Originally Posted by seyfarth
Hi, Thanks for the feedback. Actually, I no longer have the freewheel hub. The new shimano wheel that I have needs a cassette. If I can find a six speed cassette then I can avoid having to replace the shifters.
Thanks for any suggestions!
Ok, but your problem is going to be that cassettes start at 7spd. I don't believe you are going to be able to locate a 6spd cassette for a freehub. The good news is that shifters can be had pretty cheaply.
What type of shifter do you have now? Is it downtube, bar end, thumb shifter, grip-twist, or what? Are they indexed, or friction (this is important)? Let us know and we can point you at a cheap replacement, if actually needed.
I would recommend you take some time and read this page before you make any decisions:
http://sheldonbrown.com/k7.html
Then check out this page about shifters:
http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/shifters.html
You will see that some shifters start as low as $6.95. If you call Harris they are great to talk to about this type of upgrade and can likely get you set up with a minimum amount of trouble. I'd venture a guess that upgrading to 8spd might be very easy for you. Since you are installing a new cassette, you should think about a new chain, too.