Replacing 7 speed wheel.

[hondated]

I would like to up grade my 7 speed rear wheel on my Ridgeback but finding one is proving to be a nightmare.Can anyone tell me whether I could use an 8 or 9 speed wheel as I have some 9 speed levers in my box of bits. The rear spacing is 135mm.

[thirdcrank]

A 135mm back end will accept any mountain bike freehub. The hubs are all for that width, the cassette spacing varies. AFAIK. Most road hubs should work, but they would probably need a longer spindle etc as they are only 130mm, but it seems 135 is well on the way there as well.

[hamster]

8 or 9 is fine with an MTB hub.
YOu can even buy a spacer for about £3 which fits onto the hub behind the cassette to allow your 7 speed cassette to work.

[hondated]

thanks thirdcrank & hamster that makes life a bit easier. I,d thought about buying a Thorn, not Rohloff , for those off road trips but given the cost I have decided to spec up my old Cr Mo Ridgeback instead. Yes another case of being hit by the recession

[Bikefayre]

Cannot fault my Halo Combat wheels from billys.co.uk This is an eight speed freehub rear wheel and will take a seven cassette with a spacer, mine has a Shimano Megarange Cassette. My only niggle was the axle needed a wee bit of tightening at the cones.

[Vorpal]

If you like the 7 speed and/or don't want to upgrade the entire transmission, Rosebikes have hubs & cassettes. You could have them, or another wheel builder of your choice build up a new wheel.