Bicycle Mechanics - Shimano Ultegra/Mavic Open Pro wheelset and cassette compatibility?

Hello,

I thinking of purchasing a Mavic Open Pro/Ultegra wheelset from Performance as an upgrade to my bike. I belive that my fron shifters are Shimano Sora's but I'm not 100%. Fron the website the specs on the wheels say that they are 8-9-10 spd Shimano compatible -- what kind of cassette can I use without changing my front shifters? Is this even possible.

Thanks for any suggestions,

Marc

Any Shimano 8, 9 or 10 speed cassette will fit on that hub.

Any Shimano 8, 9 or 10 speed cassette will fit on that hub.

I figured as much but I guess what I was really asking was this: If I do this upgrade will I still be able to use my front shifters or due I need to upgrade them as well? I understand that my 7-speed front shifter won't handle all the rear cogs but will it work well enough until I upgrade them?

Thanks,

Marc

I figured as much but I guess what I was really asking was this: If I do this upgrade will I still be able to use my front shifters or due I need to upgrade them as well? I understand that my 7-speed front shifter won't handle all the rear cogs but will it work well enough until I upgrade them?

Thanks,

Marc

Your shifters and chain need to be compatible with the cassette, 9 to 9, 10 to 10, etc. If you're going to upgrade you might as well go to 10-speed, shifters, cassette, and chain.

Al

7-speed shifters won't work with 8, 9 or 10-speed cassette.
Also: 8, 9 and 10-speed cassettes are all the same width, while 7-speed cassettes are a bit narrower and fit on a narrower freehub body. You can use a spacer to take up the extra width when mounting a 7-speed cassette on an 8/9/10-compatible freehub body. I'd recommend eventually upgrading your cassette and shifters (rear der will work fine, no meaningful difference between shimano rear deraillers "designed for 7-speed" and those designed for 8/9/10 speeds).

One other thing: older 7-speed freehub rear hubs had 126mm spacing (distance between the locknuts) whereas 8/9/10-speed freehubs are 130mm spacing (135mm on mountain bikes, which was true for 7-speed mountain bike freehub rear hubs as well; but yours is a road bike so this doesn't apply). Your frame may have the rear dropouts spaced at 126mm, and you'd need to flex the frame a little to fit a 130mm-spaced rear hub in.

I'd recommend that you figure out the rear spacing of your bike's frame and freehub.

If your rear wheel is indeed a 7-speed freehub, and your shifters and cassette are in good shape and don't need replacing anyway, and you don't feel the urgent need for more gearing options, I'd recommend that you buy a rear wheel on eBay with a 7-speed freehub body.

7-speed shifters won't work with 8, 9 or 10-speed cassette.
Also: 8, 9 and 10-speed cassettes are all the same width, while 7-speed cassettes are a bit narrower and fit on a narrower freehub body. You can use a spacer to take up the extra width when mounting a 7-speed cassette on an 8/9/10-compatible freehub body. I'd recommend eventually upgrading your cassette and shifters (rear der will work fine, no meaningful difference between shimano rear deraillers "designed for 7-speed" and those designed for 8/9/10 speeds).

One other thing: older 7-speed freehub rear hubs had 126mm spacing (distance between the locknuts) whereas 8/9/10-speed freehubs are 130mm spacing (135mm on mountain bikes, which was true for 7-speed mountain bike freehub rear hubs as well; but yours is a road bike so this doesn't apply). Your frame may have the rear dropouts spaced at 126mm, and you'd need to flex the frame a little to fit a 130mm-spaced rear hub in.

I'd recommend that you figure out the rear spacing of your bike's frame and freehub.

If your rear wheel is indeed a 7-speed freehub, and your shifters and cassette are in good shape and don't need replacing anyway, and you don't feel the urgent need for more gearing options, I'd recommend that you buy a rear wheel on eBay with a 7-speed freehub body.

Thank you very much for clarifying this for me. My current wheelset is pretty darn old and I was hoping to upgrade without too much hassle. I had the shifters and gearing upgraded a few years ago and the local bike shop cobbled together some gears and spacers for my threaded freehub to get me to 7-speeds. I was hoping to move up to a cassette at this time but it maybe that eBay is my best bet here.