Originally Posted by
unclejemima
I tried the 10spd gears and they do fit...but I have 2 problems. The fit is a bit loose, but it does fit. The second problem is, the gears I need (20T or so) are riveted together. Can I just drill the rivets out and use it that way?
Can you think of any cog sets that would not be riveted together? I think SRAM uses a different inner spline design...so that would not work.
Here is a photo of what the correct single sprocket looks like on ebay...only for some odd reason, it does not have the small "tooth" that the the shimano 9spline design has.
At the risk of duplication I'll chime in too. 10-speed cogs are thinner than 7,8 or 9-speed cogs since they have to fit 10 cogs in the same overall cassette width as 8 or 9 cogs so that may be why they are loose on your hub. Find a 7 or 8-speed cog if you can.
Shimano's 7 and 8-speed cassettes, particularly 105 and below, use "full plate" cogs throughout so you can remove the bolts or rivets holding the stack together and use them as individual cogs.
A single speed cog is the cheapest way to get what you need other than a free used cassette. Bazelel is correct, the keyed tooth in multispeed cassettes is there to orient the cogs relative to each other to improve shifting. That's a nonissue with a single cog and, in fact, a single speed cog is better for that use since it has no shifting aids.