Upgrading a Bicycle's Drive Train

[Constance]

I've got a Schwinn Jaguar 7-speed cruiser. It's really comfortable, but the gear range is somewhat limited.

Has anyone ever tried to upgrade a single chainring bike to a triple? Is it feasible? Or, should I just try to get a 3x7 rear wheel?

[lisagurl]

I have added 5 sprockets to a 3 speed hub English bike. I see no reason why you can not add 3 sprockets to the peddle sprocket. You might want to employ a bike shop but then with China selling bikes for nothing the cost might be equal but not the personal value or the moral value..

[imaz]

Should be feasible, but it would depend on the chain line which might be conditioned by the bottom bracket.

Don't really understand why you would need so many gears on an everyday bike...

When I was into competitive cycling back in Italy in the eighties we were only using a seven speed real cluster with a 53/39 or 52/42 chain ring. Eight speeds really only came in after '85/'86.

[tekla]

Yes, you can put a front derailer on, they are expensive and you're going to have to drop the chain guard.  It might be cheaper to just put a new set of 7 with a new hub on the back.

[sd]

To do the front you will need:
A new crank and sprocket
A front and rear derailleur (rear to take up chain slack)
chain
shifter

You would be looking at probably $100-$200 when all was said and done depending on the quality of the parts.


Tekla, it already has a 7speed rear hub.

[tekla]

Tekla, it already has a 7speed rear hub.

I understand that, I also know all 7 speed hubs are not geared the same (different ratios), and you could find ones that offer greater street speed, or better torque on trails, though I'm sure Shades ain't riding that thing on a trail.  And at $200 bucks you're approaching the cost of that bike (or even passing it) in the first place.

You might try the shops that fix up old bikes and give them away. You might be able to trade some labor for the parts and having someone put it on.

Its almost needlessly complex - which is why I like it, but you can figure the ratios using this not-so-simple formula.
http://www.exo.net/~pauld/activities/bicycles/bicycle-gears.html

And I like BikePartsUSA (online) for parts, but you're going to find that the cost of some of those cranks and hubs is more than the original cost of the bike in the first place.

[imaz]

On a road bike I used to ride a 12 to 21 or 13 to 23/25 combined with a 52/42 chain-wheel depending on how the climbs were. Not really sure what kind of a bike we are dealing with here but mountain bikes AFAIK have much wider spaced gearing.

[sd]

Blah
Okay, I was looking at the wrong bike. 

Yes, Tekla you are right, the ratios are variable.


Take the bike to a shop, and ask for a wider spread gear cluster. With labor you can do it for about $50. It's a fast, simple job, but requires special tools.

Also, getting some narrower tires with more street tread will make it easier to ride.

[Constance]

Thanks, all. There's a lot of helpful stuff here.

Imaz, I live in a fairly hilly area and I'm not a very strong rider. More gears just make things easier on me. That, and I've got my bike set up to carry up to 3 bags of groceries, which adds weight meaning better gearing would mean I could ride it home instead of using it as a 2-wheeled shopping cart.