v8powerage

I've been always buying this cassette because it's very solid and lasts long but this year I can't find it anywhere and on some websites it says that it's been discontinued, anybody has got information is that really so? I think this is really terrible because it means only very poor quality 7 speed cassettes will be available, this was the only one that was well made, I guess they decided that people on 7 speeds don't ride much and will be satisfied with models that last 2 months.

Russ Roth

Can always buy an 8 speed and just run 7 of the gears if you have an 8/9/10 speed wheel.

delbiker1 

Used ones on Ebay but not cheap. One new one, black 13/26 for $30.99. They do have Hg-41 7 speed for $17.95.

dedhed

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/k7-7.shtml

ThermionicScott 

Yep, I started noticing the supply drying up about a year ago. I had standardized most of our bikes on 7-speed and thankfully bought a few spares when HG50s were $22 or so.

Shimano will probably keep making the wide-range HG41/HG200 variants, but they probably didn't see enough profit from the Japanese ones to bother anymore. If you see any in the gearing you like for less than $35 or so, now's the time to snap up a few!

canklecat

Some SunRace 7-speed cassettes are very good, maybe better shifting than Shimano. Not sure about long term durability but, for me, so far, so good after 2-3 years on SunRace freewheels and cassettes.

A month ago I switched from a Shimano 7-speed 13-28 cassette to a SunRace CSM63 11-28 cassette,. As with the SunRace chromed freewheels, this runs quieter and shifts more crisply than the Shimano. There's a minor difference in gear spacing that I notice only occasionally. It's in my sweet spot for most of the terrain I ride.

And on my hybrid I switched from the Shimano 7-speed 13-28 to MicroShift 8-speed 11-32, when I also switched from Shimano's indexed 7-speed thumb shifters to 8-speed bar end shifters. The MicroShift cassette has also been fine. Besides putting in a couple thousand miles it's also routinely hauled up to 50 lbs of stuff on errands, including climbs. No problems.

Leinster

Or, if you have downtube/bar-end/bar-top shifters, just run an 8-speed cassette on friction mode.

This won’t work on trigger shifters/brifters/twist grips, unfortunately.

Russ Roth

The spacing between 7 and 8 is the exact same. It's the reason road bikes went from 126mm to 130mm; it accommodated the extra the gear. If it's a newer wheel then it already had a spacer to remove slop in fitting a 7sp cassette. Toss the spacer in the parts drawer, put an 8 speed cassette on with the low cog the next size bigger and enjoy having the same 7 gears. Shouldn't even need adjustment. If it's a 7 speed wheel many of the 8 speed cassettes are screwed together to make the block, buy one that is, toss the screws and the last cog and spacer and enjoy a 7 speed cassette. No friction shifting needed.

v8powerage

My hub will only accept 7 speed and only 12t so it's bad for me and I think many people that have those older hubs. I heard mixed opinions on sunrace so not sure, HG-50 was made in japan, very durable I found it to be able to last 15000 miles and that is manhandling it with downtubes, upshifting 4 gears at once, etc. The black one HD200 is 12t but that's low end cassette, HG-41 looks ok but they only make only 11t…

ThermionicScott 

Are you sure your hub won’t accept an 11T? It takes a different lock ring than 12T+, but that should come with the cassette. If your freehub body doesn’t have the little notch at the end for an 11T cog, try putting a 1mm spacer behind the cassette.

It’s not that I’m a fan of the tiny cogs, but it should be possible to make them work as choices dwindle...

v8powerage

Nope it doesn't have provision for 11 it is from way before there were compact cranksets it's 1055 7 speed. I can't put spacer, chain would be rubbing on the frame and if I put spacer on the axle then I'd have to pull spokes on the right so much they'd snap and left would be way too loose. Well anyway it doesn't matter, I think HG-41 is gonna get discontinued as well soon.

Wilfred Laurier

This is untrue. The spacing is different by a couple tenths of a millimeter, and this puts you about a half-cog out of alignment over the width of a cassette.

Russ Roth

I currently have 2 bikes running this setup and have set up dozens of bikes this way. If there is a spacing difference it is so minuscule as to not matter and the bikes shift perfectly.

Russ Roth

Provided you don't have a uniglide cassette, and I haven't seen one in years, any HG cassette body can take an 11t cog, you just need to use the accompanying lock ring.

v8powerage

Mmkay but what about this, I have the "non compact body" https://www.sheldonbrown.com/k7.html#hyperdrivec And I have one of these spacers beneath the cassette already, it was always provided with 7sp hg 50 https://static.evanscycles.com/produ...571-9999-1.jpg

This is the hub I got and it did come with screw on uniglide orignally but you can also install hyperglide like I did.

Sy Reene

Is this the one?

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/cassette...sette/?geoc=US

Russ Roth

Your link specifically says that your non-compact cassette body can take an 11 tooth and that if you use the 11 tooth on it you will just need the spacer that you already use which should have no effect on your current derailleur adjustment which is already set with that spacer in place.

ThermionicScott 

That's the same hub I use. I thought that if you used one of those spare 1mm spacers behind the whole cassette, that might give the 11T cog enough room to seat without getting hung up, but I didn't have enough time to try it last night. Moot point if you stick to 12-28, 13-26, etc, which is what I'd recommend. Don't despair!

v8powerage

I'd actually like to have 11T, but I was always led to believe that 12 is all I can get with this hub. I'd be much obliged if someone who's got spare 11t cog tried it because I don't want to waste money on cassette that I'll have to throw away because it won't fit. Also can anybody tell durability HG50 vs HG41 because I read some reviews on the internet that HG41 only lasts 1200 miles that would make it 10x worse than HG50…

VegasTriker

It took me about 30 seconds to find an eBay seller for the chain you mentioned in the opening post. $9.99 postpaid https://www.ebay.com/itm/Shimano-CN-...kAAOSwotFbSBUA

Shimano CN-HG50 6-7-8 Speed Hyperglide Bicycle Chain 106 Links Includes Pin New!

desconhecido 

Well, Campagnolo 8 speed shifter/derailleur will not shift Shimano 8 speed cassettes "perfectly" because Campagnolo 8 speed is the same distance between cogs as 7 speed, and Shimano 8 speed spacing is different. Different spacers are required to get an 8 speed Campagnolo derailleur/shifter to shift a Shimano 8 speed cassette properly. Spacer sets used to be available and would give good results. I guess it comes down to what is meant by "perfectly."

In any event, the spacing on a 7-speed Shimano cassette is not the same as on an 8 speed. Measure it and you'll see.

freeranger

Guess I should be glad kept all my old 7 spd mtn bike components that I upped to 8 spd, when the orig frame was replaced and I put together what is my current mtn bike. I've entertained the idea of picking up a frame to put them on, to use as a hybrid, tho I'm in no rush and haven't come across a frame yet (haven't looked all that hard). If I ever do decide to part with them, I'll put them on here, as occasionally I see someone looking for them. Wish ya the best of luck-had no idea they were becoming scarce!

v8powerage

I think HB 1055 is 6-speed compatible and the spacer was included so you can use 7 speed cassette, this would mean that 11t should fit? Still not sure about HG 41 are they as durable as HG 50?

ThermionicScott 

Here's a shot of an IG60 (Interactive Glide) 11-28 cassette on my 1055 hub. No issues getting all the cogs on and torqued together into a solid unit. (Freehub body is stock, FWIW.)



I don't have any HG 11-28 cassettes on hand, but I think this shows that it should work.

Personally, I doubt that HG41 cassettes are any less durable. Usually the difference is entirely in the finish. Black or brown for lower-level cassettes, matte nickel finish for upper-level cassettes.

And I like SRAM PC-850 chains. They're inexpensive and long-lasting. 5000+ miles before stretching to the 1/16" mark. That helps any freewheel or cassette last longer.

v8powerage

ThermionicScott Thank You for this, and did You use spacer provided with the cassette or some different one?

Confusing as to why would there be wrong information on Sheldon's page, perhaps it was true about some other hubs then. HG-50 and CN-71 lasts me about 12.000 miles, this chain doesn't stretch at all, CN-40 on the other hand is junk, that's why I'm weary because I know that the numbers are denoting quality levels. It's not just finish when it comes to those chains, could be same with cassettes, although there are exceptions… I guess I'd have to try it myself, I'm tempted by that 11t cog, it would be useful to me on the hills around here.

btw I found out that there was similar thread here about HG70 https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-m...hole-cogs.html that one would have been perfect for me it was strong as HG50 and had 11t, damn shimano keeps discontinuing good stuff hg50/70 were made in Japan, while HG-41 is from Singapore, I'm always partial to stuff made in Japan…