Bicycle Mechanics - Freewheel or Freehub?

I have a 199? 7 speed Giant ATX 870 MTB that I use as my rainy day commuting bike. It has no-telling how many miles on it so I put a new SPRAM chain on and now it skipps when on the big/front small/rear sprockets under load. It was fine until I put the new chain on. I have adjusted the RD which didn't help so now I'm guessing it could use a new cassette. My question is, does this bike have a freewheel or freehub? It does have shimano components.

Thanks

It is very likely to have a freehub and require a cassettes. Look at the outside (small cog end) of the rear cluster. If there is a lockring (it will say "Shimano Hyperglide" and "Lock 40N.m") it is a cassette.

Take a look here (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/free-k7.html). It gives a pretty good overview of the differences between a freewheel and a freehub, and does an ok job of showing you how to identify what you have.

I had trouble identifying my first freehub, but once I knew what to look for it became a lot easier.


You could also post a picture here, and people could likely tell you what you have. Take a picture of the front of the gear cluster, so we can see the lock ring area.

Well I finally got off my ass and checked it and as HillRider said, it is a freehub with a 11-28 cassette. Thanks tjwarren for the link. I already had it bookmarked but had not thought to look there. So where can I get a 11-24 cassette? I want to get rid of the low (28) gear. Thanks for the help.

Well I finally got off my ass and checked it and as HillRider said, it is a freehub with a 11-28 cassette. Thanks tjwarren for the link. I already had it bookmarked but had not thought to look there. So where can I get a 11-24 cassette? I want to get rid of the low (28) gear. Thanks for the help.

And how many speeds is it?

oper - in his original post, he reported it's a 7-speed. For the OP, visit your local bike shop or shop online. You just need a standard 7-speed cassette. IMHO, Shimano and SRAM ones are worth getting instead of other brands, given the overall cheap prices for 7-speed cassettes these days. However, if you want an 11t small gear, you may have to settle for a 28 or 30+ tooth big gear, given the relatively low selection of 7-speed cassette gearings. A 12t small gear will get you a bigger selection of smaller gear ranges.

I'm partial to SRAM myself. For the cheap one's at least.

And how many speeds is it?
The OP said 7-speed.

I checked the usual suspects (Bike Tools Etc, Loose Screws, Nashbar) and none of them lists an 11x24 7-speed cassette. The closest I found was a 12x21 at Loose Screws.

The OP said 7-speed.

I checked the usual suspects (Bike Tools Etc, Loose Screws, Nashbar) and none of them lists an 11x24 7-speed cassette. The closest I found was a 12x21 at Loose Screws.

Shimano made an 11-24 7-speed cassette for the rarely-seen 400CX and 700CX groups of the early '90's. I have no clue where you might find one now.

oper - in his original post, he reported it's a 7-speed. \

Yeah apparently I can't read :/