Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 9,625
Likes: 40
From: South of Raleigh, North of New Hill, East of Harris Lake, NC
Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Specialized Roubaix, Giant OCR-C, Specialized Stumpjumper FSR, Stumpjumper Comp, 88 & 92Nishiki Ariel, 87 Centurion Ironman, 92 Paramount, 84 Nishiki Medalist
I've made the swap from 7 to 8 several times. It's not difficult. Your 26" wheel will be fine, but it will have to be redished. If you have a Shimano freehub, then the old one unbolts using a hex wrench (10mm I think) and the larger 8/9 speed bolts right in. If it's not Shimano, I can't comment. Some are compatible, some are not.
My only concern is the 130mm spacing in the frame. All the MTB conversions I've done were performed on frames with 135 spacing.
I recall reading a post here on BF the reason MTBs require 135 is due to the chain line being too close to the seat stay causing chain slap against the stay when riding on technical single track.
In theory, the change should work with a 130mm spacing because that's what road bikes have. But I've never made that change.
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