Ordered this cassette before realizing the original gearing on this bike is 3×5(?) still somewhat new to all this and never seen this before. It has the shimano deore group set with the deer head friction shifters. The bike is an 85 diamondback apex for reference.
by Ckeenum69
7 Comments
At first I thought that was a Shimano freewheel you had in your hand but that’s a cassette?
You need a freewheel. If you’re using friction shifting instead of indexed you likely could use a 7 speed freewheel to replace the 5 speed, I’m going to assume it’s likely a 126mm frame, but there’s a solid chance you’ll have issues with the largest sprocket on the “megarange” style of 7 speed freewheels that Shimano makes.
I wonder if I still have my deer head derailleurs in one of my bike parts boxes
Was gonna say no, because a modern derailleur wouldn’t have the requisite shifts to cover the cassette, but wondering if an older rear mech might be able to just keep shifting if it’s friction. But, I’d imagine the limits would still be too small for this range.
Sorry, no — that is almost certainly a freewheel, rather than cassette, hub (where the ratchet mechanism which allows you to coast is inside the freewheel assembly rather than the hub itself). Sunrace and Shimano still make adequate 5 speed freewheels, or you can pick a used one up on eBay. You’ll need a different remover as well. Remember to replace the chain at the same time you replace the freewheel!
See: [https://sheldonbrown.com/freewheels.html](https://sheldonbrown.com/freewheels.html)
Several concerns here :
– you bought a cassette, but your bike make have a freewheel instead. More info here : https://www.sheldonbrown.com/free-k7.html
If so, you’ll need to buy a freewheel instead. It’s not that costly of a mistake.
Post a pic with the wheel outside of the frame, that way we’ll be able to tell what’s what, and what tool you’ll need for removal.
– the derailleur may or may not have the capacity for the gear range you’re planning : the chain gets longer and shorter as yoy switch gears, and the derailleur has to pick up the slack. I guess that part may be fine since it’s dimensioned for three chainrings already
– shifting : I think you’ll be fine, the derailleur doesn’t “know” how many speeds it need, and you have a friction (non-indexed) shifter. You’ll just have to learn ti get a feel for the cable pull required for each gear.
– chain widths : _some_ older systems up to 5 speeds used 1/8″ chains and not the 3/32″ that almost all later systems use (for your purposes anyway). If that’s the case, you’ll need a new chain as well. It may be a good idea anyway, to help with smooth shifting. On the original cogs, you can see they’re completely smooth as opposed to all the little sculptures on the shimano hg one. That’s because the older system relied on the wide, protruding rivets on the chain itself to hoist it to a larger cog. These may not play well with a modern gear cluster
I’m sorry, I should have stated that I have already removed the cassette from the hub and it is in fact a cassette, not a freewheel assembly
Try it out
Typically it’s when you get to 8 speeds and beyond that you reach the actual travel restrictions for the shifter and derailleur.
If they’re both use the same style of freehub, then there’s no reason why the new cassette will not work. You will likely need to adjust the limit screws, but moving from 5 to 6 speeds with older friction shifting is no big deal at all. The issue is that whether or not you have Uniglide or HG freehub, and I suspect it’s Uniglide, but the pictures aren’t particularly revealing.