magicpie55

Hello and thanks in advance for any help you can give .. I have been thinking of getting this wheel to upgrade from a freewheel to a freehub ..I have read some posts about how the "Dish" of a different wheel might be wrong ?? This one has a stronger Deore Hub and Velocity Cliffhanger rim .. Bike is a Electra Townie ...135 mm dropout , 10mm axle, 7 speed freewheel ... I have a bad back and cannot walk or stand long however I ride this at least an hour every day I can .. I have a front hub motor to help in the wind etc .. Have changed to wider ebike tires .. the rear rim is barely wide enough for this tire .. Question is will this wheel work or will it be "Offset" Ugh ... Thanks Again ...Don https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...1&category=245

magicpie55

Bill Kapaun

You will need a 4.5mm spacer to install before the 7 speed cassette.
8-10 speed uses a wider (longer) FH body for the additional cogs like this-
https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...s.php?id=25700

IF you want to upgrade the right shifter to 8/9 speed, now would be the time. Just buy a cassette with the same # speeds.
9 speed would also require a new (narrower) chain.

cxwrench

What Bill said. AND it looks like your rear q/r is not closed.

Iride01 

I'm not sure why you think a free hub will be an upgrade. And does anybody make seven speed free hubs/cassettes? Or are you wanting to get more gears on the back?

If you really want to upgrade it, then look at some IGH (internal gear hub) wheels.

Whatever you do, you won't put a free hub on that wheel without changing the entire hub at minimum and that's still going to require a wheel person unless you think that is you.

bboy314

One benefit of upgrading to a freehub is the stronger design of having the drive side bearings outboard of the cogs, helping avoid bent or broken axles which can be an issue with “foot-forward” bikes like this, with the rider’s weight more to the rear.

EDIT: maybe you’re confusing “freehub” and “free (no cost) hub”?

Iride01 

If you have a bent axle then I might have suggested going to a free hub for that very reason.

However if you don't have a bent axle, then you are just looking to solve issues that might not apply to you. I rode freewheels for the better part of forty-five years and didn't break or bend (to my knowledge) an axle. And I liked to ride many of my bikes on the rear wheel only just to show off.

Still, if you want to spend money, look into putting an IGH on there. You'll probably have less maintenance with one.

magicpie55

Thanks for the reply ... What I was/am concerned with is if the tire/rim will be centered in the dropout .. I was looking at videos of people changing from freewheel to freehub and the "Dish" of the wheel wasn't right ...That's crazy right ...it's a 135 mm dropout so the tire/rim is centered between the dropout width ..right ?
I may change to a 8 speed ..just because you can ..the 7 work good for me ..I just putt along 8 mph 4th gear 90% of the time .. Thanks again for your help

magicpie55

I posted this link to the wheel i want to use ...here it is again ...Stronger wheel and hub ...more spokes ..Deore hub instead of some no name freewheel ...Most people agree that a freewheel system is weaker than a freehub ... i probably don't need it ..ride at least an hour every day for 2 years now with no breakdowns ... i just like to tinker with stuff ...here's the wheel I'm talking about ... https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...1&category=245

magicpie55

Thanks for the reply ... I'm a retired auto/truck mechanic ...have to "tinker"with everything ... Since I'm about 200 pounds have put the front hub motor on and bigger/wider ebike tires I really just wanted a wider rim for this bigger tire ..."Research and me changing pitted cones and balls on this wheel I have led me to this replacement one ...it's just like the cars in the 70's ..they came with crummy factory tires , batteries . shocks , etc to cut the costs .. I have changed the brakes and derailleur to Deore and can tell the difference ... Thanks again for your help ...

cxwrench

Check that rear q/r, I'd swear it's open.

Bill Kapaun

9 speed gives you a much wider range of cog combinations than 8.
A 9 speed shifter isn't really "that" more $ than 8, if any.

Preventive maintenance can go a long way in preventing pitted cones, although you probably do have a cheaper hub without polished bearing races on the cones.

For that kind of money, I'd like a little better quality hub than a T-610. That's pretty low level Deore, although Shimano's cheapest hubs are crap. FH-RM-30 has an oxide coating instead of polished cones. They tend to eat DS cones.

icemilkcoffee 

Nothing wrong with wanting to tinker! These 26" wheels with 135mm spacing are extremely common. You can easily find these on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace and your local bike co-ops. Tinker away.

magicpie55

Thanks for the concern ..that is an old picture ... I changed the Hollow Quick Release Axle to a solid one when I changed the pitted cones for the second time .. used shimano polished ones the second time rather than the factory "Finish?" ones ..