Regarding chains and freewheels for show vs. consumable use, if the bike is a show worthy piece that you want to ride, I'd suggest getting some "correct" pieces for display, but swapping out and using modern, replaceable parts for riding. Obviously a fiddle when it's time for the show, but it would keep your Regina Record Oro chain pristine, while you subject a low cost Sachs to the elements.
As far as cross matching chains and freewheels, the only trouble I've ever had has been with a Shimano chain and a Sachs freewheel that just didn't get along. A switch to a Shimano freewheel quieted things down. I know I've used Sachs chains with Shimano, Sunrace and Suntour freewheels with no troubles, or at least none that I noticed or cared about. There may be nuances and shadings of shifting performance that my peasant tastes cannot distinguish, but Sachs chains seem happy with most anything.
On the Campy NR chainrings, the smallest Campy made was 42 tooth. And yes, they are pricey now. Of course the small rings seeem to wear faster, which presumably consumed the supply of replacement rings and raised the price of those still available. Salsa, TA and a few other companies make replacement rings that are a bit more reasonable in price, but for me they don't wear as long as the hard Campy originals. As an added bonus, TA makes a 41 tooth ring for a bit lower gearing. That's as low as you can go on a NR type arm, so for lower gears, you either have to get a different crank, or put on a tripleizer ring and convert.
Many sources for these parts, but I know Sheldon Brown's Harris Cyclery has had the TA and triple adapter rings in the past.
Tom Adams, Shrewsbury NJ
>From: ADP
>To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>Subject: [CR]more drivetrain questions, chains and such...
>Date: Fri, 04 Apr 2003 08:02:59 -0500
>
>I've been following the freewheel thread with interest, and I too
>find a Shimano freewheel works pretty darn well. The Trek is
>currently using a 7 speed on a Dura Ace freewheel hub, and before I
>got some actual matching shifters with an indexing feature, the
>friction downtube units worked really well. Everything is
>funky-wide enough, that some crosschaining is not a big deal.
>
>A few questions relative to a bike that I'm building:
>
>The system I'm using on the Trek is running an old Sachs chain. It
>appears that a SRAM PC48 is the replacement. Yes I know I could
>find some sort of era chain, but as an MTBer, its hard for me to not
>think of chains as a "consumable." Has anyone had any experience
>using this chain with a Shimano 7 speed freewheel, Campy
>derailleurs, and Campy chainrings up front?
>
>I know I push the freewheel tooth capacity of Shimano stuff all the
>time. Apparently Dura Ace isn't supposed to like shifting to a 28
>tooth (ok I'm not all that strong - I ride weenie gears) but it does
>just fine. How about my pat.83 NR derailleur, will it shift happily
>to a 42 x 28? Or at least with a minimum amount of complaining? I'm
>sure this topic has been covered before, but not entirely sure if
>all the circumstances are the same - Shimano 7 speed, SRAM chain...
>
>It appears that campy rings to fit my NR set are VERY expensive.
>Again, as an MTBer, I tend to think "oh, these wear out," where
>I've really not had the same experience with a road bike at all.
>Still, I like to play with gear combinations, and for awhile when my
>knees were very unhappy, and I was riding a bit in the GA hills, I
>was riding a 39 instead of a 42 on the front. I'm not thinking that
>the bike I'm building will be used for such things, but, are there
>any 39 tooth campy rings in existence?
>
>Ann Phillips, Atlanta GA
>late morning into work, gonna go meet my sweetie for 20 at Stone
>Mtn!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Classicrendezvous mailing list
>Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>http://www.bikelist.org/mailman/listinfo/classicrendezvous
------------------------------------------ MSN 8 with ------------------------------------------ e-mail virus protection service: ------------------------------------------ 2 months FREE* ------------------------------------------
_______________________________________________
Classicrendezvous mailing list
Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
http://www.bikelist.org/