Need help/advice converting SS MTB to English 3-Speed - Page 4 - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

11-17-2004, 03:24 PM

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 13:20:31 -0500, Sheldon Brown
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>> Of course, it won't be really English without 700C or 27" rims, but
>> there are some concessions that will just have to be made.
>
>700c is EXTREMELY un-English, actually. Most British 3-speeds used 590
>mm (26 x 1 3/8), but the MonoCog has cantilever brakes, so it would be
>asking for trouble to use anything but the 559 mm (26 x decimal) size it
>was built for.

I've seen quite a lot of very used older Euro-origin 27" 3-speed stuff
coming through of late, though you're correct that the 26x1 3/8" is
even more common. I've been watching the specs for the
current-production English-market bikes, though, and the 700C has
replaced the 27" for the typical Gents' bike, as evidenced by the
models that Raleigh (and others) have in their catalogs. My personal
"English" bike (It's a Puch Rugby Sport, which is certainly aimed at
the English market) has 27" rims.

FWIW, on one occasion, I slipped EA3-rim wheels into a frame that was
built for 26" 559-rim units, but it does not always work. The one
that was a success had the old cheap side-pull calipers with a huge
range of radial position adjustment for the pads. That size of wheel
*would* make it "even more English", but I think that if even if it
worked for that frame (which, as you note, due to the canti brakes it
most likely would not), I'd stay with the 559 rim size to keep the
greater tire selection it affords.

>>>Recommendations on gearing?
>
>The MonoCog comes geared very low, with a 32 tooth chainring.

Yeesh. Well, that would not be too useful. And in thinking about it,
the better choice would (as you suggested) be to swap up to a 44 front
ring and get the chain length matched to that so that links would not
have to be added later when the inevitable swap became needed.

>The smallest readily available sprocket for an internal-gear hub is 14
>teeth, which would give you a 43 inch low and a 76 inch high gear, a bit
>on the low side overall.
>
>It is possible to modify a Shimano cassette sprocket to fit, permitting
>you to make a usable 12 or 13 tooth sprocket.

If you get a chance to put up details on that, I know someone who
would appreciate them. (A 'bent with a chainring clearance problem is
involved.)

> > Get yourself a set of 26" prebuilt Shimano Nexus hub wheels.
>
>Nope, this won't fit the 110 spacing of the Mono Cog. This is a steel
>frame, so it theoretically could be spread wider, but it is a VERY heavy
>duty, BMX type frame, and would likely require a LOT of force to
>re-space it--I woud advise against trying.

And I'll add that one must at present be wary of reading too much into
the Nexus name when shopping on eBay, as there's a seller who is
trying to unload a bunch of Nexus-roller-brake *freehub* 7-speed
wheels and hubs at the moment. The pictures are a bit dark, and the
incautious buyer who doesn't read the description completely (where
the seller does, in fact, say that these are not internally geared)
could wind up with a nasty surprise.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

11-17-2004, 03:24 PM

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 13:20:31 -0500, Sheldon Brown
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>> Of course, it won't be really English without 700C or 27" rims, but
>> there are some concessions that will just have to be made.
>
>700c is EXTREMELY un-English, actually. Most British 3-speeds used 590
>mm (26 x 1 3/8), but the MonoCog has cantilever brakes, so it would be
>asking for trouble to use anything but the 559 mm (26 x decimal) size it
>was built for.

I've seen quite a lot of very used older Euro-origin 27" 3-speed stuff
coming through of late, though you're correct that the 26x1 3/8" is
even more common. I've been watching the specs for the
current-production English-market bikes, though, and the 700C has
replaced the 27" for the typical Gents' bike, as evidenced by the
models that Raleigh (and others) have in their catalogs. My personal
"English" bike (It's a Puch Rugby Sport, which is certainly aimed at
the English market) has 27" rims.

FWIW, on one occasion, I slipped EA3-rim wheels into a frame that was
built for 26" 559-rim units, but it does not always work. The one
that was a success had the old cheap side-pull calipers with a huge
range of radial position adjustment for the pads. That size of wheel
*would* make it "even more English", but I think that if even if it
worked for that frame (which, as you note, due to the canti brakes it
most likely would not), I'd stay with the 559 rim size to keep the
greater tire selection it affords.

>>>Recommendations on gearing?
>
>The MonoCog comes geared very low, with a 32 tooth chainring.

Yeesh. Well, that would not be too useful. And in thinking about it,
the better choice would (as you suggested) be to swap up to a 44 front
ring and get the chain length matched to that so that links would not
have to be added later when the inevitable swap became needed.

>The smallest readily available sprocket for an internal-gear hub is 14
>teeth, which would give you a 43 inch low and a 76 inch high gear, a bit
>on the low side overall.
>
>It is possible to modify a Shimano cassette sprocket to fit, permitting
>you to make a usable 12 or 13 tooth sprocket.

If you get a chance to put up details on that, I know someone who
would appreciate them. (A 'bent with a chainring clearance problem is
involved.)

> > Get yourself a set of 26" prebuilt Shimano Nexus hub wheels.
>
>Nope, this won't fit the 110 spacing of the Mono Cog. This is a steel
>frame, so it theoretically could be spread wider, but it is a VERY heavy
>duty, BMX type frame, and would likely require a LOT of force to
>re-space it--I woud advise against trying.

And I'll add that one must at present be wary of reading too much into
the Nexus name when shopping on eBay, as there's a seller who is
trying to unload a bunch of Nexus-roller-brake *freehub* 7-speed
wheels and hubs at the moment. The pictures are a bit dark, and the
incautious buyer who doesn't read the description completely (where
the seller does, in fact, say that these are not internally geared)
could wind up with a nasty surprise.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

11-17-2004, 03:24 PM

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 13:20:31 -0500, Sheldon Brown
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>> Of course, it won't be really English without 700C or 27" rims, but
>> there are some concessions that will just have to be made.
>
>700c is EXTREMELY un-English, actually. Most British 3-speeds used 590
>mm (26 x 1 3/8), but the MonoCog has cantilever brakes, so it would be
>asking for trouble to use anything but the 559 mm (26 x decimal) size it
>was built for.

I've seen quite a lot of very used older Euro-origin 27" 3-speed stuff
coming through of late, though you're correct that the 26x1 3/8" is
even more common. I've been watching the specs for the
current-production English-market bikes, though, and the 700C has
replaced the 27" for the typical Gents' bike, as evidenced by the
models that Raleigh (and others) have in their catalogs. My personal
"English" bike (It's a Puch Rugby Sport, which is certainly aimed at
the English market) has 27" rims.

FWIW, on one occasion, I slipped EA3-rim wheels into a frame that was
built for 26" 559-rim units, but it does not always work. The one
that was a success had the old cheap side-pull calipers with a huge
range of radial position adjustment for the pads. That size of wheel
*would* make it "even more English", but I think that if even if it
worked for that frame (which, as you note, due to the canti brakes it
most likely would not), I'd stay with the 559 rim size to keep the
greater tire selection it affords.

>>>Recommendations on gearing?
>
>The MonoCog comes geared very low, with a 32 tooth chainring.

Yeesh. Well, that would not be too useful. And in thinking about it,
the better choice would (as you suggested) be to swap up to a 44 front
ring and get the chain length matched to that so that links would not
have to be added later when the inevitable swap became needed.

>The smallest readily available sprocket for an internal-gear hub is 14
>teeth, which would give you a 43 inch low and a 76 inch high gear, a bit
>on the low side overall.
>
>It is possible to modify a Shimano cassette sprocket to fit, permitting
>you to make a usable 12 or 13 tooth sprocket.

If you get a chance to put up details on that, I know someone who
would appreciate them. (A 'bent with a chainring clearance problem is
involved.)

> > Get yourself a set of 26" prebuilt Shimano Nexus hub wheels.
>
>Nope, this won't fit the 110 spacing of the Mono Cog. This is a steel
>frame, so it theoretically could be spread wider, but it is a VERY heavy
>duty, BMX type frame, and would likely require a LOT of force to
>re-space it--I woud advise against trying.

And I'll add that one must at present be wary of reading too much into
the Nexus name when shopping on eBay, as there's a seller who is
trying to unload a bunch of Nexus-roller-brake *freehub* 7-speed
wheels and hubs at the moment. The pictures are a bit dark, and the
incautious buyer who doesn't read the description completely (where
the seller does, in fact, say that these are not internally geared)
could wind up with a nasty surprise.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

11-17-2004, 03:55 PM

On Tue, 16 Nov 2004 17:03:02 -0800, Lobo Tommy wrote:

> I have a Redline Monocog Single Speed mountain bike

and so does this guy, now with a Nexus 8-speed:
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

apparently it can be done--perhaps you can contact the seller and ask how
they did it?

11-17-2004, 03:55 PM

On Tue, 16 Nov 2004 17:03:02 -0800, Lobo Tommy wrote:

> I have a Redline Monocog Single Speed mountain bike

and so does this guy, now with a Nexus 8-speed:
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

apparently it can be done--perhaps you can contact the seller and ask how
they did it?

11-17-2004, 03:55 PM

On Tue, 16 Nov 2004 17:03:02 -0800, Lobo Tommy wrote:

> I have a Redline Monocog Single Speed mountain bike

and so does this guy, now with a Nexus 8-speed:
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

apparently it can be done--perhaps you can contact the seller and ask how
they did it?

11-17-2004, 03:55 PM

On Tue, 16 Nov 2004 17:03:02 -0800, Lobo Tommy wrote:

> I have a Redline Monocog Single Speed mountain bike

and so does this guy, now with a Nexus 8-speed:
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

apparently it can be done--perhaps you can contact the seller and ask how
they did it?