Suntour/shimano compatibility

K

Konafan78

Old School Hero
Good day too you !!!

I have a set of wheels, dx hubs, which I want to fit on a bike which has suntour xc ltd everything else !!!

Anyone know if I can fit a shimano cassette 7sp and will work ok untill I find a suitable set of suntour wheels ?

Shimano+suntour = will it won't it ????

Ta :facepalm:
 
Shimano mechs have a patented 2mm side to side wobble on the top jockey wheel. This is what makes shimano shifting work. Suntour never had this and always struggled even microdrive was still rough when compared to even the basic shimano setup.

Bunging a shimano cassette into a suntour setup should work but without that 2mm wobble shifting may not be that great. It's around here somewhere, Sheldon Brown's crib sheet shows the spacing width between suntour/ shimano cassettes. From memory shimano is 4.8mm with suntour 5mm. This could give you issues.
 
Thanks, I think I will give it a try, just until I find the right wheels, doesn't sound like a million miles away but I bet that .2mm, and the spacing makes a difference.

Cheers
 
I believe that the pace racing team used xc-pro shifters with shimano drive train, could be wrong but if it was good enough for a race team back then, it should be ok now.

If shimano jockey wheels have the float needed to improve shifting, can't you just lift and shift the jockeys over? Never tried myself, just thinking aloud.
 
the bolts for Suntour/ Shimano jockey wheels are/ were different sizes so one would fit the other.

Shifters are fine, suntour shifter/ shimano mech is absolutely fine - Suntour shifter/ mech with a Shimano cassette might be a bit fernicertty in use.
 
Thanks for your comments guys, we will sharp find out cos new shimano cassette/chain ordered off eBay and bike rigged up with xcltd.

The shifters have friction/indexing options and I prefer the friction so this shouldn't be a problem.

My xcltd mech also has a bit of play in the top jockey wheel, so hopefully this will smooth shifting.

Like you say, if its good enough for the pace team, ha it's more than good enough for me

Will keep you posted ta
 
After plenty studying of Sheldon Brown's cog spacing charts, I now replace the three spacers between the the bigger cogs with slightly narrower 8 speed spacers to bring Shimano or Sram 7 speeds cassettes closer in cog spacing configuration and overall width to the original Suntour specifications. I use such a set up with Suntour xc ltd thumbies, rear mech and Shimano XT rear hub and the indexing is spot on.
Should you need to, removing the plastic Suntour guide pulley and reducing its width by rubbing it against a flat sanding block has the effect of mimicking the float in the guide pulley of a Shimano mech.
In your case either method should work.
 
Hey there bikey, how goes it ?

Thanks for the info, it seams there are a couple of tweaks that I can do to make it work, while I hang on for a suitable set of wheels, thanks for this, this is exactly why I like this forum, I thought I was snookered until you good people shed light where I thought the light don't shine

Cheers
 
You're welcome konafan
I use the cog spacing moification because I wanted to try some Suntour derailleurs and shifters from the early nineties but didn't fancy a suntour hub as it would be really hard to track down the cassettes these days.
 
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