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5 speed to 7, 8 or 9

Old 05-19-22, 04:54 AM
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silferion
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5 speed to 7, 8 or 9

My road bike steel frame has 130mm clearance for the rear wheel. It was originally 5 speed freewheel and I want to increase the gears to 7, 8, or 9 speed cassette. Is it possible? If yes, any tips for me?

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Old 05-19-22, 05:46 AM
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That’s a broad question. 7 speed is typically freewheels and requires 126mm rear spacing while 8 speed and beyond are cassettes that require 130mm rear spacing.

What’s your brief? Cheap and functional or expensive and pretty? Period correct or whatever works? Retro gear lengths or something a bit more forgiving?
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Old 05-19-22, 06:12 AM
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Seems a little odd that the bike is 5sp and the frame is spaced 130mm, but if that's the case you ought to be able to just put a 7sp freewheel on the wheel you've already got. If your shifters are friction, adjust the high and low stops and you should be good to go. If it's an indexed system (seems unlikely if it's a 5sp now...) things are a little more complicated.
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Old 05-19-22, 06:15 AM
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Originally Posted by P!N20
That’s a broad question. 7 speed is typically freewheels and requires 126mm rear spacing while 8 speed and beyond are cassettes that require 130mm rear spacing.

What’s your brief? Cheap and functional or expensive and pretty? Period correct or whatever works? Retro gear lengths or something a bit more forgiving?
I see. 7 speeds are still freewheel. I stand corrected. Cost doesn't matter but I want to lean more on cheap and functional. I need to focus more on my current bike. I just acquired an old bike out of the blue thinking I would be able to use down tube shifters but there were no replacements here in my place so I decided to just convert it into something modernish while minimizing the cost. And there's 130mm spacing for the rear.
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Old 05-19-22, 06:19 AM
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Originally Posted by ehcoplex
Seems a little odd that the bike is 5sp and the frame is spaced 130mm, but if that's the case you ought to be able to just put a 7sp freewheel on the wheel you've already got. If your shifters are friction, adjust the high and low stops and you should be good to go. If it's an indexed system (seems unlikely if it's a 5sp now...) things are a little more complicated.
That's what struck me odd too. I have 2 old road bikes here and this one is really a little bit odd compared to the old centurion I got. Both are 5 speeds but the centurion is narrower so yeah, tape measures ain't lying so I gotta use it to its full potential.
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Old 05-19-22, 06:20 AM
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130mm OLD should have plenty of room for more sprockets. If the current wheel is using a 5-sprocket cluster, you'll likely need to shift an axle spacer from the non-drive side to the drive side and redish the wheel to get proper clearance on the drive side.
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Old 05-19-22, 06:27 AM
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Originally Posted by silferion
I see. 7 speeds are still freewheel. I stand corrected. Cost doesn't matter but I want to lean more on cheap and functional. I need to focus more on my current bike. I just acquired an old bike out of the blue thinking I would be able to use down tube shifters but there were no replacements here in my place so I decided to just convert it into something modernish while minimizing the cost. And there's 130mm spacing for the rear.
There are 7 speed cassettes, but as far as I know they still require 126mm spacing.

Shimano 600 Ultegra ‘Tricolor’ or even early 105 are usually good bang for buck.
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Old 05-19-22, 07:52 AM
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What is the bike and what are the components (hubs, derailleurs, shifters, etc) on there now? A little more info and the collective hive-mind should be able to better point you in the direction(s!) to get where you want to go.
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Old 05-19-22, 08:07 AM
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Originally Posted by silferion
My road bike steel frame has 130mm clearance for the rear wheel. It was originally 5 speed freewheel and I want to increase the gears to 7, 8, or 9 speed cassette. Is it possible? If yes, any tips for me?
How old is the bike?
If it is 80s or 90s generally it can be made work.
If its older than that it can be more trouble.
Simplest is get a seven speed wheel and a new chain.
Or buy a groupset and wheels that all match.
Or buy a bike and swap parts.
There are caveats.
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Old 05-19-22, 08:19 AM
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My 91 Paramount has 130 rear spacing, got it as a bare frame, and wanted to use a 7 speed 1055 group that I already had. Used a Shimano 8 speed hub with a spacer, and then 7 speed cassette. Works well if you want 7 speeds with 130 spacing.
Tim
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Old 05-19-22, 09:16 AM
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If your frame is 130mm spaced and the dropouts are correctly aligned, I think I'd skip 7-speed and go right to 8+. Path of less resistance than using spacers or rarer hubs to use 7-speed, and I say that as a 7-speed enthusiast.
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Old 05-19-22, 12:25 PM
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As a data point, my 1989 Miyata 1000LT is 135 spaced with a 7 speed freehub. My understanding is perhaps that is early mtn equipment standards.
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Old 05-19-22, 12:31 PM
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agree 5 speed and 130 does not quite compute as 5 speed was 120, more details on bike and gear and pics when OP gets 10 posts

and on what is wanted, friction, indexed, indexed with intergrated lever/shifters
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Old 05-19-22, 12:33 PM
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Originally Posted by ThermionicScott
If your frame is 130mm spaced and the dropouts are correctly aligned, I think I'd skip 7-speed and go right to 8+. Path of less resistance than using spacers or rarer hubs to use 7-speed, and I say that as a 7-speed enthusiast.
Thats what I would have done, had I not already had a nos 1055 group I wanted to use. Also a 7 speed fan.
Tim
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Old 05-20-22, 07:19 PM
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Sorry for the late reply everyone. Been busy at work. I returned the bike. I learned that it was originally a 7 speed and the seller tried to cheat on me. I managed to let him tell the truth since a 5 speed is really suspicious on a 130mm. I bought it from a custom bike maker so I can already guess what he did. I guess I can just focus on centurion for now since it's the downtube shifter I'm really after.
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Old 05-20-22, 07:50 PM
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Post 3 more times and show pics?
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