From 2004 through 2007, Shimano used aluminum bodies for the Dura-Ace 10-speed model. To avoid this problem, Shimano changed the spline pattern, making the aluminum spline ridges significantly taller for better support. The downside of this is that those hubs will accept only Shimano Dura-Ace, Ultegra and 105 10-speed cassettes. The Shimano Hyperglide cassette body has become a de facto industry standard. Many other manufacturers make hubs and cassettes that are compatible with Shimano. There are exceptions and partial compatibilities. Some of the other manufacturers offer cassette bodies to fit different brands and models of cassettes. Even with a 30T inner chainring (you can go smaller than that, but look out for front derailleur capacity limits) you can use a cheap 14-28 6s or 13-28 7s freewheel to get a low gear like you want. Since chainrings usually last several freewheels/chains, this is not an expensive setup to run, because the freewheels and chains cost little. An additional complication is that "road" front derailer cages are shaped to fit well with a 52-53 tooth big chainring, while most current "mountain" front cages are shaped to fit with a 42-44 tooth big ring. With other freewheels, reassembly can be more difficult. In days of yore, there were special bobby-pin-like clips to hold the pawls compressed against their springs while you re-assembled the freewheel. These are no longer available.

Do you need to replace an older, threaded rear hub to update to a modern, index-shifting drivetrain?

Cassette sprocket-tooth widths

Long-cage derailers have greater takeup capacity, and work with all types of cassettes. Long-cage derailers are commonly called "mountain" derailers currently, though in the past, this style of derailer was known as a "touring" derailer. (The marketeers retired the use of "touring" as a buzzword in the late '80s when mountain bikes became the hot item.) The foot power is very considerable, and that's why it can be so hard to remove a freewheel that has been used for a while, especially on a bike with low gearing. To prevent future difficulty with removal, it is very important to grease the threads before screwing a freewheel onto your hub! Derailer cage widths differ, but this is most often a concern when replacing pulleys: the bolts may not reach. Shimano lists Freehub bodies as a separate part, or you could cannibalize a hub. Wheels with damaged rims and good hubs are not hard to find. Ultra Six ®" spaced 6 speeds used a closer spacing, around 5 mm. This permitted an Ultra Six ® freewheel to directly replace a standard 5-speed unit on a 120 mm hub. The key to making this work was the use of a narrower chain. The interior width of the chain was the same as always, but the new narrower chains used shorter rivets, so the ends of the rivets didn't protrude past the outer chain plates, as the rivets in traditional chains did.

SpeedsIn the early 1990s, the industry moved to 8-speed clusters with 130 mm spacing. 8-speeds were available in both freewheel and cassette hubs. As with the move from 4- to 5-speed, and from 5-speed to 6-speed, this required adding spacers to the right-hand end of the axle to keep the chain from rubbing on the frame. Alternately, you can grind a bevel on the ends of the splines of an older body. This is a five-minute job if you have access to a bench grinder. Clean up carefully afterward so particles of metal and grinding-wheel grit don't wear out the bearings. you don't need to buy the spacer, because you can use the spacer that came between the original flat 13 and the 14.) Except with 11 speeds, cog spacing is different enough from Shimano's that Shimano derailers and shifters may not work well with Campagnolo cassettes, and vice versa. It is possible to fudge compatibility in some cases where cog-to-cog spacing is similar. Shimano Freehubs dating from the mid 1980s onward have replaceable bodies, held onto the hub shell by screw threads and, usually, splines. This is explained above in the transplant section of this article.

FREEWHEEL 5 speed Road Vintage14 - 24

If you get the rear wheel rebuilt with the right kind 0f 7s Freehub, you will be able to use any 7s cassette as well as various other shortened cassettes (eg 8 from 9 or 9 from 10 etc) 7s freehubs are available (eg used) in 126, 130 or 135mm widths. In practice taking a 126 mm one or a 130mm one and respacing it to 128mm means it will fit in either a 126mm frame or a 130mm frame. Your Sugino may be 110mm bcd, in which case it will accept an inner ring down to 34 tooth. If 130 bcd, then a 38 is available, or 39 if 135 bcd. For example, Shimano doesn't make any true "corncob" (one-tooth-jump) cassettes for time-trialists or flatland riders. In 7 speed, the closest is the J (13/14/15/16/17/19/21). Many off-brand "Shimano type" Freehub bodies are not available, if they're even removable. Many of the off-brand hubs have the body riveted onto the hub shell. Very early Freehubs (sometimes identifiable by the absence of the typical bulge on the right end of the hub barrel) which have non-interchangeable bodies. The Freehub body of these hubs is held on only by the axle bearings, and will slip off once the axle is removed.