Compatabilty on an old Raleigh Equipe etc etc etc

I've successfully been working on an old Raleigh Equipe (see threads elsewhere) but I have limited knowledge on finding a replacement crankset and which free wheels I might be able to pair them up with.
The existing and original crankset is a square taper Custom 165mm which is the one that came with the bike in 1986, it's in pretty good nick but I'd like a black crank to go with the rest of the group set. Similarly, the freewheel is a 6 speed but I want to go to either 7 or 8 speed - but I basically don't know if you can get these free wheels for this age of Raleigh with a 126mm spacing on the rear wheel, and even then I don't know if it would be compatible with the crank!

If anyone could advise me, I'd be forever grateful.

Any square taper road chainset should fit although the existing axle may be too long.

The bottom bracket can also easily be swapped out for a cartridge type while you are in there. These are maintenance free and can be a long lasting alternative to the existing 'cup & ball' type in your Equipe.

As for wheels, the existing rear wheel would need all sorts of redishing and axle rebuilding to allow for the space required to add the 7spd freewheel. 8spd is very wide and can sometimes lead to broken axles as the extra width add more load to the bearings - I have seen this happen a lot with screw MTB wheels but not yet on a road bike.

Here is one I had - basic frame but perfect as a starter bike.

Your wheel can take a 7 speed freewheel without any aggro, will be a straight swap.

A shimano chainset would be the best replacement as I think you will have more likelihood of it being the correct fitment for the axle i.e JIS. It still may sit differently than the SR but not majorly.

As a result of your upgrades your mechs will need adjusting which is very simple.

In general for everyone reading - I would advise caution on the freewheel hunt! 7th gear may hit the rear stays as the wheel was built for 6 - you can get around this with an extra 2mm washer but you will also have to spread the rear stays a couple of mm every time you take the wheel out.

Seeing how you updated your bike, those wheels will take a 7spd freewheel as they were built for that purpose but for those that still have the bike above, you need to faff a bit.



As for square taper chiansets, the majority will be JIS so theres nothing to worry about unless you decide to fit Campagnolo. They still fit just not quite as far up the axle. But going back to your bikes original equipment, you may find your axle is too long just swapping over as is. You may find the chainset sticks out a bit.

Thank you Fromage and Tel for your replies, it's very much appreciated. It's the age old pondering whether or not to keep it retro or upgrade into something it never was in the first place! At least I can think about having myself a new crank.

7 speed freewheels and cassettes were fitted on 126mm hubs 8 speed+ on 130mm hubs.

Personally never had any problems upgrading from a 6 to 7 speed freewheel as they are the same overall width however if LGF has then perhaps there may ocassionally be....