Looking at the spacers in post #39 , they look mismatched.
I think someone has been there before.....

OP is there a model# on the hub similar to FH-M450? IF obscured, it might have a matching FRONT hub which would be in the format HB-M450 etc.

@Bigbus, some before and after disassembly photos of the hub and sprocket cluster would help clear up confusion.

It is my belief from photos provided, and the description is that you have a screw-on freewheel in the photo on the left.
NOT a Freehub/Cassette on the Right.

https://sheldonbrown.com/images/freewheel-vs-k7.jpg

I won't be able to get back to this until after the holidays. I put it all under a tarp and hopefully it's still all there when I get back. Right now, it looks like the one on the right as I didn't remove the splined thingy off the hub. I jkust unscrewed the lock ring and all the gears and spacers slipped off. When I get back I'll see if it screws onto the hub like the freewheel on the left, which is very possible. Thanks

Yup. Makes no sense. Wasted cogs most of the time. But with 11 and 12 cog cassettes now, I suppose having a few useless ones doesn't really matter.
Even when racing, I rarely used my 12 cog.

Back when people knew how to drive a manual transmission car, you could make the comparison of driving in 4th or 5th gear all the time, instead of shifting to a lower gear so the engine was at a better rpm.

I'm not fit and can reach 25 mph on flat ground (for a short moment). A 52-14 is really easy to spin out in a descent IMHO. I sometimes spin out my 50-11 which is a higher gear...

Anyway, I think freewheels are limited to 14T, so I think the only solution is increasing the chainring size if the FD accepts that.

Apparently the Shimano 11 teeth freewheels are discontinued. I did find that SunRace makes a 13 teeth cog 7-speed freewheel. You might be able to find a NOS 11 teeth freewheel on Ebay or similar online shopping place.

Cheers

I'm not really keen on 11T or 12T cogs either, but "wasted cogs" mean a mistake was made when picking out chainrings and cassettes, IMO.

For the time being, I'm set for cassettes that start with 13T. But I plan to adapt if/when I move on to 11/12-speed. By substituting a smaller-than-traditional big ring, here's 12-speed reimagining of Drew Eckhardt 's gearing that doesn't give up anything, I think. :)

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e436f6109e.png

A cousin of mine just offered me an old 27" rim with some rusty spokes and a 13T/26T cassette on it with really good looking teeth. I'm going to have to put some work in the hub (clean and grease) and throw a tire on it, but if the 13T gear gives me the upshift that I'm looking for, I'll be a happy camper! Suddenly I can't wait to head home haha. Who called this hobby an addiction? :twitchy:

Again, most need-for-speed comments are I-don't-like-pedaling-fast comments in disguise---or, more accurately, I-don't-like-pedaling-fast-downhill comments.

Okay, an update on the gearing. I put new skin on the old rim and got it all cleaned up and greased. Turns out that 13T sprocket is just what the doctor ordered. My easy cruise speed is now about 20MPH with a 4 MPH headwind and I no longer feel a need to upshift to a higher gear. I did lose a couple of teeth on my larger gear (26 to 24) but I'll worry about that when I hit the long climb. For now it's all good! Thanks for all the 'nice' comments regarding cadence. I'm a masher-always have been and always will be. :speedy: