# Old Schwinn, new drivetrain



## gmullen (Jun 2, 2010)

I've got a 20-year-old Schwinn Prelude and want to update the drivetrain to accommodate the Shimano 2200 shifters my wife gave me for Christmas. (I like the bike, and I know lots of people will insist that anything below Shimano 105 is garbage, but I'm not a bike snob, I ride way less than a 1000 miles in a year, so I'm pretty confident 2200s will suit me fine.) 

I'm planning on buying new wheels (at least the rear), chain, and an 8-speed cassette. Do I need to switch to Shimano derailleurs, or will my old Suntour Cyclone pieces work here? Can I keep my older 105 52/40 crankset? Do I need to worry about chainline issues? 

Any insights/advice will be much appreciated.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*General advice*



gmullen said:


> I've got a 20-year-old Schwinn Prelude and want to update the drivetrain to accommodate the Shimano 2200 brifters my wife gave me for Christmas. (I like the bike, and I know lots of people will insist that anything below Shimano 105 is garbage, but I'm not a bike snob, I ride way less than a 1000 miles in a year, so I'm pretty confident 2200s will suit me fine.)
> 
> I'm planning on buying new wheels (at least the rear), chain, and an 8-speed cassette. Do I need to switch to Shimano derailleurs, or will my old Suntour Cyclone pieces work here? Can I keep my older 105 52/40 crankset? Do I need to worry about chainline issues?
> 
> Any insights/advice will be much appreciated.


I won't comment on your specific equipment issues, but you should be aware that you are headed down a path where you could well spend more money than it would take to buy a 5 year old used bike of better performance than your likely end product. Just saying.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

gmullen said:


> I've got a 20-year-old Schwinn Prelude and want to update the drivetrain to accommodate the Shimano 2200 *shifters* my wife gave me for Christmas.


fixed...


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## gmullen (Jun 2, 2010)

'Brifters' is lame? OK, no argument from me. Original post is edited.

As for spending money on this bike, I know that it may be smarter and cheaper to just find a newer ride, but I like old steel bikes, and if I can do an upgrade for $200-$300, and it keeps me happy for another 5 years, I'll consider that money well spent.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

gmullen said:


> I I'm planning on buying new wheels (at least the rear), chain, and an 8-speed cassette. Do I need to switch to Shimano derailleurs, or will my old Suntour Cyclone pieces work here? Can I keep my older 105 52/40 crankset? Do I need to worry about chainline issues?


- With 8-speed, your rear dropout spacing should already be up to the current 130 mm standard, so no problem with a new wheel.

- The mechanicals inside the 2200 brifters determine how much cable is pulled in or released per shift. It's possible that your Suntour derailleur is just fine with that, so try it and see. If you can't get clean shifts across all eight cogs, the derailleur isn't fine with that. In that case, get a cheap Shimano rear derailleur. They all work well, regardles of price.

- Crankset will work fine, with no chainline issues I can foresee. Chainline on a derailleur bike doesn't need to be dead-on perfect anyway.


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## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

wim said:


> - With 8-speed, your rear dropout spacing should already be up to the current 130 mm standard, so no problem with a new wheel.
> 
> - The mechanicals inside the 2200 brifters determine how much cable is pulled in or released per shift. It's possible that your Suntour derailleur is just fine with that, so try it and see. If you can't get clean shifts across all eight cogs, the derailleur isn't fine with that. In that case, get a cheap Shimano rear derailleur. They all work well, regardles of price.
> 
> - Crankset will work fine, with no chainline issues I can foresee. Chainline on a derailleur bike doesn't need to be dead-on perfect anyway.


hehehehe........wim said brifters.....you are such a rebel......

brifter, brifter, brifter, brifter 

If you can say it I can say it....... to the OP, you like the bike......do what ever you need to it and keep on riding!


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

*Brifters.*



Touch0Gray said:


> hehehehe........wim said brifters.....you are such a rebel......
> 
> brifter, brifter, brifter, brifter
> 
> If you can say it I can say it....... to the OP, you like the bike......do what ever you need to it and keep on riding!


I guess I could have structured the sentence so there would have been no need to even mention that thingy, but for some reason I didn't want to. BTW, putting that contested word into the title keeps it safe from gratuitous editing. 

Hey, happy belated birthday!

/w


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## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

wim said:


> I guess I could have structured the sentence so there would have been no need to even mention that thingy, but for some reason I didn't want to. BTW, putting that contested word into the title keeps it safe from gratuitous editing.
> 
> Hey, happy belated birthday!
> 
> /w


you too man........ was a REALLY busy year, I didn't even have time to get older!

The way I see it, if YOU can use the word......the HELL with the whippersnappers!

brifter, brifter, brifter, brifter...............LOL


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

you guys are killin' me! happy new year to you both:thumbsup:

oh yeah...i'm no 'whippersnapper'...trust me...


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

cxwrench said:


> you guys are killin' me! happy new year to you both:thumbsup:
> 
> oh yeah...i'm no 'whippersnapper'...trust me...


Happy New Year to you too, cxwrench. "Whippersnapper" is relative, I guess. I'm getting ready to enter my 70s, Touch is close behind, I think. If not, he'll post a correction immediately if not sooner.


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## MikeBiker (Mar 9, 2003)

wim said:


> ... I'm getting ready to enter my 70s, Touch is close behind, I think. If not, he'll post a correction immediately if not sooner.


Are you talking IQs here?


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

MikeBiker said:


> Are you talking IQs here?


No, age in years. The context being "whippersnappers," even somewhat slow people would have understood that. 

Happy New Year!


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## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

no...if we are talking IQ, I am easily well over 80.....lol wim...I am EXACTLY 10 years behind you....

and cxwrench you think I knew i was rattling YOUR cage?...........just love walking by with a stick in my hand......makes such a cool sound on the bars....LOL

Happy new years young feller.....hehehehehe


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## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

fwiw...i am pretty sure Mike is between us in age and well......we won't get into the IQ issue...he IS a man of few words! But his timing is impeccable.

Hey...what's the opposite of impeccable?....peccable?....that sounds dumber than brifters!...oh my..I looked it up...it IS peccable.....


peccable, peccable, peccable..............


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## MikeBiker (Mar 9, 2003)

Touch0Gray said:


> fwiw...i am pretty sure Mike is between us in age and well......we won't get into the IQ issue...he IS a man of few words! But his timing is impeccable.
> 
> Hey...what's the opposite of impeccable?....peccable?....that sounds dumber than brifters!...oh my..I looked it up...it IS peccable.....
> 
> ...


Yep, next year my age and IQ will be the same.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

Touch0Gray said:


> fwiw...i am pretty sure Mike is between us in age and well......we won't get into the IQ issue...he IS a man of few words! But his timing is impeccable.
> 
> Hey...what's the opposite of impeccable?....peccable?....that sounds dumber than brifters!...oh my..I looked it up...it IS peccable.....
> 
> ...


Sorry to have aged you about 10 years. Yes, I knew Mike is a mature gentleman on account of his always sage advice given here. I knew he was kidding, so I kiddded back. I like his age = IQ joke and will use it soon at a party. I'm making a resolution to be more couth next year. That's the opposite of 'uncouth.'


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## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

MikeBiker said:


> Yep, next year my age and IQ will be the same.


gonna be able to collect social security eh?....LOL


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## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

methinks we hijacked this thread!


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## gmullen (Jun 2, 2010)

wim said:


> - With 8-speed, your rear dropout spacing should already be up to the current 130 mm standard, so no problem with a new wheel.
> 
> - The mechanicals inside the 2200 brifters determine how much cable is pulled in or released per shift. It's possible that your Suntour derailleur is just fine with that, so try it and see. If you can't get clean shifts across all eight cogs, the derailleur isn't fine with that. In that case, get a cheap Shimano rear derailleur. They all work well, regardles of price.
> 
> - Crankset will work fine, with no chainline issues I can foresee. Chainline on a derailleur bike doesn't need to be dead-on perfect anyway.


Yes, this thread has definitely been hijacked. But that's OK. I got a response I can use--many thanks. And happy new year, too.


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## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

gmullen said:


> Yes, this thread has definitely been hijacked. But that's OK. I got a response I can use--many thanks. And happy new year, too.


bottom line is your bike is not an investment in a monetary way, it is an investment in your pleasure and health, so by all means pimp your ride....and then RIDE man......you want fancy wheels...do it, you want carbon bling....do it.

wim knows his stuff, he's been riding since bikes were made of wood! FWIW if your rear der. doesn't work, PM me and I'll send you a shimano, I have a 1/2 a dozen of that vintage! They're just sitting in a bin waiting for someone to need them!


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## gmullen (Jun 2, 2010)

Touch0Gray said:


> bottom line is your bike is not an investment in a monetary way, it is an investment in your pleasure and health, so by all means pimp your ride....and then RIDE man......you want fancy wheels...do it, you want carbon bling....do it.
> 
> wim knows his stuff, he's been riding since bikes were made of wood! FWIW if your rear der. doesn't work, PM me and I'll send you a shimano, I have a 1/2 a dozen of that vintage! They're just sitting in a bin waiting for someone to need them!


Wow--that's really generous! I may have something in my parts in, but if not, I'll be in touch. Thanks again...


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

Touch0Gray said:


> you too man........ was a REALLY busy year, I didn't even have time to get older!
> 
> The way I see it, if YOU can use the word......the HELL with the whippersnappers!
> 
> brifter, brifter, brifter, brifter...............LOL


Happy belated BD, kid. I just had a birthday Thurs. I was going to ride my age in miles, but it's winter & not a good time to ride a double century.

Speaking of of words like brifters, one of my favorites is "set." I hope you had a happy birthday set, and that you got to ride your bike set. I also hope you got some bike set presents. For my birthday I got 2 Smart Wool sock sets & a jersey set. Didn't have a party set with a birthday cake set & candle set. That's OK because I didn't need it. My wife also took me out for for a dinner set after which we went to a movie set. It was late then so we jumped in the car set & drove to my home set, and went to our bed set.


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## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

he MrV.... thanks bud....hey I gotta tell you, your sig line, should be engraved on a big stone tablet somewhere!

Happy late one to you too....


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