Originally Posted by
Leisesturm
Interoperability arguably began with 7sp. 6sp is still its own spacing in some cases. The 7sp may fit, it may not. A new rear hub may be necessary. What exactly is the rear OLD (locknut to locknut) spacing? If 135mm you are good to go with just about anything with that frame. If less you may have the ... annoyance of having to spread the dropouts* each time the wheel is inserted, or cold setting the frame so the frame submits to the upgrade. Swapping between MTB and Road is made deliberately hard to discourage exactly what the o.p. wants to do, and you as well. The reason is $$$. You are either going to pay in cash or in sweat. Pick your poison.
*maximum 2mm per side adjustability.
Thanks for that information. I'm going to clean up the 8spd setup in the parts bin and see about building a wheel around it if, and that's a big if, the hub will fit properly in the frame. I don't have a problem cold setting it wider, but not much. At this point the bike is still rideable so there is no push to make it happen. I might just opt to buy another 'used' bike with the brifters already set up on it and donate the old bike. (Wife only lets me have 2 at a time).