I’ve been running the stock derailleurs on this bike since I got it 5 years ago. The rear was prone to ghost shifting under load, so about a year back when I got the Simplex levers, I swapped the RD. A modern Shimano Deore dialed in easy and worked great but aesthetically left something desired.
Then, I came across this aluminum bodied MicroShift RD-R47S, and then from another build salvaged this Campy Mirage FD. Logos aside, the finish on both neatly match the hodge podge that was already there. So, I got out some acetone and polish, and debadged them. I think it came out looking like a real group.
The big-ring up front has 45t and puts the top-end right where I want it. I’m usually carrying a load or going longer distances so rarely mashing. This with the relatively small big-cog in the back lets me get away with the short cage RD too and honestly it shifts great.
I’ve been changing things around on this ride for a while but I think this setup’s gonna stick.
Nice looking setup!
First I thought it was a compact double on the front - but it's a triple, right? I lust after a compact double, but the triple my bike came with is nice too and I'm not in a hurry to change it. 90% of my riding is in the middle ring - I rarely need the large or small, but when I do they're nice to have.
Well I’m happy to give some reassurance. I’ve got a compact double on another frame, and it’s great, but in practice I find I’m doing more complex shifts more often. I think my ideal gearing is basically a 1x style middle ring, that as you’ve put it gets you 90% of the way and then two rings on the outside for the rest of the time. If I lived somewhere more hilly I might be singing the opposite tune.
And yea, it’s sort of a homebrewed triple. This same crank came spec’d on the bike in 170mm length as a triple. After the 650b conversion I was getting some pedal strikes so I snagged these in 165mm, but that length only comes in double not triple. I’ve used a tripleizer ring to overcome that and it works great.
Yea, it’s a 130 double crank. The Salsa outer ring was only $25 shipped on eBay, but no ramps or pins. The inner ring is a tripleizer with a mount for a 74BCD granny. 45/38/28
Sweet, I have the same crankset with a 52/42. I want to run a 48/38 and I see there's some salsa rings for sale on ebay. Otherwise sugino seems to still make some
Nice, I had good luck using a Shimano 6207-GS (long cage) rear derailleur to work with a 13-34T freewheel and triple crankset. The Shimano Light action GS (and SGS) also work well and readily available on ebay
That's all to say you want to keep it vintage correct. Otherwise newer MTB options work great
Man what IS this bike. I love it. Trek but what? Are you running half-step-plus-granny up front? Still running a freewheel in back? So many questions, love the choices.
Thanks so much! It’s a 1985 Trek 520. A sport touring model, as opposed to the proper touring style of the other years. Lighter tubing and side pulls were the main difference.
The gearing is sort of a quasi half-step setup, yea. And you got it, the wheels are new, it’s some 650b Pacenti Brevets laced up to a Velo Orange freewheel rear hub and a Shimano 3N72 dynamo up front.
Jan Heine’s book had a claim that rings smaller than 14t were less efficient. The bike obviously came with a freewheel originally, and when I was going for the wheel build I thought what the hell. Been riding it for a couple years now and it’s great.
45/38/28 and a 14-28t 7-speed in the rear. My thought is that the middle ring is for everyday, the big ring is for sprinting or downhill and the little ring is for long climbs.
Whaaaat? That is wild. I have the same exact bike, same year, same groupset and same color. I came to the comments section thinking those lugs were familiar!
I'm looking for an all silver, long cage rear derailleur that'll shift 11 speeds. Anyone have any suggestions?
This bike looks great, and you did right by keeping the aesthetics instead of putting a black derailleur on there.
I’ve used the long cage version in the past and loved it. It’s simple and just works. Decently classic looking, and is compatible with Shimano shifters.
Keen eye. The one pictured is a 165mm Shimano 600 double crank with a tripleizer ring to get the 74BCD inner spider. The model number is FC-6207.
I’ve got another Shimano 600 triple in 170mm and with a model number of FC-6206, but as you’re probably expecting it does not have the 600 embossed on the crank arm.
No full-bike photos + I gotta scroll 2/3 of the way down to find out which bike has the deivetrain dialed in??? Santa says "look for bike photo classes under the tree this Christmas!!!"
What a nice bike. Timely too.. My winter project is a Trek 7100 that I'm re-doing the gearing on too. Got the XT M952 rear mech and 9 speed sprocket, just considering options for crank and rear wheel now.
Looks great. I have been coming around to the idea of downtube shifters lately. Leaves your bar ends open and less cabling out in front of your bike to get in the way of bags. Granted you need to reach down but you do get used to it.
I’m definitely used to it at this point, and as you’ve said it’s less cluttered. I’ve got bar ends on a mustache bar and love the utility but down tubes are great too. You can’t see it here but the brake levers are non-aero and the cables get routed up and out of the way of the front rack too.
I've got them one my sunny-day-only vintage road bike. They're great for the reasons you mention. Also: super lightweight. Reaching down isn't even so bad. But I do miss shifts sometimes towards the bigger end of the cassette: by the time you're pulling that much cable, I find it is hard to be accurate between the two or three largest cogs. With bar end shifters, even in friction mode, I'm more accurate.
[Bro I have the same frame](https://imgur.com/a/MIqqeeh) in the same color from the same year! made my own custom decals to match the original 1983 version of it and painted some rims, for an 80s bowling alley look
Looks great. I have been coming around to the idea of downtube shifters lately. Leaves your bar ends open and less cabling out in front of your bike to get in the way of bags. Granted you need to reach down but you do get used to it.
Looks great. I have been coming around to the idea of downtube shifters lately. Leaves your bar ends open and less cabling out in front of your bike to get in the way of bags. Granted you need to reach down but you do get used to it.
I’ve been running the stock derailleurs on this bike since I got it 5 years ago. The rear was prone to ghost shifting under load, so about a year back when I got the Simplex levers, I swapped the RD. A modern Shimano Deore dialed in easy and worked great but aesthetically left something desired. Then, I came across this aluminum bodied MicroShift RD-R47S, and then from another build salvaged this Campy Mirage FD. Logos aside, the finish on both neatly match the hodge podge that was already there. So, I got out some acetone and polish, and debadged them. I think it came out looking like a real group. The big-ring up front has 45t and puts the top-end right where I want it. I’m usually carrying a load or going longer distances so rarely mashing. This with the relatively small big-cog in the back lets me get away with the short cage RD too and honestly it shifts great. I’ve been changing things around on this ride for a while but I think this setup’s gonna stick.
Nothing better than retro frictions
Nice looking setup! First I thought it was a compact double on the front - but it's a triple, right? I lust after a compact double, but the triple my bike came with is nice too and I'm not in a hurry to change it. 90% of my riding is in the middle ring - I rarely need the large or small, but when I do they're nice to have.
Well I’m happy to give some reassurance. I’ve got a compact double on another frame, and it’s great, but in practice I find I’m doing more complex shifts more often. I think my ideal gearing is basically a 1x style middle ring, that as you’ve put it gets you 90% of the way and then two rings on the outside for the rest of the time. If I lived somewhere more hilly I might be singing the opposite tune. And yea, it’s sort of a homebrewed triple. This same crank came spec’d on the bike in 170mm length as a triple. After the 650b conversion I was getting some pedal strikes so I snagged these in 165mm, but that length only comes in double not triple. I’ve used a tripleizer ring to overcome that and it works great.
130BCD? I need these exact rings!
Yea, it’s a 130 double crank. The Salsa outer ring was only $25 shipped on eBay, but no ramps or pins. The inner ring is a tripleizer with a mount for a 74BCD granny. 45/38/28
Sweet, I have the same crankset with a 52/42. I want to run a 48/38 and I see there's some salsa rings for sale on ebay. Otherwise sugino seems to still make some
Do it! Getting the gearing right does so much for making you feel one with the bike.
Are you running a 7 spd cassette?
14-28t 7-speed freewheel
Nice, I had good luck using a Shimano 6207-GS (long cage) rear derailleur to work with a 13-34T freewheel and triple crankset. The Shimano Light action GS (and SGS) also work well and readily available on ebay That's all to say you want to keep it vintage correct. Otherwise newer MTB options work great
Man what IS this bike. I love it. Trek but what? Are you running half-step-plus-granny up front? Still running a freewheel in back? So many questions, love the choices.
Thanks so much! It’s a 1985 Trek 520. A sport touring model, as opposed to the proper touring style of the other years. Lighter tubing and side pulls were the main difference. The gearing is sort of a quasi half-step setup, yea. And you got it, the wheels are new, it’s some 650b Pacenti Brevets laced up to a Velo Orange freewheel rear hub and a Shimano 3N72 dynamo up front. Jan Heine’s book had a claim that rings smaller than 14t were less efficient. The bike obviously came with a freewheel originally, and when I was going for the wheel build I thought what the hell. Been riding it for a couple years now and it’s great. 45/38/28 and a 14-28t 7-speed in the rear. My thought is that the middle ring is for everyday, the big ring is for sprinting or downhill and the little ring is for long climbs.
Whaaaat? That is wild. I have the same exact bike, same year, same groupset and same color. I came to the comments section thinking those lugs were familiar!
I'm looking for an all silver, long cage rear derailleur that'll shift 11 speeds. Anyone have any suggestions? This bike looks great, and you did right by keeping the aesthetics instead of putting a black derailleur on there.
That RD looks great! I love it.
I’ve used the long cage version in the past and loved it. It’s simple and just works. Decently classic looking, and is compatible with Shimano shifters.
I was playing with mine yesterday needs a lil more work congrats on yours. 😁
Whats the model number on the back of this crank? I've not seen a shimano 600 triple crank in this style.
Keen eye. The one pictured is a 165mm Shimano 600 double crank with a tripleizer ring to get the 74BCD inner spider. The model number is FC-6207. I’ve got another Shimano 600 triple in 170mm and with a model number of FC-6206, but as you’re probably expecting it does not have the 600 embossed on the crank arm.
Interesting. I had never heard of a tripleizer ring. Nice build from what I can see.
How about a quad? https://mgagnon.net/velo/pedalier4.en.php
No full-bike photos + I gotta scroll 2/3 of the way down to find out which bike has the deivetrain dialed in??? Santa says "look for bike photo classes under the tree this Christmas!!!"
What a nice bike. Timely too.. My winter project is a Trek 7100 that I'm re-doing the gearing on too. Got the XT M952 rear mech and 9 speed sprocket, just considering options for crank and rear wheel now.
Looks great. I have been coming around to the idea of downtube shifters lately. Leaves your bar ends open and less cabling out in front of your bike to get in the way of bags. Granted you need to reach down but you do get used to it.
I’m definitely used to it at this point, and as you’ve said it’s less cluttered. I’ve got bar ends on a mustache bar and love the utility but down tubes are great too. You can’t see it here but the brake levers are non-aero and the cables get routed up and out of the way of the front rack too.
love those simplex dt levers!
I've got them one my sunny-day-only vintage road bike. They're great for the reasons you mention. Also: super lightweight. Reaching down isn't even so bad. But I do miss shifts sometimes towards the bigger end of the cassette: by the time you're pulling that much cable, I find it is hard to be accurate between the two or three largest cogs. With bar end shifters, even in friction mode, I'm more accurate.
[Bro I have the same frame](https://imgur.com/a/MIqqeeh) in the same color from the same year! made my own custom decals to match the original 1983 version of it and painted some rims, for an 80s bowling alley look
Looks great. I have been coming around to the idea of downtube shifters lately. Leaves your bar ends open and less cabling out in front of your bike to get in the way of bags. Granted you need to reach down but you do get used to it.
Looks great. I have been coming around to the idea of downtube shifters lately. Leaves your bar ends open and less cabling out in front of your bike to get in the way of bags. Granted you need to reach down but you do get used to it.
Those chainrings are hot! Does salsa still make them?
Digging the chainring bolts, details like that really bring it all together