Using 7s freehub with 130 spacing

[Davy Haynes]

I am considering installing a 7 speed shimano freehub body onto a
ultegra 6500 9 speed hub. Then respacing to the right and redishing
the wheel to remove some of the dish. The goal is to get a more
robust, stronger wheel. Since I use down tube shifters, I can either
use the "8 of 9 on 7" trick, locking out the last shifter position
with der limit screw, or install some 7 speed shifters that I have and
use a 7 speed cassette, which is adequate for my needs.

My understanding is that the 7 speed freehub body with fit the 6500
hub with no problem. Is this correct?

Any other reason why this wouldn't work?

Thanks,
Davy Haynes

 

[Clive George]

"Davy Haynes" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I am considering installing a 7 speed shimano freehub body onto a
> ultegra 6500 9 speed hub. Then respacing to the right and redishing
> the wheel to remove some of the dish. The goal is to get a more
> robust, stronger wheel. Since I use down tube shifters, I can either
> use the "8 of 9 on 7" trick, locking out the last shifter position
> with der limit screw, or install some 7 speed shifters that I have and
> use a 7 speed cassette, which is adequate for my needs.

My first question would be do you suffer from non-robust wheels at the
moment?

cheers,
clive

 

[Davy Haynes]

No. They are well-built, 36h wheels that have not given me any
problems. However, I am rough on them and do ride off road with
skinny tires, so I'm interested in making them as robust as possible.
Also, I find I have too many gears for my needs, often shifting two or
three cogs at once.

Davy Haynes
>
> My first question would be do you suffer from non-robust wheels at the
> moment?
>
> cheers,
> clive

 

[Clive George]

"Davy Haynes" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

>> My first question would be do you suffer from non-robust wheels at the
>> moment?
>
> No. They are well-built, 36h wheels that have not given me any
> problems. However, I am rough on them and do ride off road with
> skinny tires, so I'm interested in making them as robust as possible.
> Also, I find I have too many gears for my needs, often shifting two or
> three cogs at once.

Sounds a bit overkill to me - personally I'd wait until there was a problem.

Re the gears thing - you can of course fit a wider range cassette if you
don't like the little gaps.

I suspect what you propose will work. Can you still get decent 7s freehub
bodies? (don't forget the new spacer).

What's your frame made from? If steel, a redish to 135mm and a wheel based
on eg an XT hub would seem to be a more robust idea.

cheers,
clive

 

[Davy Haynes]

> Re the gears thing - you can of course fit a wider range cassette if you
> don't like the little gaps.

That would not help with the little gaps, but would then give me highs
& lows that I don't need. I'm perfectly happy with my current ones,
13x26, I'd just like to delete the 14 & 16t cogs.

>
> What's your frame made from? If steel, a redish to 135mm and a wheel based
> on eg an XT hub would seem to be a more robust idea.
>
That would shift the chainline, requiring a new BB as well as the new
hub and wheel build. The whole idea is to (1) get rid of cogs I don't
need, while (2) increasing wheel strength of the existing wheel, and
only requiring a 7 spd freehub body.

Davy Haynes

 

[Clive George]

"Davy Haynes" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>> Re the gears thing - you can of course fit a wider range cassette if you
>> don't like the little gaps.
>
> That would not help with the little gaps, but would then give me highs
> & lows that I don't need. I'm perfectly happy with my current ones,
> 13x26, I'd just like to delete the 14 & 16t cogs.
>
>>
>> What's your frame made from? If steel, a redish to 135mm and a wheel
>> based
>> on eg an XT hub would seem to be a more robust idea.
>>
> That would shift the chainline, requiring a new BB as well as the new
> hub and wheel build. The whole idea is to (1) get rid of cogs I don't
> need, while (2) increasing wheel strength of the existing wheel, and
> only requiring a 7 spd freehub body.

(good, you didn't complain about my typo - should read 'spread' above, not
'redish' )

A 5mm spread wouldn't shift the chainline enough to require a new BB. And
you're already talking about a fair redish, and a wheel build isn't that
much harder.

I'm merely suggesting alternatives. Personally I reckon what you're
proposing is a bit of a waste of time, and I do have concerns about the
availability of decent 7sp freehubs. But you're welcome to go ahead with
your project

cheers,
clive

 

[A Muzi]

Davy Haynes wrote:
> I am considering installing a 7 speed shimano freehub body onto a
> ultegra 6500 9 speed hub. Then respacing to the right and redishing
> the wheel to remove some of the dish. The goal is to get a more
> robust, stronger wheel. Since I use down tube shifters, I can either
> use the "8 of 9 on 7" trick, locking out the last shifter position
> with der limit screw, or install some 7 speed shifters that I have and
> use a 7 speed cassette, which is adequate for my needs.
>
> My understanding is that the 7 speed freehub body with fit the 6500
> hub with no problem. Is this correct?
>
> Any other reason why this wouldn't work?

Good plan. Note the seals and spacers on the back of the cassette body,
between cassette body and hub shell. There are many variants. You may
use the cassette stuff, the hub stuff or a combination to get a
freely-spinning cassette body. We add a heavy-bodied oil inside cassette
bodies before dropping the axle in.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971