ARKerslake

Okay,

I've done a fair bit of research but have yet to come to a conclusive bit of evidence one way or another.

I have a 1997 Specialized Rockhopper which is stock with a 7spd rear wheel and cassette. I am upgrading to a 1x8 as I have the shifters/derailleurs etc needed to do so. However, I am missing a 26" 8/9/10spd compatible rear wheel, this is also proving the hardest thing to find in the world and no-one has one for sale apparently.

So, I've been considering my options in order to continue with my bike build.

Do I?:

- Put an 8/9/10spd freehub body on the current wheel and try to make it fit within the wheel stays?
- The above ^ and try to bend the rear stays so It fits comfortably (130mm I believe)
- Persevere with trying to find an 8spd compatible wheel?
- Cry

Any thought provocations would be lovely!

Thanks for reading

shelbyfv

It's unlikely you'll have any more luck finding a compatible freehub (if such exists) than the complete wheel. The traditional method of upgrading a 7 speed is known as "8 of 9 on 7." You can Google it, but essentially 8 cogs of a 9 speed cassette will fit on your 7 speed freehub, no dropout spacing changes. Will require 9 speed shifter. I've done this on a road bike but I had all the parts already and wanted brifters instead of the 7 speed downtube shifters. Otherwise, I can't see a compelling reason to change from 7 speed.

HillRider

Measure your rear dropout spacing. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it was at least 130 mm or even 135 mm. By 1997 8-speed was common and many frames equipped with 7-speed freehubs were also sold as higher line 8-speed bikes and the dropouts were spaced to allow either.

If it is 130 or 135 you could easily find a 135mm spaced 26": wheel with an 8/9/10-speed freehub and either respace it to 130 or use it as is.

70sSanO

As already mentioned, measure your dropout width as I would be shocked if Specialized made a 130mm dropout width on the basic 1997 Rockhopper and 135mm (8 speed) on the 1997 Rockhopper Comp.

Trying to find 26" rim brake compatible wheels is really tough these days. Sun Ryhno Lites with Deore 610 used to be easy to find. Velomine used to have these in stock and they are out of stock; they may get them back in stock. You can check other online dealers, but they are probably hard to find. The only other option is eBay and maybe get a used wheel/wheelset, but good ones are hard to find or expensive.

If the hub is 135mm OLD, you may be able to swap out the freehub body; you can't use an RM-30. I don't know if your freehub body is a shallow or deep shoulder. If it is shallow, a 6402 or 1056 freehub body might work. But is becomes more of a commitment to search out a replacement freehub body and DS cone. The only other caveat to a swap is the amount of spoke threads available to re-dish the wheel (center) with the wider freehub body. I've done this without any issues, but that doesn't mean it will always work with every wheel.

The other suggestion is to get a 9 speed cassette and run 8 cogs with a 9 speed shifter is a viable option. Unless you have a new or really good condition XT/XTR 8 speed shifter, going to a new 9 speed shifter will probably be the same as an older Deore or STX shifter.

John

KCT1986

Changing the freehub body is a good option. What brand & model is the hub. Some of the common brands would probably be familiar to someone here and they may be able to provide pointers.

Dropout spacing should be easy to address. As mention, the frame is probably at least 130mm, changing to a new freehub should have little effect. A small mismatch (2-3mm) of hub & dropout is no problem, an alum frame can have a larger hub "jammed in".

Let us know on current hub model.

klasse

Rockhopper FS? I had a '98 in gold. Should be 135mm. I see a rear wheel right now on ebay that would work. I sold off the last of my 26" wheels last year I think, but they are not too hard to come by, especially here in LA you could easily find one. Not a big deal tho, just stick with 7 speed if it's really troubling you - and not worth spending a fortune on!

FastJake

I'm not sure what your goal is but there are a million of those wheels out there and they're worth almost nothing unless you want something exotic. Check Craigslist, bike co-ops, or, honestly, another 1990s MTB to swap wheels with and re-sell.

If you've only checked bike shops, that's why you can't find anything. A 1990s MTB might as well be a penny farthing to them and they're unlikely to have anything to help other than trying to sell you a new bike.

Oh, and rear spacing should be 135mm.

Pop N Wood

I just converted my early 90's, possibly late 80's MTB from 7 to 8 speed. Just put the following wheel on with a spacer for the 8 speed cassette

https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...&category=5479

Yep, finding something in stock is a challenge. Like said above I have a set of wheels for the same bike that someone gave me. Find some local craiglist poster that has a million old bikes and give them a call.

ARKerslake

Thanks for all the replies - I was looking on FB marketplace, ebay, and every other second hand marketplace i could find but couldn't find anything worth using.

Anyway i finally found someone selling a Mavic mismatched set so i just bought the rear, and it fitted no problem, now it's just shifting is my issue!