Chain for Raleigh Winner '10 speed racer'

Hi, I want to replace the chain on my Raleigh Winner. The issue is the plethora of available bicycle chains, and the fact that I've never bought one before - I have replaced motorcycle chains before though so reckon I can handle fitting a bicycle chain no problem.

The bike has traditional non-indexed gearing with five cogs at the rear and two at the front. I found this chain which looks just the ticket, by searching the internet, but the supplier is in Germany and I'd rather buy from a UK supplier if possible.

http://www.steel-vintage.com/classic-ch ... les-detail

The only chain I found on ebay from a UK supplier is this one, but it doesn't look as good as the one above.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-7-Speed-Der ... SwMORW8CrR

Can anyone please recommend a suitable chain from a UK supplier if possible?

Any modern chain for 7-8 speed should work. I use Wippermann 808 and I'm happy with it.

The chamfered finish to modern chains (I say modern, they've been around some 25 years+!) will make shifting on your non indexed freewheel a lot smoother than the old style 6spd chains.

One of these should see you fine:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SRAM-Pc850-7- ... SwrklVQKsf

or anything designed for '6,7,8' speeds.

Re:

I use these for any 5 or speed block - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/POINT-BICYCLE ... SwstxVZaOk - come with a connecting link, so it's a case of trimming the chain to length.

You might find the new chain "skips" on the old freewheel, if so you need to change the freewheel as well.............BITD we did it as a matter of routine....... "new block and chain".

Shaun

Thanks for the responses and the links. I'll get something ordered up soon and report back when I've fitted it.

Midlife":36ahyioq said:

"new block and chain".

Click to expand...

Were chains really that much harder wearing than they are today?

Or were the freewheels relatively "soft"?

I'd expect a modern cassette to see many chains (+10) before even thinking it might be worn.

How about a modern cassette and an old chain?

I bought the cassette along with the wheels at the beginning of last month. I had a problem with the chain skipping in fourth (and sometimes ninth) gear when I pedalled hard, which I presumed was down to the (probably original) chain, rather than the new cassette. This is why I started this thread.

However, the free-wheel mechanism jammed up on Tuesday when I was out for a ride. I took it apart and found that one of the (tiny) bearings at the 'front' end had split in two. So I dug out the old wheel, had to go round to my LBS to get them to remove the old cassette, which I fitted to the new wheel.

Here's a pic of the old cassette on the wheel just after I fitted it, with the new cassette beneath:



Here's a close-up pic of the new cassette:



It's hard to believe that it's only a month old. I've done a few hundred miles on it, but as far as I recall it's only been out in the rain once, so I don't know how it got so rusty inside. The bearings were also starting to rust, including the one that split. Looking closely at the state of the fourth gear teeth, it's not hard to see why it was skipping!

It now works much better with the old cassette, than it ever has with the new one. I can hear the change in pitch of the rattle from the chain, as I move the lever to change gear, and when it changes it does so with a nice "clunk." No hint of skipping either, no matter how hard I pedal.

I'm now hesitant to replace the chain with a modern one, my main concern being that I'll have to grind the old chain off so want to make sure that I have a suitable replacement before I do so. The old cassette seems solid enough, and in the interests of keeping the bike "retro" I am currently planning on sticking with it. So for the meantime, I'll continue my search for a new "old" chain.

From my experience Shimano HG (Hyper Glide) freewheel (quite common and cheap) and modern 8 speed chain give excellent results. Quiet, quick and smooth gear changes. I would recommend this set. Just be aware of capabilities of your derailleur in handling bigger cogs size. Most of the derailleurs can go up to 26, but it's better to check it. I have bad experience with new 'economy class', brand new freewheel, that after few rides started to produce strange noises and didn't coast smoothly, so I removed it quickly. I will never again buy something like that.

Those are freewheels not cassettes, the difference between the two is far from academic or pedantry.

The "new" freewheel is clearly not new: the wear is obvious.

Chains are a consumable item and need to be changed relatively often (dependent on use), compared to the chainrings and freewheel (or cassette).

What do you mean by a new-old chain? A modern (bushless) chain will offer greater service and improved operation over an old-old chain.

http://pardo.net/bike/pic/fail-004/000.html