can you fit a 9 speed cassette to an old bike?

[konahed]

It has 7 speed at the moment, is a 9 speed just a straight swap or are there difficulties?

 

[carlos-g]

7 speed spacing is 130mm between dropouts , 8/9 speed is 135mm . It's possible to squish bits in sometimes but can stress the frame a bit , frame could possibly be re-set by a framebuilder.

 

[konahed]

Think I'll stick with the 7 then, thanks.

 

[elite504]

not quite right, nearly all 7 speed MTB frames are 135. 130 for the road 8s.
The 8 speed cassette body is longer than the 7, and will take an 8 or 9 (or even 10 on the road). in short, a 7s freehub body will only take a 7, and maybe 8 if you use a tnt 11t lockring, but not all frames have clearance for one of these

 

[Old Ned]

Uncle Sheldon has some answers -

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/k7.html

 

[IbocProSX]

The Sheldon link I'm sure has all the answers.

But FWIW way back in 93-94 or so I did convert my Shimano 7s rear hub (DX I think) to 8s body with a kit I bought at the LBS. Not all that difficult but did require some parts to be changed, notably the body and axle.

Enjoy !!

 

[MAXTHEROTTI]

if it helps my dale (1992 model) takes a 9 speed no prob ?

rob

 

[pete_mcc]

Simple way is to buy a new 8 speed freehub body, replace the 7 speed with the 8 speed and then shift the axle over a smidge by moving one of the 5mm washers from the non drive side onto the drive side, recentre the axle and then redish the wheel. Alot of faffing for one extra speed so I'd go with the 7 speeds if I was you! Also gives you extra cash to spend on a set of xt thumbies!

 

[fatfixie]

pretty straightforward to fit an 8/9 speed cassette body. you will need to respace the axle and redish the wheel tho.

The sneaky fix is to buy a cheap 9 speed Sram cassette, remove the 34t sprocket, and run 8 of the 9 speed cogs on your 7 speed body!

Andy

 

[MAXTHEROTTI]

and i have a cheap sram cassette for sale
thats your best option lol

rob