Freewheel or Cassette

DanUK said:

i have a 2003 model claud butler ravana

does anyone know if ill have a cassette or freewheel and if not is there any way i can find out without taking it apart

There are 5, 6 and 7 speed freewheels and very few 8 speed freewheels, as they have "disappeared" around the time 8 speed was being introduced.
There are 7, 8, 9 and 10 speed cassettes, though 10-speed cassettes are rare and expensive.

I think that any bike newer than 1995 stands a chance of having a cassette and any bike newer than 2000 is almost certainly having a cassette. But the sure way to find out is to remove the wheel and look at the right hand. I can't tell you the exact difference but know you can see it without having to remove the cassette or freewheel.

mgagnonlv said:

There are 5, 6 and 7 speed freewheels and very few 8 speed freewheels, as they have "disappeared" around the time 8 speed was being introduced.
There are 7, 8, 9 and 10 speed cassettes, though 10-speed cassettes are rare and expensive.

I think that any bike newer than 1995 stands a chance of having a cassette and any bike newer than 2000 is almost certainly having a cassette. But the sure way to find out is to remove the wheel and look at the right hand. I can't tell you the exact difference but know you can see it without having to remove the cassette or freewheel.

Generalizations are worthless,as there are still bikes being sold with lower speed frewheels. But if it's 8,9, or 10 speed chances are about 99% it's a casette. He should check the manufacturers specs,but even that can be misleading as some refer to casettes as frewheels. It's often not even posssible to tell just by looking,as some new freewheels use a lockring just like a shimano HG casette.