An Old overBEARING ? 1987 ST400

[Todder]

Acquired a nice 1987 ST400 in gloss white today. Anyone found a source for these sealed bearings? marked ETANCHE? my other bikes are 90s so used to repacking + grease? Guess any ID/OD/width sealed bearing will work?....picked up a 2000s era 9 Spd wheelset but thinking best to roll original wheels they seem darn close in weight. Bike not 100% original, thumb shifters replaced downtubes :-(. new(er) Sugino rings vs catalog so I'm not molesting a perfect one, 2 x 9 cassette might be worth doing though? Guess I can keep the old bits if build disappoints?

 

[Todder]

Am I ugly? Do I need a 9spd cassette buh bye 6spd freewheel SIS gen1? Am I right only down tube shifters in 9spd index ever made were Dura-Ace? Uh oh the '87 dia-compe brakes pads don't seem to line up to wheels...it starts with one little change and then you wake up $500 later....

 

[Brian]

If it is a sealed bearing, are you able to take it out and find a number on it? If so, you should be able to find the bearings based on the number.

 

[Todder]

Yeah thanks Brian the hubs are original Maillard. They seem frozen in there probably from '87. I will try marinating overnight. Was not expecting to find sealed bearings in this old girl with all my 90s bikes being loose. Just less fun than tweezers and grease planting steel seeds haha

 

[black lightning 1987]

I think those are typical 1980s loose ball bearing hubs. "Sealed Mechanism" doesn't mean sealed "cartridge" bearings. I would keep the drivetrain as is. Frame will be 126 spaced, so trying to switch to 8 speed or more will involve frame tweaking which is difficult given Cannondale's super stiff and heat treated rear triangle.

I have lots of downtube shifters here. May have a pair of the Alpha 3000 shifters that came with the bike. I would consider upgrading to a higher end shifter and rear derailleur though. Alpha 3000 has different cable pull from other 6 speed SunTour groups, which makes it a bit of an odd duck as far as compatibility.

 

[Todder]

I shared the 126mm fears but it’s looking up for the 9spd cassette on modern wheels no frame manipulation whatsoever, running shimano hyper glide 9 chain on aliexpress cassette 11-28t. So far so good just need an ultegra 9spd rear derailleur if anyone has similar ?!

 

[black lightning 1987]

I have NOS 9 speed 105 short cage and Tiagra medium cage.