If I remember the history... The 6 speed spacing was thought of as "standard", although it was narrower than the 5 speed it replace. When 7 speed came out it was "narrow", and is identical to nine speed. I use the same chains today on my wife's 7 speed freewheel as I do on my 9 speed cassette. I think 8 speed was introduced when stays went from 126 to 130 mm although I'm not sure of the spacing, I would expect it is closer to the 6 speed, and then the 9 speed cassette quickly replaced it with the narrower chains again. I would think an experienced mechanic at your LBS could give you a definitive answer.
I have a White Cassette Hub, which I am quite happy with, that is priced about the same as the PW freewheel version. Some people find these noisy, but I have discovered that it is only an issue in the closed space of a shop, not outdoors on the road. Michael On Apr 22, 8:08 am, Thomas Lynn Skean <thomaslynnsk...@comcast.net> wrote: > Does anyone know if the spacing of the cogs on a 6-speed or 7-speed > freewheel is exactly the same as the spacing of the cogs on an 8-speed > cassette? Specifically I'm talking about the freewheels RBW sells. But > if it isn't true for those, is it true for any particular brand or > model? And if so, how can I get those freehweels? > > Sheldon's web-site indicates a chart with spacing for various > freewheels and cassettes, but doesn't name any freewheel brands/models > that I know how to get today. And what it does say indicates that the > spacing is somewhat different, as far as I can tell. > > I'm contemplating a Phil-hubbed wheel for my later-this-summer > Hillborne. And I like the idea of the relative cheapness of the > freewheel version of the hub, of course. But more importantly I like > the idea of a nearly dishless wheel. I think I'll be using non-O/C > rims on this wheel if I do this; the strongest rims apparently don't > come in O/C versions (perhaps because that makes them somewhat > weaker?) so the lower dish possible with a freewheel arrangement would > be great. It may overwhelm my desire for having only one style of hub > in the household. > > I'm sure I'd be happy with 7-speeds as opposed to 8. I'd probably be > fine with 6 speeds. BUT... I really really really don't want to > compromise my 8-speed indexing ability. My inexpensive shifters are > the best things about my current Trek hybrid. I've gotten spoiled with > virtually flawless shifting. I realize that I'll have one or more > "dead clicks" in my shifting if I move to a non-8-speed set-up; that's > okay.) If it's "close but not exactly the same" spacing, I think I'll > stick with the cassette arrangement and hope differing spoke tensions > don't compromise the wheel too much. If it is practical to *make* the > spacing the same, I'd consider that. > > And... I should ask generally... are there significant differences in > "feel" of riding using a freewheel versus a cassette? That is, does > one make for a more free-spinning wheel than the other? I won't have a > chance to ride one first and don't want to make a significant move > like this without a small understanding of what I'm giving up or > gaining. > > Thanks for any info you have or can point me to. > > Yours, > Thomas Lynn Skean > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group > athttp://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
