What cassette would you match with a 48T single crankset?

[Ajax Bay]

I would stick with a 1x5 geared bike (setting it up as a double would be a 'money sink'). 14-28 5 speed freewheel is 'normal' (and what I have on mine (albeit with a double up front). Here's a suggestion for a single chainset (£25) from Spa Cycles: https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m2b0s109p2188/STRONGLIGHT-ST55-Single-Chainset Those come in a range of chainring sizes (from 38t up) and/but needs a bottom bracket axle length of ~117mm and we don't know how long the OP's current one is (and not easy to measure without removing the cranks). If the OP values the chainguard, another option is to fit a double/triple eg this, (£35) but replace the large chainring with a chainguard and remove the inner ring. OP: What is the distance between the adjacent bolts attaching the chainguard to the ring?

I have been happily riding my three speed Raleigh Caprice daily around London, and it's a great commuter bike. But I want to be able to do longer and harder rides outside the town, and with my dutch style bike it's a struggle.

As another has said, the OP needs to be careful not to spend good money on these changes when, for similar, the OP could buy another bike which meets her requirement to ride further and harder 'out of town'.
All the advice offered here will be useful when the OP visits her local LBS.

 

[T4tomo]

• Before doing anything, I'd look for any obvious causes of drag, such as tyres not inflated hard or stiff wheel bearings etc, due to lack of greasing. A fairly light bike with a 531 frame in decent mechanical order should not be particularly hard going to pedal, with a 14-28 rear cluster and a 48T front. It's bottom gear ratio will still be a bit lower than the low gear on your 3 speed.
• TBH, I would not attempt to convert a 5 speed bike to a 10 speed unless I happened to have all the bits I needed kicking around, so the cost was minimal. Once you start adding up the expense involved in sourcing additional gear parts you haven't got in order to convert a 5 speed to a 10 speed, you'd probably be better off buying a secondhand 10/12 speed flat bar tourer/hybrid bike, which would probably come with a 38/46 or 48 double front ring and if you are lucky, a 14-28 six speed freewheel that would give you closer ratios in the higher gears.
• For example there are loads of Ladies frame Raleigh Pioneers to be found on eBay (I assume yours came from there as I'm sure I spotted a similar bike recently) and all except the poverty-spec models will have at least 10 speeds, and the better ones can be found with Reynolds 501 frames.

Its same rear block as on my 531 triple tourer, which has 50-40-30 up front, so I can see why you would like something smaller than 48T, if you are doing a few hills. From the options above, I'd go with the £35 spa triple, and remove the inner 28, leaving you a 38T single with the 48T outer as a chain guard. you can then get 165 cranks and all you need is a crank puller tool (or an obliging friend) to fit to your existing BB.

advice above is good to check all else is running smoothly and it is just a gear issue, not undue friction.

 

[ColinJ]

If you want a cheap single crankset, they are available - I bought one of these with 33t for the kid's bike and it seems fine - they also do 38t, 44t and 46t.

The link was broken - it should work now that I have 'repaired' it!

 

[pandorapi]

So many options! I am getting quite confused. I think I need to sit on it a bit more.

My current thought is adding a 34T chainring to the existing crankset and turning it into a compact double. But as many of you have said, that would mean a lot of other changes and additions, and would end up costing more than buying another second hand bike that is ready to ride. (Even though you underestimate how tricky it can be finding a woman's bike to my measurements when you don't have a car to pick it up from out of town.) And I did kind of fall in love with the frame of this one.

But on the other hand, I will have learned how to build a bike. Which could be interesting. I just need to decide how much money and time I want to invest.

 

[Ajax Bay]

I think I need to sit on it a bit more.

While you're sitting on it, please could you share the distance between two adjacent bolt holes. That will determine whether you can actually follow the options you think you've got. If the BCD is 130, a 34t inner will not fit on. The length of the BB axle will determine whether a second chainring can be added. Although the Spa triple requires a 117mm axle, that's to give clearance for when the chain's on the small ring (which you would not have fitted) so maybe a shorter BB axle (such as your current one) would be fine. If it isn't, a Shimano UN55 BB (which is very good) is inexpensive (£20/£14) for a 115/118 length.

 

[PpPete]

Looks to me like a permanently attached chainring (and removable chainguard). At that age even if chainring is removeable it is unlikely to be 130 BCD. I've quite often seen 86 BCD on old bikes, which would fit a smaller (single) ring - if only they were obtainable.

 

[PpPete]

At the other end, a 14-28 is somewhat limiting, but anything else that will fit on that wheel, but with a wider range of gears is ££.
You could cold-set the frame to take a modern cassette style wheel, but then you'd need new wheel, new shifters, new derailleur which is even more £££. It's all possible, but before you embark on that I'd look what kind of derailleur hanger it is: If it's hooked on the rear axle, rather than a separate thread on the frame below the axle I wouldn't bother.

 

[pandorapi]

I measured the distance of the bolt holes and it looked like 110 BCD. I bought a 110 BCD 34T chainring of the same brand and it looks like it will fit. I have not yet taken apart the crankset to be sure, since I still haven't got all the necessary parts. I got bolts, but am unsure about what size spacers I need. Do I need proper chainring spacers - because they are very expensive for what they are! - or can I use washers from a hardware store?

 

[pandorapi]

If anyone is curious to what I did in the end here goes:

Skipdiver John was right. Oiling everything up, replacing the ancient tyres with new ones and fixing the breaks so they stopped rubbing against the tyres made a world of difference! But 48T was still too hard a chainring to be my only one.

I bought a Sugino 34T inner ring plus chainring bolts and spacers and bolted it inside my existing chainring creating a double. Fortunately everything all fit and the distance from the frame remained good so no changes to the axle were needed. I also bought a Sugino Altus front derailleur (same brand/type as my rear derailleur) and an old non-indexed double shifter to replace my single. I wired it all up with new gear cables and everything looks to be in working order! The only mistake I made was that the new gear shifters did not fit on the handlebar pole like the previous one so I fitted them on the lower bar of the frame and unfortunately placed them too low so its an uncomfortably long reach, so eventually I'll need to move them up and rewire everything.

I used the facilities and the help of the brilliant mechanic at the London Bike Kitchen near Hoxton and it didn't end up taking too long. I'm feeling very accomplished at the moment as I had never done something like this before.

And for those who want to know cost break down: Bike=£50 (I haggled price down) Chainring+bolts+spacers+derailleur+gear shifters+gear cables=£52 Cost of using LBK space and mechanic's assistance=£20 Tyres+inner tybes=£30 (I would have replaced these in any case) I don't think it's too bad, as I was unable to find a bike that suited me for less that £100 anyway.

 

[DCBassman]

Good job!

 

[raleighnut]

If anyone is curious to what I did in the end here goes:

Skipdiver John was right. Oiling everything up, replacing the ancient tyres with new ones and fixing the breaks so they stopped rubbing against the tyres made a world of difference! But 48T was still too hard a chainring to be my only one.

I bought a Sugino 34T inner ring plus chainring bolts and spacers and bolted it inside my existing chainring creating a double. Fortunately everything all fit and the distance from the frame remained good so no changes to the axle were needed. I also bought a Sugino Altus front derailleur (same brand/type as my rear derailleur) and an old non-indexed double shifter to replace my single. I wired it all up with new gear cables and everything looks to be in working order! The only mistake I made was that the new gear shifters did not fit on the handlebar pole like the previous one so I fitted them on the lower bar of the frame and unfortunately placed them too low so its an uncomfortably long reach, so eventually I'll need to move them up and rewire everything.

I used the facilities and the help of the brilliant mechanic at the London Bike Kitchen near Hoxton and it didn't end up taking too long. I'm feeling very accomplished at the moment as I had never done something like this before.

And for those who want to know cost break down: Bike=£50 (I haggled price down) Chainring+bolts+spacers+derailleur+gear shifters+gear cables=£52 Cost of using LBK space and mechanic's assistance=£20 Tyres+inner tybes=£30 (I would have replaced these in any case) I don't think it's too bad, as I was unable to find a bike that suited me for less that £100 anyway.
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