kilian@pbsvax.DEC (04/05/85)
I have two pairs of wheels: one with a Suntour "normal" freewheel (gold)
with 5 sprockets, the largest being 30 tooth. I also have a Suntour Perfect
freewheel (which can accomadate up to 6 sprockets though I only have five on
it now). When I went to the Perfect I found I needed a narrow profile chain
(the rivets are flush with the chain links). This combination seem to improve
the shifting over the older freewheel. In general, it is not just a change
of freewheel that affects shifting performance, but also the chain.
Another factor is that on my Perfect freewheel, the cogs are a little less
widely dispersed (the largest is only 28 tooth). This causes less
"shadowing." Shadowing is where the chain tends to miss a cog when being
shifted from a larger one to a smaller one. If the larger one is too large,
the chain tends to skip the first smaller cog and end up on the next smaller
cog. It also poses problems when shifting from a smaller cog to the larger
cog.
As an aside...I recommend the Suntour Perfect highly...but only if you get
the special cone tool to adjust it.
-- Mike