Different types of cassettes

[Mars]

I have a 15yo Specialized Crossroads hybrid with a 6-speed cassette on the rear wheel. I like the bike - it could be better, more modern, but it works. I thought I might change to a more modern bike but it rolls so well on it's 700c wheels, so I might just hang on to it.

My brother has recently bought a lovely Focus Cayo, with 700c wheels. He wants to upgrade the Mavic wheels that are currently on it, and in doing so has offered them to me for a song. They're much thinner than mine, and lighter. At the price offered it might be worthwhile upgrade.

He has a 10-speed cassette on the rear wheel. I know we no longer use the old fashioned screw-on sprockets that were around in the 1980s (on my Skyway TA BMX for example). In fact I had to buy a special splined tool when I wanted to remove my own cassette previously.

So, will my brother's cassette be the same type as mine? Obviously I need to retain my own cassette to ensure my shifters line-up. Will I be able to use his wheels on my bike?

[cheeky_chops]

iirc your problem will be a ultra thin chain on his 10speed and your chain may well foul on the 10 speed cogs. Easily remedied with a new cassette

To answer your question, i have just upgraded my old 1986 raleigh 531 frame with screw freewheel (126mm) to new wheels with a 8 speed cartridge(130mm) i had to "cold set" the frame, dead easy with a car jack!

Sheldon brown has all the info you need http://sheldonbrown.com/k7.html

[Mars]

Magic. Thanks.

I think I have a freewheel on mine (Wikipedea suggests this is a "block"). So, I guess if I can get a 6-speed cassette for the other wheels, with similar spacing to my freewheel, I should be able to swap wheels over when going from trails to purely road.

I'll have a read of that website now. Thanks again.

[Mars]

Good article. Doesn't seem there's a 6-speed cassette though, and if there was the spacing isn't likely to be compatible.

Shame.

[john_p]

Can you replace the shifter and derailleur ?

[Mars]

I've done a bit of digging around...

I have a freewheel "block". The Mavics I've been affered are a hyperglide cassette.

I can't really engineer a solution that affords me the option to change from one set of wheels to another easily so I'll probably just elect to go with the Mavics. They're probably stronger than the Arayas anyway, much lighter, thinner and therefore offer much less rolling resistance.

To convert my old Specialized I will need to change the shifters for one that accommodates the same number of indexes to match the cassette. It seems a 3+9 arrangement is fairly conventional and I should be able to retain both my front mechanism and the rear deraillieur. I will need a new, thinner, chain and possibly a new set of chainwheels at the front, but not necessarily (I need to buy a thin chain to check.

Using Ebay prices I am able to buy new items with the following prices:

3+9 shifters (MTB lever-type)= £30
9-speed cassette = £20
Thinner chain £20

This means I will have to spend ~ £150 on a bike that was only £250 15-ish years ago, to get thinner, lighter wheels. I like the geometry of the bike but it's heavy compared to modern equivalents. I believe it has a cro-mo frame/forks and the handlebars, stem and seatpost are all steel. And I've a fat-arse saddle which offers immediate but not long-lasting comfort, which weighs about the same as a small bungalow.

There's a couple of Claude Butler alloy frames on Ebay too, for £30 each. If I were trying to build up a completely different bike using 2nd hand parts I reckon I could do it for ~£350, possibly less. It'd be light and the sort of geometry I like (hybrid) but I suspect £350 might buy me a brand new machine that is superior in nearly every way, or at least a pre-built 2nd hand one.

Any opnions?