mechgingeneer

I've been looking into the possibility of putting some newer components on my (mostly) stock Trek 520 from '89. But i have some questions first!

1. Id like to move to 700c wheels, and I know they'll fit (personally tried it), but am I correct in assuming I need to find a wheelset that has a 7-speed cassette hub on it to move my own cassette over (bummer if so because i love my 105 hubs)? Anyone know of any decent wheels that fit the bill?

2. I also want to move to integrated shifters, and ive seen ONE set of Sora 7-speeds on ebay. Does anyone know if these will work?Amazon.com : Shimano ST-A070 Road Shifters 2 x 7-Speed Black Pair : Bike Shifters And Parts : Sports & Outdoors
I have changed the front chain rings to a 50/42 setup from stock, so I really like those for the price.

I'm keeping all the Stock parts in case I ever want to sell it, but this frame is so amazing I don't want to get rid of it! And, money is very tight for me (college). Thanks for your help!

PatTheSlat 

Any 8/9/10 speed cassette hub will work with a spacer added before putting the cassette on. You'll just have to spread the frame 3mm, which shouldn't be a big deal at all. The Tourney brifters you linked to are quite popular for exactly what you're doing and should work fine.

mechgingeneer

Will an older set of 2x8 or 3x8 brifters work? There's a few sets of older Sora and 2303 brifters on craigslist near me.


Are the tourney sets really unbearably cheap? I've heard some people love them and others think its blasphemy to consider them worthy of a real bike...

bikemig 

If your bike is currently a seven speed, then the rear triangle is going to be set at 126 or 130mm. You'll have to spread the frame to 135 to run 8, 9, or 10 on the back.

You could just go with bar end friction shifters like these: Dia-Compe ENE Bar-End Shifters

That way, you're good with 7, 8, or 9 on the back.

I like indexing a lot but I may just go back to friction and 3 x 8 for touring. YMMV.

BradH

The only 135mm hubs I've seen are mountain hubs. 8/9/10 road hubs are 130mm and drop right into a steel 126mm frame without any fuss. So little in fact, I don't see why people even discuss it.

Just my 10 cents on STI conversions. The hoods are longer so you end up needing either a shorter stem or compact bars to maintain your riding position on the hoods. Compact bars are 31.8 clamp size. I have not seen a quill stem with a 31.8 clamp so a threadless adaptor ends up being used. It's probably just me but on a steel bike with a parallel top tube and a 1" threaded headset I enjoy downtube shifters and a quill stem. On a bike with a 1.125" threadless headset I like STIs.

Not that I'm trying to be Brad Buzzkill here. Just think about the length of the hoods and how it affects your geometry.

mechgingeneer

Thanks Brad! Part of the reason I want to switch to the STI shifters is because I will be not only riding this for fitness, but I will also be riding this around my college campus, and the downtube shifters can be an issue if I'm having to dodge people or get out in front of traffic quickly. I've ridden several bikes with them and I just feel way safer with them. And, just personal preference here, but I realllllllly dislike the look of bar-end shifters. Unfortunately, the people on my campus aren't exactly the most bike aware

I thought about using an adaptor and putting some new bars on, but I'm also trying to minimize cost. I would really like to keep the gearset that I have on the bike, just swap it to a 700c wheel. I don't really feel the need to move to an 8-speed setup, because honestly most of what I ride is pretty flat and doesn't call for any outrageous ratios.

Also, thanks for making a newbie feel welcome! I'm constantly amazed at how quickly you guys respond to my silly questions

PatTheSlat 

I've never used the Tourneys myself, but I've never heard anyone here say anything bad about them, and I trust people here more than any other bike forum out there. I hear a ton of complaints about the old Sora design with the little thumb paddle shifter things on them. I think the definitive answer to using 8 speed shifters on a 7 speed cassette is "maybe."

The Golden Boy 

Just wanted to say that's a cool bike- your plans sound great!