DRHN

Hi, I have an old Raleigh Clubman which used to have a 6-speed Sun Tour Freewheel (Sun Tour PN 6000 Gold 14-15-17-19-21-24T):
https://www.bulgier.net/pics/bike/Cat...3/ral83_09.jpg

The rear wheel is old and battered. As a present a friend gave me a replacement Shimano R500 rear wheel and CS-HG50 7-speed sprocket:
https://www.roadcyclinguk.com/reviews...eel/61038.html
https://harriscyclery.net/product/shi...tequot-724.htm

The problems: the R500 is for 8 or 9 speed cassettes. If I fit the 7-speed sprocket with extra spacers will the bike run smoothly? If so, is it best to put TWO spacers on and do I put them on BEFORE the cassette?

Also, the bike is designed to run with a 6-speed freewheel. If I used the above Shimano products, will the bike run smoothly? If not, is that because of the max cog size of the derailleur... Campagnolo 980 - max cog size 26:
https://velobase.com/ViewComponent.as...bed88&Enum=108
...or are there other issues too?

Thank you for any advice you can offer, best wishes,
David

nwbikeman

The axle spacing is different so the frame needs to be spread to take the new wheel as your old wheel is 120 or 126mm spaced and the new wheel is a130mm. road wheel or 135mm hybrid wheel. 8 speed will probably work fine with your deraileurs, and add a new chain to go with the new cassette. 9 speed runs a much narrower chain and the crank set has a different ring offset between rings so this would not work well without a lot more parts IE cranks, deraileurs, and the shifters to go with it if you have or want indexed shifting. If the frame is 120 spaced I wouldn't spread it as the frame usually breaks at the chain stay bridge.

DRHN

Thanks so much for the advice - my knowledge is pretty slim. I measured the frame - it is 126mm spaced - and the new wheel is a road 130mm so should be ok. I'll get a compatible chain as you suggest.

You say the cassette will probably work fine with the deraileur which is great. If I put spacers on first can I use the 7 speed cassette I have on this 8/9 speed wheel? I asked someone in a bike shop and he said it wouldn't line up ok, is that right?

FastJake

Yep you can go from 126 to 130mm no problem with your steel frame.

You have friction shifters, correct? If so, you can probably run any number of speeds you want. I'd try an 8-speed cassette first, and then if you find your derailer can't reach the 8th sprocket just take it off and run 7-speeds with a spacer. You'll want to put the spacer on before the cassette. I'm not sure what the bike shop was talking about. There's nothing that needs to "line up" with friction shifting.

I think you'll be ok. Usually that number is a little conservative. I'm running a 30 tooth with my short cage Shimano derailer with no problems, where the max cog size is supposedly 28.

DRHN

Thanks so much for your help, I'll try it out and see how it goes

operator

A 7 speed shimano cassette will fit on a 8/9/10 shimano hub with a 4.4/4.5mm spacer installed BEFORE the rest of the stack goes on. There are ready made spacers available to do the job or you can rig something up on your own.