jambon

Hi all ,

I picked up a second hand bike a few months ago with some unoriginal parts . When I took off the 7 speed cassette I saw that there were some spacers behind it which led me to think that it could actually be an 8 speed freehub spaced out for a 7 speed cassette . is there anyway I can measure the freehub to see if it is in fact designed for 8 speed cassettes ? And if it is , will I have any issues putting an extra cog on there ? Would it mess up chainline or have any other adverse effect ?

Thanks a mill ,

J

bikeman715

if there are spacer(s) behind the cassette , yes you can remove them and add a 8 spds cassette . doing so shouldn't mess up your chainline .

MR BIG STUFF

I would go 9 or better, 8 speed parts are getting a bit scarce. What do you have for shifters?

Bill Kapaun

If the spacer was 4.5mm (3/16") or so, then you have an 8/9/10 speed hub.
IF you have 7 speed indexed shifters, they'll have to be changed to match the number of speeds on the cassette.

I also believe in skipping 8 speed and going to 9.
You would have to buy a new 9 speed chain in addition, but 9 speed cassettes simply come in a much wider variety of cog combinations then 8 speed.
You'd probably be advised to buy a new chain anyway, so the few extra $ wouldn't make as much of a difference.

Watch your sales and 9 speed shifters can be found for very reasonable prices.

CliffordK

One other thing to check. 11T freehubs will have a groove at the end of the freehub (left). 12T freehubs have all the splines ending at the end of the freehub (right).

NukeouT

Check if your bike is in my Sprocket app. If its in the database, it should tell you how many speeds it was manufactured to work with originally.

If you're not sure what year you have, find the brand+model and try to narrow down by the parts that are on yours that you believe to be original.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...sprocket&hl=en