Sad News and expense.

[BluesDave]

My bicyle repair man sadly died recently. I won't post his name here out of respect. This lovely friendly old man did a lot of work on my MTB and was responsible for getting me back on the road and fitting the rack that enables me to carry my tools.
There was nothing he didn't know about bicycle repair and his prices were always very reasonable. RIP.

My chain has been recently missing on turns i.e. skipping. This happens when on hills or starting off from Junctions. I thought it was dangerous and had to be fixed so I took it into Putney Cycles for their advice. They measured the chain links and they were very worn as were the cogs on the back cassette. They seemed surprised that I'd never had to replace them in the 14 years I'd had the bike which I use every working day. It seems they just don't make things like they used to.

Anyway they offered to replace the chain and cassette with Shimano which is on there now for £65 including parts. Apparently those five speed cassettes are rarer than hens teeth these days so they're going to put on a seven. My thumb shifters only go up to five though. I wonder if that will cause a problem.

What do you think and does £65 seem reasonble to you for the above?
I didn't want to try to do this one myself as I assume that Putney Cycles will guarantee their work and also as I cycle in traffic it needs to be done properly. Putney cycles have been there for years.

 

[cloggsy]

RIP Bicycle repair man!

 

[Black Sheep]

shouldn't be a problem, you just won't use two of the cogs, how it's set up depends on which two you won't be using.

sounds about right cost wise if thats the amount for parts and labour

 

[CopperCyclist]

Make sure you get them to set up the cog he way you'd prefer. You're gonna lose two cogs, so you either lose the smallest two and lose some top end speed but keep a 'granny gear', or lose the biggest two and have it vice versa.

I too am amazed you kept a chain and cassette for 14 years of regular use - kudos!

 

[diapason]

If you use your shifters on the friction setting then you should have no problems and will be able to use all the cogs.

 

[mcshroom]

Five speed freewheels aren't that hard to get hold of though: -

Google Link

RIP Bicycle repair man

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

My thoughts are with the family of your friendly bike repairer. I wish I had known him.

I am puzzled by what Putney Cycles told you.

It is quite unlikely that your bike has a 5 speed cassette (stopped making them about 25 years ago and uncommon even in its day), it is far more likely to have a 5 speed freewheel (which were and are very common). You can tell which you have by seeing the difference between cassettes and freewheels here. This also shows what a 5 speed cassette system looks like.

Even IF the existing is a 5 speed cassette, the hub would not take any modern cassette (of any speed). They aren't compatible because the 5 speed uniglide cassette hubs have splines that are different to modern ones, also it won't even take any old 7 speed uniglide cassette because they don't have the same width. The first link above also describes these issues.

You can not swap cassette for freewheel or vice versa without changing the hub.

Then the other puzzling thing is IF the existing wheel/hub is indeed for 5 speed freewheels not cassettes, then it is also not possible to just put a 7 speed freewheel on that hub without introducing spacers and redishing the wheel. There is no reason to do so anyway, given 5 speed freewheels are readily available - even Halfords sell them (although that is not to say I recommend you buy that one or from them...). A quick search on ebay will give you over 100 choices.

So at present it is a bit of a mystery to me as to exactly what Putney Cycles is charging £65 for. What I can say is that you can easily get a 5 speed freewheel for under £10, and same for a decent chain.

If the existing freewheel is Shimano then it is relatively easy to diy (because said freewheel removal tools are readily available for peanuts, and troublefree to use), if not it is harder to say because some freewheels can be remarkably difficult to remove. Replacing chain is a 5 minute job for any self-respecting bike mechanic.

I hope what I said is not causing you unnecessary worries.

 

[PpPete]

As usual, an excellent & detailed response from RAFN !

What do you think and does £65 seem reasonble to you for the above?

Having a laugh aren't they ? £15 parts and £50 for 10 minutes labour

I didn't want to try to do this one myself as I assume that Putney Cycles will guarantee their work and also as I cycle in traffic it needs to be done properly.

Please learn how to do these things your self .... please. It's not hard, there is plenty of advice on here and elsewhere on the net, and you really will not be putting yourself in more risk in traffic by doing the repairs yourself.

For £65 you could buy the parts you need AND a complete starter set of tools.

Putney cycles have been there for years.

With advice like that, let's hope they do not survive much longer.

 

[the snail]

So at present it is a bit of a mystery to me as to exactly what Putney Cycles is charging £65 for. What I can say is that you can easily get a 5 speed freewheel for under £10, and same for a decent chain.

If the existing freewheel is Shimano then it is relatively easy to diy (because said freewheel removal tools are readily available for peanuts, and troublefree to use), if not it is harder to say because some freewheels can be remarkably difficult to remove. Replacing chain is a 5 minute job for any self-respecting bike mechanic.

I hope what I said is not causing you unnecessary worries.

Yes, that's what I thought - £20 max for parts, £45 for labour seems a bit steep for a job I did in less than 1/2 hour the other week, and I'm no expert. It's sad to lose someone who you can trust to do a good job for a reasonable price, worth their weight in gold.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

As usual, an excellent & detailed response from RAFN !

Thank you for your kind words PpPete.

IF the OP does have a 5 speed freewheel, given they are exceedingly common and really aren't difficult to spot for someone in the trade, then telling the OP that such parts are rarer than hen's teeth, and that a fix requires a circular route with a 7 speed something would be, eh, imho, either dishonest or incompetent...

IF on the other hand the OP has the rather rare 5 speed cassette, then £65 might not be an unreasonable fee to update his system by changing/modifying his hub/wheel/frame and/or one of those rather involved options discussed by the late great Sheldon.

 

[e-rider]

you can easily find a 5 speed freewheel - sounds like they didn't have one in stock and couldn't be bothered to order one!

£65 for a freewheel and chain is pretty steep too. I would guess that you wouldn't want them cold setting (bending) your frame either?

I don't like the sound of this shop!

Go to a shop that is more sympathetic towards older bikes.

 

[BluesDave]

I would like to thank you all for the advice. Particularly Rafn. I have cancelled this repair with Putney Cycles. I looked online and the cassettes and freewheels are all available on Amazon as are chains. I am going to pop into a different bike shop and ask them exactly which type of gearing cogs I have then order them off Amazon for under £10. Same for the chain.
I will then get out my spanners and change it myself. Theres a chain extractor thingy on my multitool as well. It's surprising what I've taught myself to do over the years and I see no reason why I can't do this. At least that's what my other half told me even if my parents didn't.
It might be in a bike book.
I'll let you know how it goes. If I mess it up all I have to do is ask a bike shop to realign the gears and that will be much cheaper but then I think that's covered in one of my books as well.
I'll take a photo when I'm done.

I'll put a wanted ad on here as well.

 

[TheDoctor]

The most difficult bit of this will be getting the old freewheel off.
Getting replacement bits is, as other posters have sad) a piece of cake.
If you did want to go 7 speed, a seven speed shifther is only a tenner, and very easily available too.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

I would like to thank you all for the advice. Particularly Rafn.

It is a pleasure.

If you have a freewheel and if it is a Shimano (or Shimano compatible) then you will need to buy a freewheel extractor tool like this unless you have one already. That and a good spanner are all it takes to remove a Shimano or compatible freewheel - needs fewer tools than removing a modern cassette!

A new freewheel (worth trying to get one that has Shimano splines such as this so it will be easy to remove in due course with the same tool) will simply screw on, no tool required. For chain I recommend one from KMC or Sram and not Shimano. One like this, which includes a quick link, making it easy to remove and install in future.

Instructions for freewheel removal are here while this is good for chains.

Careful consideration should be taken before moving from a 5 speed freewheel to 7 speed. Not only will new shifter be required if indexed, the wheel will probably also need to be respaced and redished. Further the frame if steel will need to be cold set or sprung if the existing rear dropout distance is the standard for 5 speed which is 120mm. If the frame is alloy with such a rear dropout distance then the exercise shouldn't be contemplated at all.

Do come back if you have other questions.

 

[PpPete]

I like the understatement in the Park Tools link above - describing Freewheel removal:

"It will typically require some force to turn the freewheel".

Sheldon talks about mounting a vice vertically and heaving on the rim... there is a better way if you have a second person available (a small child will do).

Fully inflated tyre on the rim.
Freewheel remover fitted with the skewer or wheel nut to hold in place.
8 foot scaffold pole as extender for whatever "handle" you have on the freewheel remover.
Person 1 (you) holds tyre vertically pressing it down into the ground hard.
Person 2 or small child, swings on extender bar.

My kids love this job.... it's something Dad can't manage on his own.... and they've learned about turning moments along the way, long before it comes up in the National Curriculum.