Narrow free-hub = 8/9/10 shifters BUT fewer cogs:

[SA_SA_SA]

To keep old narrower OLN bikes going
or/and avoid dishing in modern ones, perhaps someone could manufacture a Narrow free-hub, of 5 or 6 speed freewheel width BUT taking fewer modern 8/9/10/...infinity speed cogs: simply ignore some steps on modern shifter.

No obsolescence but no dishing.....


NB as cassette wheels have spacers on non-drive side (minimising dishing), isn't this side of the axle now unsupported by its bearing.......

[AndyA]

I've heard you can do this by fitting a hope pro2 trials freehub to a standard hope pro2 hub. Gives you 120 old hub that is very strong. Very expensive, pro2 hubs are ~120 the freehub's ~40 and I think you'd have to cut down the axle

[one-eyed_jim]

Eight 9-speed Shimano sprockets fit on a 7-speed Shimano freehub. I tend to buy inexpensive 9-speed 11-32t mountain bike cassettes and discard the 11t sprocket. The remaining eight give a good spread of gears on an old 7-speed XT M732 hub. With an asymmetric Bontrager rim, the wheel is nearly dishless.