Dura-Ace EX Upgrade

Up-grading bike equipment is not an easy task as the specifications change all the time. Gearing has gone from 5 speed to 11 in only a few years and then there is indexing to contend with, here are the possible problems.

Question:
I have an early 80′s Univega good steel frame with full Dura-Ace group; want to resurrect for the new millennium with some type of index shifting. Have 126 mm dropout spacing, but with the steel frame know that it can be ‘stretched’ to accommodate 130mm requirements. Thinking maybe trying to pick up a used Ultegra group if the conversion is not too much of a technical nightmare, re-dishing wheel etc. Any advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Darrell.

Hi Darrell.

Yes Darrel, the good news is that with a steel frame you can open up the rear ends to take the wider hub and all your “new” indexed equipment should fit your frame without too many problems. You will probably need the cable adjusters that bolt onto where the existing lever bosses are on the down tube, everything else should easy enough.

Your main problem will be the rear wheel, you don’t say how many gear sprockets and the fitting system. If it is a screw on free wheel then it will be difficult and probably impossible to find one to suit the gear system you are looking for.

If you have a cassette system then it will probably be out of date and a newer cassette of 8, 9 or 10 speeds will not fit.

Your best plan would be to buy either a new group set and a wheel set to match or if you are thinking of a second hand group set, and then once you have bought it, then buy a rear wheel that will take the correct cassette to match which ever group you have bought.

Replacing everything is the easiest plan of action, if you try to up-grade bit by bit then you run into miss match problems. There are many differences between all the different speed set ups, the clicks in the levers, the width of the chain, the spaces between the rear sprockets and the space between the chain rings.

To try to make a 9 speed lever work with an 8 speed or 7 speed cassette is a madness that is a waste of time and money.

Stick to the same model and year of manufacture to make sure it all works perfectly well and get a wheel to match.