7 to 8 or 9 speed conversion help

ricktabor1

Hi,
Ok so here's the situation:

I've decided to put either 8 speed or 9 speed shifters on my old 7 speed steel mtb. I decided to test a few things before I go buying stuff.

I took off the old 7 speed cassette and went to put an old 8 speed cassette on. The 8 speed cassette is too wide for the freehub. If I decide to go for 9 speed obviously i'll encounter the same problem.

Can I just change the freehub? Will that require a new hub and wheel build, or can I just replace the freehub bit?

nicklouse

so it is a genuine 7 spd body? no spacer hiding on it?

what is the Hub width?

have a read of this if it is a 7spd body.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/k7.html#897

The Rookie

You can out 8 of 9 speeds from a 9 speed cassette on a 7 speed freehub, use a 9 speed shifter, that is what my daughter runs on her commuter.

cooldad

But he can't fit a std 8 or 9 speed cassette without serious faffing. More faffing than is worthwhile.

ricktabor1

Thanks everyone.

That 8 out of nine stuff by Sheldon is pretty interesting.... ingenious even.

The Rookie

The 8 of 9 works well, you need a lower end cassette, SRAM come apart easily enough, you need ideally either an 11-34 so you have a 31 largest, or get 2 so you can mix and match to make an 11-32.