Upgrading wheels and cassette

[DaveK]

Hi Guys,
I'm looking to upgrade the wheels on my road bike, which currently has a 7 speed shimano freewheel. I don't want the hassle/expense of changing shifters etc so will stick with 7 speed.

If I want to upgrade to something like fulcrum racing 7's, will it simply be a case of changing the wheels and buying a 7 speed cassette? Never upgraded wheels before so this is new to me.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Hi Guys,
I'm looking to upgrade the wheels on my road bike, which currently has a 7 speed shimano freewheel. I don't want the hassle/expense of changing shifters etc so will stick with 7 speed.

If I want to upgrade to something like fulcrum racing 7's, will it simply be a case of changing the wheels and buying a 7 speed cassette? Never upgraded wheels before so this is new to me.

You'll need a spacer to fit the 7 speed cassette on to the freehub (3mm I think) and probably rim tape, plus a new chain as it isn't good to run an old chain with a new cassette. Apart from that it should be straight-forward.

 

[Cyclist33]

You'll need a spacer to fit the 7 speed cassette on to the freehub and probably rim tape, plus a new chain as it isn't good to run an old chain with a new cassette. Apart from that it should be straight-forward.

Well all wheels I have bought have come with rim tape but yes that might be a few quid extra.

 

[Rob3rt]

How shoot are your old wheels if Fulcrum Racing 7's are an upgrade?

(Not knocking the Fulcrum's, I am using a pair and they are good for the money, but the fact remains that they are bottom of the line road wheels!)

 

[DaveK]

Very s**t. I dont have the cash nor need to spend loads on a new bike so wheels will have to do

 

[GrumpyGregry]

would a seven speed hub be the same width as a 9- 10- 11-speed one?

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

would a seven speed hub be the same width as a 9- 10- 11-speed one?

Good question and something I should have already mentioned. A road freehub is 130mm over the locknuts so will require this distance between the rear dropouts. Freewheel hubs used to be shorter (126mm) but in recent years they seem to have standardized on 130 or 132mm so if the bike isn't more than 10 years old it will likely fit without problems.

It would be a good idea to check the distance between the dropouts to be sure the new wheel will fit.

 

[DaveK]

Cheers for the replies folks. I've checked the gap and its 132mm so all should be well. Hadn't realised I would need a spacer so will add that to the list. Many thanks!

 

[GrumpyGregry]

and you'll almost certainly need to fettle your rear mech once the new wheel goes in. Somehow things never quite line up.

 

[TheDoctor]

Greg speaketh the sense.
I couldn't understand why my gears were rattling like a freshly-violated Dalek - after all ,nothing had changed. Except for that new pair of RS20s...