9 speeds question

andyanansu said:

Hi
I'm thinking to getting a 9 speed rear wheel 😎
and I already have some 8 speed cassettes
I'm planning to mix & match the combination of the cassettes 🙄
but I've heard the 9/10 speeds are narrower than the <8 speeds
so will the mix & match cassette fit to the 9 speed hub? 😕
Andy

You can mount any Shimano HyperGlide (HG) cassette on a Shimano 8 or 9 speed cassette body. 8 and 9 speed HG take almost the same width... and so does the 10 speed.... so the spacing is decreased as the number of speeds goes up.
I am not sure what you mean by mix & match. Index shifting will work with only the cassette that matches the # of speeds of the shifter.
See if Sheldo Brown's article on Shimano cassettes helps clear the confusion:

<http://www.sheldonbrown.com/k7.html>

daveornee said:

You can mount any Shimano HyperGlide (HG) cassette on a Shimano 8 or 9 speed cassette body. 8 and 9 speed HG take almost the same width... and so does the 10 speed.... so the spacing is decreased as the number of speeds goes up.
I am not sure what you mean by mix & match. Index shifting will work with only the cassette that matches the # of speeds of the shifter.
See if Sheldo Brown's article on Shimano cassettes helps clear the confusion:

<http://www.sheldonbrown.com/k7.html>

I mean I got 2x 8 speed cassettes:
1st: 12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23
2nd: 13-14-15-16-17-19-21-23
but I want to make it as:
12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-23
by taking the 12 & 13 from the 1st cassette and 14-23 from the 2nd.
Because these are 8 speed cassettes,
will the space between them differer to the space which a 9 speed shifter will shift?

andyanansu said:

I mean I got 2x 8 speed cassettes:
1st: 12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23
2nd: 13-14-15-16-17-19-21-23
but I want to make it as:
12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-23
by taking the 12 & 13 from the 1st cassette and 14-23 from the 2nd.
Because these are 8 speed cassettes,
will the space between them differer to the space which a 9 speed shifter will shift?

You won't be able to do that. If you have a 9 speed system, you'll have to put a 9 speed cassette on the wheel. As mentioned, the same freewheel will take 8, 9 or 10 speed cassettes, but you have to have a cassette that matches the derailleur/shifter combination.

The spacing for 8 speed is wider than for 9 speed, as they both take up the same amount of freewheel space.

Go buy a 9 speed cassette.

62vette said:

You won't be able to do that. If you have a 9 speed system, you'll have to put a 9 speed cassette on the wheel. As mentioned, the same freewheel will take 8, 9 or 10 speed cassettes, but you have to have a cassette that matches the derailleur/shifter combination.

The spacing for 8 speed is wider than for 9 speed, as they both take up the same amount of freewheel space.

Go buy a 9 speed cassette.

yeah, I want to get a 9 speed cassette as well, but they are expensive,
I'm actually thinking to sand the spacer down so it will suit the shifter 😄

andyanansu said:

I'm actually thinking to sand the spacer down so it will suit the shifter 😄

If you have access to a lathe you could "easily" turn the spacers down to make it work.

dabac said:

If you have access to a lathe you could "easily" turn the spacers down to make it work.

I only got dremel and some sand papers, but I think I'll manage

andyanansu said:

I only got dremel and some sand papers, but I think I'll manage

If you can find a "retired" 9 speed SRAM cassette, you can use it's spacers for perfect Shimano 9 speed spacing with Shimano 8 speed cogs. Ask your shop to keep any old cassettes they are replacing.
Check out the spacing information at Sheldon's site previously referenced.
You need 4.34 mm for 9 speed Shimano.
SRAM's 9 speed spacers are 2.54 mm thick
Shimano's 8 speed cogs are 1.80 mm thick.

The shifting of you homemade cog likely won't be quite as good as a Shimano 9 speed out of the box due to the ramps that are built into Shimano HG cogs.

It's going to be nearly impossible to get the .01mm tolerances with a Dremel and sand paper. A small error in spacer thickness can cause big shifting problems. Especially if the sides aren't parallel after you sand them.

andyanansu said:

I only got dremel and some sand papers, but I think I'll manage

You have to be really, really good with your hands to achieve a consistent result that way. I don't think it's worth the effort. At the least you should build some sort of jig or template before you start grinding.