Wheel upgrade for viking giro

[Paul Adair]

I can't find any wheel upgrade for my 7 speed giro is there any way I can make an 8speec wheel fit?

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

I can't find any wheel upgrade for my 7 speed giro is there any way I can make an 8speec wheel fit?

The key thing will be whether the distance between the dropouts is right for an 8 speed wheel, so you'll need to take the wheel out to check.

Freehubs for road bikes are 130mm over the locknuts, so the spacing between the inside faces of the dropouts will need to be the same. (On bikes made in the last 10 years or so there is a good chance it will be correct).

You can fit a 7 speed cassette onto an 8/9 speed hub to make the swap simple but will need a spacer. If you go for an 8 speed cassette you'll also need to change the shifters.

When fitting a new cassette, I'd recommend fitting a new chain too as an old chain on a new cassette may cause premature wear.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Or do what I did, get an 8sp cassette, take the pins out that hold the cassette together (they are just for convenience), use the 7sp spacers with the 8sp cogs and the 11 or 12th locking gear, and shift the cable adjuster so it just doesn't drop onto the 8th gear. Sound more complex than it is, you can also use an 8p on a 7sp but the shifting might not be 100% clean, but it will work.
If your frame is the same as my Torino, the wheel change is straight forward.
I got a pair of RS10's in April, a big improvement over the Weinmanns XR18's