

If it's a freewheel I'd not recommend taking it off unless you have your own vice. LBS or friend's garage job.

 

[swee'pea99]

Piffle. All you need is a big adjustable spanner and a BIG hammer. 

 

[jimboalee]

[quote name='swee'pea99' timestamp='1288716923' post='1454416']
Piffle. All you need is a big adjustable spanner and a BIG hammer.
[/quote]

Nah, LBS. If they mess it up, it's their responsibility.

What model Dawes is it? 52/40 rings?? Wouldn't be surprised if its a cottered crankset. If it is, bagsey its mine for £10.

And what size tyres? Are the rims chromed steel?

Dawes made some Hi-Ten bikes a few years back with enormous gears which sold for 'not a lot' to unwary youths.