You seem to be set on getting brifters, which is fine. You also want lower gears for climbing which is a very common request here. If you're going to do those two things, you're basically replacing the entire drivetrain so you might as well go with however many speeds you want. IMO the best approach to that situation would be brifters, 8/9/10 speeds in the back, and a triple crankset up front for climbing. But once you add up the cost of all these parts (brifters, crank, rear wheel, FD, chain, cassette) you could probably get a modern, used carbon bike or for sure a nice aluminum one.
So my suggestion would be to replace the crankset with a triple, probably have to replace the front derailer, and leave everything else alone. This will give you all the low gears you need and is by far the cheapest option. Then save the rest for a fancy modern bike.
Also, when using a double crank the front is technically "indexed" no matter what because there are only two basic positions to be in. Unless you need to trim, which you'd want to do with an indexed system anyway. The only difference is the shifter doesn't "click."
Originally Posted by
likebike23
Based on the original post, I'm fairly confident that the rear spacing is unknown. I personally wouldn't spread a frame like that much to gain 1 or 2 gears.
Edit: 7 speed cassette wheels have a freehub which is narrower than a wheel with an 8/9/10 speed compatible wheel. To change the gearing to 8/9/10 speed, you'll need a new wheel with a freehub that will accept 8/9/10 speed cassettes. This wheel will be spaced 130mm for a road hub. Your frame is designed to accept a certain wheel spacing. If the dropouts on the frame are spaced 128-130mm, then putting a wheel spaced for 130mm is fine. If the frame and original wheel are spaced 126mm, then you'll have to spread the rear dropouts to get the wider wheel in there. Based on the construction of your frame, I personally wouldn't cram a 130mm wheel into 126mm dropouts. Others will say it's ok, I just don't think it's worth the risk to gain a couple of gears, JMHO.
Agreed. Next thing to do is confirm the dropout spacing. If it's 126mm I'd leave it at that with 7-speeds but if it's 128-130 then go ahead and put in an 8/9/10 speed hub with whatever cassette you want.