j mazz

I have a 1989-ish Centurion 7speed. The rims are Araya CTL 370. I also have 2008 Mavic Askium 10 speed rims. What would it take to get the 7speed on the Askium?
I updated with Brifters and it's fine as is but would love the newer, lighter rims without having to buy new rims.

FastJake

Throw on any Shimano/SRAM 7-speed cassette. The only thing you'll have to do is add an extra spacer behind it because 7-speed takes up less room than 8/9/10 speed.

The Araya CTL370 is one of the lightest clincher rims ever made. Are you sure they're heavier than a pair of junky Aksiums? Put them on a scale and weigh them to find out.

70sSanO

There is a lot of info on this, but you can get a new 7 speed hyperglide cassette and install it with a spacer between the last cog and the freehub body. Usually it is 4.5mm, but you can alter that slightly if you are trying to dial in a better chainline.

I've done this a number of times. If you want to use a uniglide cassette from the 80's, I think it willl just slide on, but you still need the spacer.

I can't speak for Campy stuff.

John

jyl

Yeah, Aksiums are/were the low end of the Mavic wheelset line and are not particularly light.

Remove tire, tube, and rim strip and compare weights of the two wheelsets - just the front wheels if that is more convenient.

Check spacing of rear dropouts, not sure if the Aksiums will fit in that frame without spreading the rear.

j mazz

LBS can make the swap! I weighed them both- Araya is a few grams heavier. The main reason is the Arayas are 20+ years old and a little hammered, they tend to pinch flat. Mavics will be more reliable. I'll post a pic when it's done

Jeff Wills

The existing cassette is probably not going to work. A 1989 7-speed cassette would be Uniglide, which uses a threaded small cog to hold the cassette on. The Aksium wheels use a Hyperglide cassette, which uses a lockring to hold the cassette on.

As others said, you can put a 7-speed Hyperglide cassette on the Aksium wheels. You'll need a spacer for it to work properly, but it can work.

Andrew R Stewart 

Not sure I agree with the claim that one rim will make pinch flatting more likely then another rim (given the same tires, tubes, pressures and about the same rim widths). But this is the internet and anything goes... Andy.

FastJake

Using a shiny new rim has no effect on pinch flatting... That depends on the tire width and pressure, and how you ride.

The complete Araya wheelset might be heavier but I bet it could be built lighter with double butted spokes and decent hubs. Either way, the bare Araya rims themselves are absolutely going to be lighter than the Aksium rims.

CliffordK

If you are building wheels, Shimano still makes 7 speed freehubs that will work on many Shimano hubs. Then just set your spacing, and you are good.

Oh, does your Centurion use indexed or friction shifting? Can it be set to friction shifting?

You may well be able to run a 9s or 10s cassette on the bike with the appropriate chain, and all the rest of the existing equipment. I find that the more gears (and presumably shift aids), the easier to shift and find one's gears.