My TDF derailer slightly lacks the needed total travel, even with axle and freewheel shimming to suit.
I don't have a suitably-geared French 5-speed freewheel here to experiment with, but am looking for a Suntour version as I was able to confirm it's adaptability with narrower spacers (albeit with it's English threading) without buying anything.
The total travel of my TDF derailer is just 21.6mm, but I haven't taken it apart. The bike it came with did have a 4-speed freewheel. Lastly, the "metric" threaded Suntour freewheels seem to appear on Ebay with regularity, but I lost a recent auction on a 14-24 4-speed French freewheel when the bidding went too high. I have yet to see or hear of a Shimano freewheel with metric threading, but am currently using the narrowed one with English threads.
Perhaps it would be easiest and best if I had just bought the expensive 4-speed, 14-24t French freewheel.
David Snyder Auburn, CA usa
BOB HANSON wrote:
> David,
>
> I'm curious why you are looking for more modern Japanese freewheels to
> match
> with a French threaded hub & an older French derailleur rather than just
> using a French (and French threaded) 5-speed freewheel.
> ...
> As for the problem of fitting a 5-speed freewheel to your derailleur, it
> puzzles me that you would have any problem there. Simplex was the first
> to
> actually introduce a 5-speed 3/32" freewheel in the 1930s and I would
> presume
> they had offered a compatible derailleur that early too.
>
> I've personally owned a couple 1950s TDF type Simplex derailleurs which
> had
> no issues when shifting across standard, full width, 5-speed freewheels.
>
> Could your derailleur perhaps have a shorter plunger bolt... which may
> have
> been intended for a more narrow 3 or 4 speed freewheel?
>
> David Snyder Wrote:
I'm looking for a Pro-Compe or Perfect Freewheel body or complete freewheel.
5 speed, French threaded.
I'll be building it up as a sort of Ultra-5, to work with my 1950's Simplex TDF derailer.
I prototyped the build tonight using an English-threaded body and easily got the width down to 23.6mm overall, the maximum that the plunger derailer will handle.
I previously built up a Shimano 5-speed body using 7-speed spacers with a re-machined body, and am still using that for now, but it's time to get the original rear hub back on there, hence my need for a french-thread freewheel.
I'll also be looking for an 18t (large-form, 4-spline) cog for it.
Ratios to be: 14-16-18-21-24t.