gatto karma

Hi!

I have a MTB wheel with broken rim. It has a Ritchey Zero System hub. I would like to transplant the 9-speed freehub body to a "donor" wheel with a Shimano hub. I have already measured the axle etc and the 9-speed freehub body should have enough space.

My plan is to take off the shimano 7-speed freehub body and transplant the 9-speed freehub body.

However, I have read somewhere that some Ritchey freehub body are not compatible with Shimano hubs (Ritchey hubs-how do you get the freewheel off?- Mtbr.com).

I am not really able to identify the model of the Ritchey hub. It looks like the V4 in this document (https://ritcheylogic.com/wp/wp-conte...t-20140121.pdf) only that I do not see any "#5 allen slot" in the end caps as the doc says, so it must be something else.

See also the pics of the two hubs.

So the question is, is it possible to transplant the freehub body from the Ritchey hub to the Shimano hub?

I do not have the 11mm allen key which seems to be needed to take off the freehub body from the Ritchey hub (10 and 12 mm do not work), so I would prefer to know before buying that and taking everything apart.

Edit: corrected freewheel with freehub body (thanks Eggman)

CliffordK

I highly doubt it will be compatible.

None of the photos of Ritchey freehubs I'm seeing look anywhere like Shimano freehubs.

Yours should look somewhat like this:



Shimano 9 Speed HG Freehub Body | Jenson USA

Although Shimano has had a couple of different styles, so it doesn't hurt to check.

If you're lucky, your 7s freehub will only be able to be swapped with a 8/9/10s freehub, NOT 11s.

You'll need to adjust the spacers, and re-dish the wheel.

gatto karma

Thanks CliffordK.

I do not need 10s or 11s as the wheel will need to go back to a bike with a 9 speed shifter.

If the freewheel is not compatible my options are to get a Shimano freewheel that accommodates 9s - or go 8 of 9 on 7 and give up one speed.

Eggman84

I suspect that Clifford is correct in that your Ritchey freehub body (not freewheel) is not compatible with a Shimano hub, which only takes a Shimano freehub body. I have "upgraded" an old wheel (on a Trek 520) that came with a Shimano 7-speed freehub, 1st by going with 8 of 9 on 7, and then finally installing a new 8/9/10 speed Shimano freehub body. With the new freeehub body, I had to redish the wheel but that was relatively easy. I would just get a new freehub body and go 9 speed. Note that you may have to swap the dust caps on the existing and freehub bodys (if I recall correctly the new dust seal did not fit the existing cone correctly. Good luck.

gatto karma

Thanks Eggman!