If you change the rear to a cassette hub, you will likely need to re-space the drop outs. I'm guessing your current freewheel hub is 126mm. Spacing.out to 130mm would be okay.
My opinion would be just to change the chainrings to give the higher gear. The older 5 ans 6 speed wide range freewheels lend themselves well to half-step gearing. If you have a triple crank maybe a 44/48 or 42/46 with a granny gear of 28. If you are just commuting and running around with bike (vs touring or randomneuring), I would be inclined to just put on bigger chainrings. Cheaper, easier, better! My 26" wheel commuter had a 14-28 6 speed freewheel and I paired it with a 53/42 double and it was great like that. I do enjoy mashing up hills on my commuter though. I consider it anaerobic training. Because the bike sees so much winter use, I decided to make it a single speed and like it even better now, but the above gearing worked well for me. IanA Alberta Canada On Sunday, May 19, 2024 at 8:20:49 AM UTC-7 Stephen Durfee wrote: > Another list member recently asked a question "Which Front Derailleur > option is best for a 38/24 front, 11-36 rear". At the time, I commented > that my AR has a 38/24 front, that I often spin out on level ground and can > only coast down hills, and that I have been planning to remove the chain > guard and swap in a 46T front ring, to turn my double into a triple. But > then I got to wondering, would I actually be better off making a switch in > the back... > > My 26" rear wheel is built around a Bullseye hub, with a 14-34 freewheel. > The front wheel is brand new - a Rich-built dynamo with a Shimano hub. > > My question....would I be better off making a change in the front, going > with a triple and the current rear wheel? Or, should I upgrade to a new > rear wheel, with a hub cassette at 11-36? Here is my stab at basic math, > which may or may not provide useful information > My current "big gear" 38÷14 = 2.71 > with the added triple, 46÷14 = 3.28 > with a new cassette and existing chainrings 38 ÷ 11= 3.45 > > I understand, of course, a new rear wheel would be a more expensive > solution. My existing FD is a Shimano 105. I think it could handle the > triple, but I haven't yet put it to the test. Are there other factors to > consider? > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/642778ae-3c58-4eaa-a7c5-ff92baa57649n%40googlegroups.com.
