Originally Posted by
rosefarts
With some exceptions on the low end, this hasn’t been true for at least 30 years.
Every 7-speed cassette I've had, came held together with 3 small diameter long bolts, that all broke in about a year (at the juncture of the shoulder and threads, because the shoulder is at full thread diameter instead of minor diameter, so a stress concentration there). Didn't hurt on-bike function in the slightest. The bolts are just for speed of assembly to the freehub body in production.