Originally Posted by
edsmemberships
... I understand that were I to increase to an 8 or 9 speed that I would need to replace my freehub body, derailleur and shifter.
The derailer doesn't care much about how many speeds there are. As long as it can handle the chain wrap it's happy.
You can run 8-of-9 on a 7-speed body.
Losing the 11t shouldn't be much of a sacrifice. With a modest amount of pedalling skill you should still be able to hit 25+ MPH. Not many people spend significant time of their commutes up there.
Some say that 7/8 speed are close enough to index OK for unorthodox combos.
There are quad conversions for the crank, which can give you a really nice low bail out gear and still allow you to keep the rear as it is.