Question: Upgrading Older 7 Speed Drivetrain

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

Quoted message said:

Hi Folks,
I finally bent the rim on the rear wheel of my '93 Basso Gap past
saving, and have to upgrade to a new wheelset.
The old setup was a Shimano 7 speed drivetrain. I understand that the
new wheel's hub will be 4mm (?) wider for an 8 or 9 speed cassette, so
I'll have to spread the rear triangle.
I also need to upgrade some of the other components:
1. I currently have 7 or 8 speed indexed Ultegra bar end shifters, so
I'm tempted to buy an 8-speed cassette for the new wheel and keep using
the same shifters. Will the spacing of the gears match?

If your shifters are 8spd, yes it will work.

Quoted message said:

2. The rear derailleur is a replacement, an Ultegra from last year. I
believe it will work fine.

Yes, it will work.

Quoted message said:

3. I'm going to try using the same crankset, which is an early 1990's
Dura Ace. I understand it may not shift as well. True?

Should work fine too.

Quoted message said:

Has anyone here done this upgrade? Any recommendations? Does anything
sound like it won't work in the above?

All sounds fine to me.
-------------
Alex

Derek Mark Edding said:

Hi Folks,

I finally bent the rim on the rear wheel of my '93 Basso Gap past
saving, and have to upgrade to a new wheelset.

The old setup was a Shimano 7 speed drivetrain. I understand that the
new wheel's hub will be 4mm (?) wider for an 8 or 9 speed cassette, so
I'll have to spread the rear triangle.

For a road bike, this is correct and you will need to go from 126mm to
130mm. However, *most* 7-speed MTBs already had the current 135mm spacing.

Quoted message said:

I also need to upgrade some of the other components:

1. I currently have 7 or 8 speed indexed Ultegra bar end shifters, so
I'm tempted to buy an 8-speed cassette for the new wheel and keep using
the same shifters. Will the spacing of the gears match?

If they're 8 speed, yes. Personally I'd go to 9 speed if I was going to
the trouble of stretching the frame. These shifters aren't too
expensive compared to STI.

Quoted message said:

2. The rear derailleur is a replacement, an Ultegra from last year. I
believe it will work fine.

Yes, all modern Shimano derailleurs use the same mm cable pull for each
mm of sideways movement.

Quoted message said:

3. I'm going to try using the same crankset, which is an early 1990's
Dura Ace. I understand it may not shift as well. True?

It will be OK. You may get rubbing in extreme gears which you shouldn't
use anyway (big-big and small-small).

Quoted message said:

Has anyone here done this upgrade? Any recommendations? Does anything
sound like it won't work in the above?

Check Sheldon's site for what you need to go to 9 speed.