Shimano 105 7 speed upgrade question



J

Joe

Guest
I'm in the midst of upgrading a beater bike with 105 on it. It has
1990-era "New" 105 components on it (7 speed). I was originally
thinking about moving it up to 9 speed, but now think 8 speed will do
just fine. It is currenty on a frame spaced for 126mm, but I will be
moving it to another beater frame spaced for 130mm. I have a new 105
rear hub/freewheel assembly for 8 speed (spaced for 130 as well).

Given the increase in spacing, will my older 7 speed derailer work for
8 speed as well?

I'll be getting new shifters as well, but is there anything else I
need to be considering?
 
Joe wrote:
> I'm in the midst of upgrading a beater bike with 105 on it. It has 1990-
> era "New" 105 components on it (7 speed). I was originally thinking
> about moving it up to 9 speed, but now think 8 speed will do just fine.
> It is currenty on a frame spaced for 126mm, but I will be moving it to
> another beater frame spaced for 130mm. I have a new 105 rear
> hub/freewheel assembly for 8 speed (spaced for 130 as well).
> Given the increase in spacing, will my older 7 speed derailer work for 8
> speed as well?
> I'll be getting new shifters as well, but is there anything else I need
> to be considering?




If you have a hub for 8 speed that is 130 mm OLD and your frame
accepts it, I would go to 9 speed unless you already have all the 8
speed components. 9 speed is easier to find and often lower priced
than 8 speed.



--
 
On 14 Jun 2004 11:03:21 -0700, [email protected] (Joe) wrote:

>I'm in the midst of upgrading a beater bike with 105 on it. It has
>1990-era "New" 105 components on it (7 speed). I was originally
>thinking about moving it up to 9 speed, but now think 8 speed will do
>just fine. It is currenty on a frame spaced for 126mm, but I will be
>moving it to another beater frame spaced for 130mm. I have a new 105
>rear hub/freewheel assembly for 8 speed (spaced for 130 as well).
>
>Given the increase in spacing, will my older 7 speed derailer work for
>8 speed as well?
>


Yes.

>I'll be getting new shifters as well, but is there anything else I
>need to be considering?


As someone else mentioned, you might want to consider if 9 speed is
better. It will be easier to find parts, etc.. When you say a new hub
and freewheel, do you mean a free*wheel* or a freehub- using a
cassette?

Then again, for a beater, maybe just use the parts that you have and
drive them into the ground.
 
daveornee <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Joe wrote:
> > I'm in the midst of upgrading a beater bike with 105 on it. It has 1990-
> > era "New" 105 components on it (7 speed). I was originally thinking
> > about moving it up to 9 speed, but now think 8 speed will do just fine.
> > It is currenty on a frame spaced for 126mm, but I will be moving it to
> > another beater frame spaced for 130mm. I have a new 105 rear
> > hub/freewheel assembly for 8 speed (spaced for 130 as well).
> > Given the increase in spacing, will my older 7 speed derailer work for 8
> > speed as well?
> > I'll be getting new shifters as well, but is there anything else I need
> > to be considering?

>
>
>
> If you have a hub for 8 speed that is 130 mm OLD and your frame
> accepts it, I would go to 9 speed unless you already have all the 8
> speed components. 9 speed is easier to find and often lower priced
> than 8 speed.



I guess my question is, moving from 126mm to 130mm and from 7 to 8
speeds (or 9 speeds, for that matter), do I need to upgrade the
derailer as well, or will the old Shimano 7 speed 105 derailer work?
(assuming I get new shifters)
>
>
>
> --
 
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (Joe) wrote:

> daveornee <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:<[email protected]>...
> > Joe wrote:
> > > I'm in the midst of upgrading a beater bike with 105 on it. It has
> > > 1990-
> > > era "New" 105 components on it (7 speed). I was originally thinking
> > > about moving it up to 9 speed, but now think 8 speed will do just fine.
> > > It is currenty on a frame spaced for 126mm, but I will be moving it to
> > > another beater frame spaced for 130mm. I have a new 105 rear
> > > hub/freewheel assembly for 8 speed (spaced for 130 as well).
> > > Given the increase in spacing, will my older 7 speed derailer work for
> > > 8
> > > speed as well?
> > > I'll be getting new shifters as well, but is there anything else I need
> > > to be considering?

> >
> >
> >
> > If you have a hub for 8 speed that is 130 mm OLD and your frame
> > accepts it, I would go to 9 speed unless you already have all the 8
> > speed components. 9 speed is easier to find and often lower priced
> > than 8 speed.

>
>
> I guess my question is, moving from 126mm to 130mm and from 7 to 8
> speeds (or 9 speeds, for that matter), do I need to upgrade the
> derailer as well, or will the old Shimano 7 speed 105 derailer work?
> (assuming I get new shifters)


Yes, it will work fine. I use a 105 6-speed indexed derailleur to shift
8 speeds.



--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine/wiredcola/
President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club
 
"Joe" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm in the midst of upgrading a beater bike with 105 on it. It has
> 1990-era "New" 105 components on it (7 speed). I was originally
> thinking about moving it up to 9 speed, but now think 8 speed will do
> just fine. It is currenty on a frame spaced for 126mm, but I will be
> moving it to another beater frame spaced for 130mm. I have a new 105
> rear hub/freewheel assembly for 8 speed (spaced for 130 as well).
>
> Given the increase in spacing, will my older 7 speed derailer work for
> 8 speed as well?
>
> I'll be getting new shifters as well, but is there anything else I
> need to be considering?


Probably. I currently use an 8 spd wheel on my 126mm spaced 7 spd bike
without any modifications. I can easily spread the stays on my steel frame
to fit it. The only adjustment needed is to reset the low limit screw to use
the large cog. Because I haven't changed my downtube 7 spd shifters this
gear is not indexed and will annoyingly slip back to 2nd gear when I need it
the most (high chain tension gradually pulls the shifter). If I know I am
going to need the gear for a ride (very rare since there are no hills here)
I adjust the barrel to get the use of the lower 7 cogs.

You could certainly try this as a temporary solution to ensure that your
derailleur works. You may find that this is good enough until you decide to
upgrade to a new bike.

--Art
 

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