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Smaller 5-speed MTB cogs
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Tobster86
Posts: 782 Forumite


I have an old Raleigh Triton Firejet 10-speed MTB which I commute 12.5 miles on. It must be about 20 years old; but I'm hanging on to it as all of its disadvantages will only make me fitter!
It has a 14-28 rear hub, and the largest crank gear has 48 teeth.
On downhill sections I'm limited to about 32mph because I can't physically move my feet any faster, so I want to change the gear ratios so I can go faster.
Is there such thing as a 5-speed screw-on type hub with a smaller gearset than 14-28?
Failing that, is it viable to upsize the crank gears?
It has a 14-28 rear hub, and the largest crank gear has 48 teeth.
On downhill sections I'm limited to about 32mph because I can't physically move my feet any faster, so I want to change the gear ratios so I can go faster.
Is there such thing as a 5-speed screw-on type hub with a smaller gearset than 14-28?
Failing that, is it viable to upsize the crank gears?
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Comments
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I have an old Raleigh Triton Firejet 10-speed MTB which I commute 12.5 miles on. It must be about 20 years old; but I'm hanging on to it as all of its disadvantages will only make me fitter!
It has a 14-28 rear hub, and the largest crank gear has 48 teeth.
On downhill sections I'm limited to about 32mph because I can't physically move my feet any faster, so I want to change the gear ratios so I can go faster.
Is there such thing as a 5-speed screw-on type hub with a smaller gearset than 14-28?
Failing that, is it viable to upsize the crank gears?
There used to be some shimano Megarange freewheels that had a top 13 or even 11; I've used a few as a solution to the same problem as yours. Generally they were 6-7 speed, but seemed to fit ok, and the lowest gear was so oversize and close to the spokes not point setting up the gear change to include it.
I still have a new one in the spares box, but unfortunately they're getting as rare as hen's teeth.
edit:
this was the one I used to buy, very useful for folding bikes, but no longer available:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/shimano/hg50-multiple-freewheel-11-34t-ec0167070 -
32 mph on a 20 year old MTB while commuting isn't fast enough for you!. How fast do you want to go?. How good are the brakes?.0
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Brakes are reasonable, roads in question are mostly NSL; the ones that aren't have better discretion applied! I'm a generally slow & high-torque pedaller and feel as though I could go faster with a couple more gears down these hills.
From what I can gather, the old screw-on type cassette hubs don't have (won't physically accommodate?) cogs with fewer than 14 teeth, regardless of number of gears; and MTB crank gears of more than 48 teeth also seem to be non-existent.
Are these reasonable assumptions, or is someone aware of an item that proves either wrong?0 -
If you want to go faster maybe you should get a road bike. The bike you have wasn't intended for high speed even when it was new and I suspect finding the parts you want will be almost impossible. Alternatively you could just work on increasing your cadence which won't cost you anything.0
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