I have a 7 speed cassette. My options are slim @ LBS. Does brand matter? I have shimano but thinking of sram.

You can use a Sram cassette for an otherwise all-Shimano system. The spacing is the same.

are you 100% sure you have a cassette and not a freewheel? If its a freewheel neither shimano or sram make one. 7 speed cassettes exist but they are very rare.

Memorex makes a good cassette, so did Duplex. Most people have gone to CDs from what I hear. I still have some vinyl and 8 tracks.

I hear "reel-to-reel is real" .

The hub is shimano & so are all the other components so I'm gathering its safe to assume its a cassette?

I have two 7speed bikes. One rim has an 8 speed cassette & both bikes don't like it very much. it makes the chain click and clang. Sometimes it drops multiple gears unannounced and its fallen off once.

would a narrower chain be easier than a new cassette??

You really need all of the drive train to be of the same speed. An 8 speed rear wheel will fit but not operate well unless you have 8 speed shifters etc. The 7 speed is most likely a freewheel but to be certain, either check with the LBS or got to the website of your bike's manufacturer and look up the specifications. Shimano and SRAM are both fine brands if you are looking for a cassette and are interchangable as are thier chains. I prefer SRAM myself but both work well. Just confirm what you need before buying.

I'm a shimano guy on both my bikes but run SRAM chains and cassettes.

Night before big ride and a mate of mine had a 7 spd cassette jump through wear. No 7 speeds in stock so fitted an 8spd cassette and left the 7 speed changers on. Just adjusted the stops so he could not get the 11t ring. Worked fine but did change the chain at the same time. Luckily he did have an 8spd freehub with a spacer for 7 in place so everything fitted and worked fine.

And 7 speed cassettes for freehubs are available still- you just have to hunt them down.

Not exactly true. Shimano makes many 7spd freewheels. Both Shimano and SRAM make 7spd cassettes that are widely available.

thats how my two bikes have been.

My Trek 820 came with a 7 speed freewheel which I upgraded to a freehub. Seven speed cassettes aren't too hard to find, but you usually don't have a lot of choice on the gearing if you buy from an LBS. Best thing is to just order them off the internet.

I'm a SRAM guy on my bike but run a shimano chain and cassette.



it came that way though, i will get sram stuff when i replace these

That's funny.

Reason for why I do what I do. Sram chains come with the powerlink, no brainer there. SRAM cassettes are cheaper than Shimano.