Modding 8 speed cassette

[Trevtassie]

So I came up against the problem of not being able to get anything other than one of those stupid Megarange cassettes in a 11 to 34 8 speed. Turns out though that you can happily make a decent rational step cassette with the 5 smaller gears from an 8 speed cassette and the 3 larger gears from a 7 speed 13 to 34. So you get 11-13-15-17-20-24-29-34 which is a lot better than the 11-13-15-17-20-23-26-34 Megarange. The ramps all match up too. Just need to grind off the ends of the retaining pins, knock them out and it all slots together nicely.

[il padrone]

9-speed is a-calling you

[Trevtassie]

It would be if I wasn't too tight to stump up for new shifters, rear derailleur, chain, cranks. Which would cost me more than the $70 I paid for the bike. Was actually a good buy, apart from the worn out cassette. Moved my wheels and stuff across from my old bike, but it being 7 speed, left me cassette-less. The STX rear derailleur is a bit worn in the hanger bolt pivot, got to have a look and see if I can get my mate with a lathe to make me a new bush.

[il padrone]

It would be if I wasn't too tight to stump up for new shifters, rear derailleur, chain, cranks.

You will only need the new shifters and chain. Rear derailleur is just 'driven' by the shifters; the crankset should work fine with 9-speed, you might simply need to squeeze the FD side-plates closer to get a better shift. I have converted two bikes from 7-speed to 9-speed this way.

Mind you, the new shifters are not that cheap