sprockets for screw on freewheel/ cassette sprockets

[eddie]

Forgive me if this has been raised before, did a search an didn't find what I needed. In the days before cassette's it was all screw on freewheels, but if you had a sprocket or two that was worn out you could go to your LBS an buy replacements(cheaper than replacing the whole freewheel) My question is can you still get the indvidual sprockets,if so from where, or is it a case salvaging from old freewheels ?
With cassette's can you buy the sprocket's separately ( to replace or to change the ratio's) or can only made up one's be bought ( as I still could with the screw on type) I wanted lower gears in the mid range. It's an older steel frame ( a good one) I have a Stronglight triple up front and a 5 speed screw on at the rear. I could change two sprocket's on the block, change the middle chainring , or go for a freehub, but that would mean resetting the frame width.Any help or info ? thanks in advance. Eddie

[WOOLIFERKINS]

For the screw on freewheels, unless someone has some new old stock you're pretty much stuffed. The freewheels are fast entering Hens Teeth country much less spare sprockets.

For cassettes, Miche do a build your own cassette kit for dealers but they took so long to arrive and there was so little call the distributor dropped them.

[Brucey]

You can't get separate sprockets for freewheels these days unless you find some NOS that happen to fit the body you are using (and they are nearly all different with different manufacturers.... ). You can get separate cassette sprockets from some vendors but it quickly becomes more economic to buy a whole cassette even if you only want three sprockets.

At one time there were such things as 5s and 6s UG cassette hubs. The bodies are obviously a lot shorter than even 7s ones. If you find an older freehub with this body on it, and the hub is no good, you can remove the body (by drilling the aluminium centre out) and fit it to a later hub (using a bolt which was never intended for the body originally, which fits...) and respace the hub to 120 or 122 mm and fit it in an older frame. With a 6s freehub body you can use a UG threaded top cog turned the wrong way round, and fit a total of five sprockets to the body with 6s spacers plus (sometimes) a 1mm spacer if necessary. If the hub is spaced so the end of the freehub body is almost touching the dropout, then this is a pretty tolerable 5s arrangement if you don't want to widen the rear end.

HG cogs (13 up) can be made to fit UG freehub bodies by grinding one spline, but you will probably be using a 13T or 14T threaded top cog. You should be careful not to wear the threaded top cog out because they are harder to come by these days. HG cogs work best in matched sets but are not too bad (when compared with older freewheels) even in ad-hoc combinations.

cheers

[andrew_s]

Some separate Shimano cassette sprockets are available from Rose (go to cassettes and sort cheapest first).
a) there may be more than one version of each size of sprocket depending on the adjacent sprockets, so that ramps & changing gates line up
b) larger sprockets often come as groups of 2 or 3 rivetted onto a carrier. The groups are available, but not the individual sprockets
c) Don't expect Rose to have a full set of everything - eg I doubt you'll get 7s sprockets when they sell whole cassettes down to £8

[Steady rider]

Hi
The chap next door to me enquired about some spokes and it turns out he had a major problem with the wheel, 26 inch mountain bike style wheel with 262mm spokes it seems. Shimano cassette sprockets on a raised profile hub. I was trying to remove the cassette with my standard old version Shimano remover but it just rotated. Any suggestions for what is occurring, probably a new design I expect

[Brucey]

Hi
The chap next door to me enquired about some spokes and it turns out he had a major problem with the wheel, 26 inch mountain bike style wheel with 262mm spokes it seems. Shimano cassette sprockets on a raised profile hub. I was trying to remove the cassette with my standard old version Shimano remover but it just rotated. Any suggestions for what is occurring, probably a new design I expect

Shimano freewheel removers and shimano cassette hub lockring emovers use a slightly different spline. IIRC a freewheel removal can just spin round in some lockrings.

cheers

[Brucey]

for those who don't want to DIY an old-style UG-based 120mm freehub, it looks like you don't have to if you don't want to any more;


http://janheine.wordpress.com/2013/09/21/grand-bois-5-speed-cassette-hubs/

cheers

[Sum]

Hi
The chap next door to me enquired about some spokes and it turns out he had a major problem with the wheel, 26 inch mountain bike style wheel with 262mm spokes it seems. Shimano cassette sprockets on a raised profile hub. I was trying to remove the cassette with my standard old version Shimano remover but it just rotated. Any suggestions for what is occurring, probably a new design I expect

If you haven't being doing so already, you will need to grip the cassette with a chain whip first before trying to undo it with the removal nut.

[Steady rider]

Thanks very much Brucey and Sum, it gives me a chance of sorting it out. The rim and break disc had both been bent and we managed to get it just about rideable.

[eddie]

Thank you to all of you, for the helpful advice and links. I did think I was being a bit hopeful, I can well relate to the "hens teeth " comment. I think I will just drop the chainring a size first, see how that works out. As to Rose I was surprised at how low cost the cassette's were, and I will check out the new 5/6 speed freehubs, they looked lovely. Thanks again to you all.

[Brucey]

re the 5s/6s freehubs; they are nice, but I think they have missed a trick or two there.

a) They have left a large gap between the largest sprocket and the hub flange which could be used for more cogs or reduced dish.

b) The axle is not designed to be adjusted for non-standard spacings or dish settings.

c) Since 8s and 9s sprockets are very similar in thickness, had they acted on a) and b) etc then they might have had the opportunity to make a dishless 126mm 5s hub or a '7 from 9' 7s hub (using 9s spacing) at about 122mm OLN or any one of dozens of other interesting combinations.

cheers

[mattsccm]

Not universal but if you try old traditional bike shops you may find a board on the wall with freewheel sprockets. Or maybe on the floor in a shed. Buy the lot!

[MartinC]

re the 5s/6s freehubs; they are nice, but I think they have missed a trick or two there.

a) They have left a large gap between the largest sprocket and the hub flange which could be used for more cogs or reduced dish.

b) The axle is not designed to be adjusted for non-standard spacings or dish settings.

c) Since 8s and 9s sprockets are very similar in thickness, had they acted on a) and b) etc then they might have had the opportunity to make a dishless 126mm 5s hub or a '7 from 9' 7s hub (using 9s spacing) at about 122mm OLN or any one of dozens of other interesting combinations.

cheers

Oh yes! Spot on. I'd like someone to do this too. Be interesting to see if the freehub body (it must be about old 5 speed width of around 25mm) would fit any other hubs too.

I've got a couple of NOS RSX 7 speed hubs that sometime I'm going to respace to 135mm and put an 8 of 9 speed cassette on.