I've done both. I currently have a road bike with an 8-speed cassette using 7-speed downtube shifters. After backing out the low-limit set screw a lot, I found the shifters continue in friction mode past the last indexing point. I also have a 7-speed megarange freewheel on my mountain bike with 8-speed shifters. I have it setup with the "dead click" using index points 1-7. Both bikes index perfectly. It just takes a little patience when setting the cable tension.