Angus37

I just replaced my 6-speed freewheel with a 7-speed. Now I feel like the locknut on my rear hub is set too far in, and the smallest cog is right against the frame - so it's like I replaced a 6-speed freewheel with a 7-speed that really only has 6 good speeds.

I'm trying to figure out what to do and wanted to bring it up here to get some ideas from all of you.

I figure I'll need some sort of spacer on the freewheel side to bring the locknut out, but what would that do with the rear wheel alignment in the frame? Would it need to be balanced on the other side?

Will I need a longer axle for all of this? And, if so, will I need to cold set my frame?

I know, a lot of questions. But I've never done this kind of thing before and am trying to get ideas now so that I can go into this fully prepared instead of having the bike on the stand for a week while I try to figure out what to do next.