ive got a really nice (but old and tired) raleigh 531 racer frame i want to upgrade to a 3×9 setup….

ive decided to go for 3 gears up front and not 2 because its hilly round here and im lazy at times. and ive also got 3×9 sti levers i was going to use anyway. as far as im awaire, the levers will work with any long cage MTB rear derailer. i have to get a road tripple front mech. and im going to buy the SPA cycles touring tripple chainset.

am i blindly approaching any pit falls? ive also got 3×9 bar end shifters that i could use if the STi will have compatability issues.

any advice (and PHOTOS!) would be great
cheers

Not sure if this will be an issue, but will a rear hub that will take a 9spd cassette be wider than the hub that may already be on it?

another thought…..

should i just go for a compacy double (50/34) and stick with the original 7 speed and get one with a wide gear range???

It should all work, just check there is chainring clearance for the granny on the frame.

If your rear dropout spacing is 130mm, and your rear wheel is a cassette type rather than freehub, you should have an easy enough task. There are a handful of cassette hubs around which wouldn’t work but you’d have too be unlucky. Assuming it has downtube shifters you can use some of these:

http://www.tweekscycles.com/Product.do?method=view&n=3554&p=540108&c=215&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Base&utm_campaign=Frame%20Spares&gclid=CODy8dPx5MUCFYzMtAodUS0APg

to adapt the frame(others and s/h available). Many old frames might be 126mm and won’t take a 130mm hub without a struggle (cold setting, you don’t want to watch it being done if it’s a treasured frame).

i have read of similar problems. need to check, although getting the frame cold set would solve it i believe

You might be better off with the bar ends. I spent ages trying to get front indexing working with STI’s on a similar conversation. I couldn’t get it just right but front is friction with bar ends so problem solved. As Al says, you might have to faff around with BB length a bit to get granny clearance so go square taper for flexibility.

Cold setting (bending, yes, really) steel frames is piss easy. Best to get dropout realigned after, tho you can do that with an adjustable at home if you are game & competent.

Yes you will need downtube stops too.

I’m doing exactly the same thing. I shall have the frame cold set. 3×9 105 off my CAAD4 Cannondale which has developed some worrying looking corrosion.

I believe problems with brifters and old stuff is due to the rear mech, the new mechs are optimised for indexing in some way.

My problems were with a matching Tiagra front derailleur and STI. Good point; 126 to 130 respacing needed for 9 speed.

flap_jack – Member
I believe problems with brifters and old stuff is due to the rear mech, the new mechs are optimised for indexing in some way.

*hides eyes from “Brifter” term.

The cable pull ratio is the same on ANY Shimano indexing rear mech bar mtb 10 speed.

So, no!

Had the same (sort of) dilemma, but mainly it’s just economically pointless.

7sp suggests 126mm dropout spacing (mine certainly is). I did think about forcing 130mm in to a 126mm hole (possible with steel), then swapping 7sp for probably 9sp bits, and replacing downtube shifters with downtube cable stops for STI levers.

But by the time I’ve done that, and got new wheels, and replaced a few other bits (seat, bars, tape, headset), I might as well just get a new bike. And a steel frame is peanuts extra on the cost of all new bits.

if you shop wisely/SH, it will cost way less than a comparable new bike.

This is worrying… Agreeing with the king of cutlery more than once per day… 😀

Bar End shifters: ~£25 pair (just bought some nice ones for spares), 9 speed derailleurs: £30 pair max, chain and cassette: £18.50 new from Merlin (e.g.) so about £70 for a decent, long lasting drive train. Expensive? Really?

ive got a really nice (but old and tired) raleigh 531 racer frame i want to upgrade to a 3×9 setup….

ive decided to go for 3 gears up front and not 2 because its hilly round here and im lazy at times. and ive also got 3×9 sti levers i was going to use anyway. as far as im awaire, the levers will work with any long cage MTB rear derailer. i have to get a road tripple front mech. and im going to buy the SPA cycles touring tripple chainset.

am i blindly approaching any pit falls? ive also got 3×9 bar end shifters that i could use if the STi will have compatability issues.

any advice (and PHOTOS!) would be great
cheers

I did EXACTLY this a few years ago 🙂

Then some little scrote nicked it out of my shed 🙁

Build story with pics here

Is it not possible to just respace a 130mm hub down to 126mm at all?

I just had a look at a tiagra hub in the garage and there’s a monster spacer between the lock nut and cone on the NHS, I bet you could fit a 126 axle, even if it was spaced off centre and simply re-dish the wheel…

Cold-setting of frame (126-130mm) – you can DIY with a plank of wood. That’s all a bike shop will do.

Cable stops: You can get them brazed on but you can also buy band-on

boblo – Member
This is worrying… Agreeing with the king of cutlery more than once per day…

IT.

WASN’T.

A.

SPOON.

😡

I did the 3×9 upgrade on my old Dave Yates. I did have cold set the rear spacing, 4×2 plank and patience. I bought some Ultegra shifters, front mech and crank on eBay and an XT rear mech. Worked a treat.

Cold setting is just a pompous way of saying grab the dropouts, one in each hand and tug a bit. (I am sure in other circumstances it means more than that but here…….?)Unless you have a very unbalanced body that will work. It’s 2mm either side, practically speaking I never bothered, just used my thumbs as I pop the wheel in. 9 speed STi’s are fairly happy with all sorts of mechs but it will be peanuts if what you have doesn’t work. Wander on over to the CTC forum and you may well find more info that you can cope with 😆

My old 531c frame now has a modern 105 11 speed mid compact double groupset
I just chopped the new 105 rear hub axle to suit the frame and all is fine.
I was a little concerned about the spoke angle and ending up with a very flexable wheel but it’s fine

The frame is 126 oln ,

ive decided to go for 3 gears up front and not 2 because its hilly round here and im lazy at times. and ive also got 3×9 sti levers i was going to use anyway

A triple doesn’t necessarily give you lower gears than a compact double, but you do get rid of the annoying jump at the front. I ran a 30/42/53 triple for years on my 531c thorn, paired with a 12-25 cassette.

Beware that your 9 speed stis will NOT work with a 10-speed mtb mech – you need to buy a 9-speed unit. Alternatively, any shimano 9/10 speed road mech will work, and some of them will take a fairly big cassette – I have an Ultegra 6700 mech running very happily on a 12-30T Tiagra cassette.

thoughts so far….
i think i might not go for STi – because of the conflicting advice on compatability issues, and use my 3×9 bar end shifters. that also means i can use a MTB rear mech, then if i decide to go back to flat bars, it will be an easier – and cheaper – transition.

theres lots of advice on cold setting, but in my experience its worth getting it dont professionally. ive ruined a frame buy getting it wrong, then your rear wheels is completely out of line with your frame. luckily my frame is 130mm spacing

also, i reckon im going to get SPA cycles tripple chainset (48/38/28) and a 11-34t cassette

You shouldn’t have any compatability issues – ALL indexing road rear mechs and MTB mechs excluding 10 speed only are cross compatible. You need a road front mech though, but within these provisos it should all work perfectly.

I doubt bar end shifters would work on a 10 speed mtb rear mech if that’s what you are thinking.

I just pry the back end apart and ram the wheel in ,never bothered with cold setting its only a couple of mm a side and the wheel rarely comes out

I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned up there exactly ^^^ but you do know a 9spd cassette won’t go on a 7spd cassette hub don’t you? (apologies if I’m stating the obvious) Needs a 9spd hub or possibly a 9spd freehub to go on your 7spd hub

yep, new wheels are in order. will look at those once i get drivetrain sorted!

9 speed cassettes fit on 8 speed hubs of course!

Just change free hub body from 7 to 9 ? Just checked

No – the freehub width changed at the 7 -> 8 speed point.

Cheers, just checked and edited !

@ollie that’s exactly how I’ve got my old 531 tourer set up and it was converted from 5 speed/126mm on 27″rims.

It now has bar ends, 9 speed mtb rear derailleur, road front derailleur, 11-34 mtb 9 speed cassette, 24/36/48 triple.

I farted around for ages trying to get rob indexing working with STI’s, it never worked properly. The bar ends are ace. I use them and this set up on the tandems as well.

I did something similar to my old 80 bike but did not cold set. I could just about move the rear stays apart to get a modern 130mm hub in.

Works a treat so you dont need to cold set if you dont want to

update….

so i went ahead and bought a second hand sora 3500 groupset on ebay. nice and easy cos everything is compatable. with a compact double upfront and a 11 – 32 tooth cassete, so i should be able to do most hills. just waiting from my new open pros/105 hub wheels and ill start to biuld. if theres any interest (maybe unlikely), i could post a few pics up on this thread

cheers for above advice