Cassette vs Freewheel

"Stefan Pavlik" wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

I have older 7spd road bike. It has a Shimano RSX rear cassette/hub. I
was looking on Ebay and have have seen some HED disc wheels and even some

7

Quoted message said:

spd tubular rear wheels that use freewheel not cassette. My question is

are

Quoted message said:

they compatible? I would like to experiment with tubular wheels and solid
discs on my older bike (usually cheaper) before I make the plunge

investing

Quoted message said:

$1000+ for my good bike. I know the spacing is 126mm but like I said,

just

Quoted message said:

don't know compatibility of freewheel-vs-cassette.

Any info or places I can find this out would be of great help

Thanks in advance, Steve

Freewheel hubs and cassette hubs are not interchangeable. A freewheel is
threaded onto the hub, and has the freewheeling / ratcheting mechanism
contained in the cluster of cogs. A cassette is slid onto splined fittings
and held in place by a threaded lockring; the freewheeling / ratcheting
mechanism is built into the hub (the freehub).
--
mark

Quoted message said:

Stefan Pavlik said:

I have older 7spd road bike. It has a Shimano RSX rear cassette/hub. I
was looking on Ebay and have have seen some HED disc wheels and even some 7
spd tubular rear wheels that use freewheel not cassette. My question is are
they compatible? I would like to experiment with tubular wheels and solid
discs on my older bike (usually cheaper) before I make the plunge investing
$1000+ for my good bike. I know the spacing is 126mm but like I said, just
don't know compatibility of freewheel-vs-cassette.

Any info or places I can find this out would be of great help

Thanks in advance, Steve

Do you mean is the indexing compatible? Sounds like you are looking to
buy complete wheels- hub, rim, spokes. Obviously you can't put a
freewheel on a cassette hub or vica versa.

I would imagine that there might be some adjustment on the derailleur
stop settings- that the cassette and freewheel might not sit in
exactly the same location left to right. A simple adjustment.

mark said:

"Stefan Pavlik" wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

I have older 7spd road bike. It has a Shimano RSX rear cassette/hub.
I was looking on Ebay and have have seen some HED disc wheels and even
some

7

Quoted message said:

spd tubular rear wheels that use freewheel not cassette. My question is

are

Quoted message said:

they compatible? I would like to experiment with tubular wheels and
solid discs on my older bike (usually cheaper) before I make the plunge

investing

Quoted message said:

$1000+ for my good bike. I know the spacing is 126mm but like I said,

just

Quoted message said:

don't know compatibility of freewheel-vs-cassette.

Any info or places I can find this out would be of great help

Thanks in advance, Steve

Freewheel hubs and cassette hubs are not interchangeable. A freewheel is
threaded onto the hub, and has the freewheeling / ratcheting mechanism
contained in the cluster of cogs. A cassette is slid onto splined fittings
and held in place by a threaded lockring; the freewheeling / ratcheting
mechanism is built into the hub (the freehub). --
mark

Quoted message said:

Freewheel cogs and cassette cogs are not interchangeble. But a wheel with
a 7 speed freewheel is interchangeable with a wheel with a 7 speed
freewheel. (Assuming the freewheel and cassette are both spaced OK for
indexing.)

Having bought Mercian Cycles last three 7 speed freewheels, it would seem
freewheels are becoming as rare as hen's teeth - I would advise against a
wheel requiring a freewheel.

Robert

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I have older 7spd road bike. It has a Shimano RSX rear cassette/hub. I
was looking on Ebay and have have seen some HED disc wheels and even some 7
spd tubular rear wheels that use freewheel not cassette. My question is are
they compatible? I would like to experiment with tubular wheels and solid
discs on my older bike (usually cheaper) before I make the plunge investing
$1000+ for my good bike. I know the spacing is 126mm but like I said, just
don't know compatibility of freewheel-vs-cassette.

Any info or places I can find this out would be of great help

Compatible in what sense? If you mean indexing wise, it depends on the
freewheel. Shimano freewheels will be compatible with indexiing. Suntour
freewheels probably won't be compatible.
-----------
Alex

Stefan Pavlik said:

I have older 7spd road bike. It has a Shimano RSX rear cassette/hub. I
was looking on Ebay and have have seen some HED disc wheels and even some 7
spd tubular rear wheels that use freewheel not cassette. My question is are
they compatible? I would like to experiment with tubular wheels and solid
discs on my older bike (usually cheaper) before I make the plunge investing
$1000+ for my good bike. I know the spacing is 126mm but like I said, just
don't know compatibility of freewheel-vs-cassette.

Any info or places I can find this out would be of great help

If you have indexed shifting, the freewheel needs to have the same
spacing between sprockets as the cassette had, which is probably at
least 95% likely to be the case for 7-speed freewheels. Even if the
freewheel supplied with a given wheel isn't compatible, the problem
can be overcome by swapping to one that's spaced to match what you
need. If you're using friction shifting, there is no problem in this
area in any event. Possible axle length issues are trivial and their
solutions are easy.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Surrealism is a pectinated ranzel.

"Stefan Pavlik" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I have older 7spd road bike. It has a Shimano RSX rear cassette/hub. I
was looking on Ebay and have have seen some HED disc wheels and even some 7
spd tubular rear wheels that use freewheel not cassette. My question is are
they compatible? I would like to experiment with tubular wheels and solid
discs on my older bike (usually cheaper) before I make the plunge investing
$1000+ for my good bike. I know the spacing is 126mm but like I said, just
don't know compatibility of freewheel-vs-cassette.

Any info or places I can find this out would be of great help

Thanks in advance, Steve

I think you are asking whether a wheel with freewheel can be used to
replace one with cassette/freehub. If so the answer is yes. The
method of holding the sprockets in place is immaterial as far as the
chain is concerned. They end up in the same place, more or less, so
there is no problem with replacing your current wheel/cassette with a
new wheel/freewheel provided the OLN dimension is the same.

If old and new parts are Shimano 7-speed then there should be no
indexing problems (I assume indexed shifters on most 7-speeds) as
Shimano cassette and freewheels have the same spacing between
sprockets (see http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_sp-ss.html for
details). If mixing makes of lever and freewheel then you need to
check the sprocket spacing carefully.

Of course, technically a freehub design is better, but freewheel
equipment is, as you observe, readily and cheaply available, being
just about as unfashionable as you can get these days (down-tube
friction levers excepted). Having said that I have bikes with many
1000's of miles on freewheels with no problems (except removing those
damned Suntour 2-peg ones).

Andrew Webster