08-14-2012, 01:57 AM
I have a 1988 Miyata 712 (12 speed). I recently got hit by a car and had to replace the original Mavic front wheel (with a Mavic Aksium). Surprisingly, it was stiff enough and aerodynamic enough compared to the original wheel, that it has me wanting to replace the rear wheel. too. Not wanting to spend too much on an older (though still nice) bike, I want to do this without spending much beyond the wheel itself. Of course, all of the new factory wheels are equipped with cassettes rather than freewheels.
I was wondering whether if I swap out my current (13-24T) 6-speed freewheel for a 7-speed cassette, if I can get away with my current 1988 Shimano 105 rear derailer and just swap out the current indexed (downtube) shifter for one that fits the new 7 speed cassette. That would limit me to about $50 on top of the wheel.
I was wondering whether if I swap out my current (13-24T) 6-speed freewheel for a 7-speed cassette, if I can get away with my current 1988 Shimano 105 rear derailer and just swap out the current indexed (downtube) shifter for one that fits the new 7 speed cassette. That would limit me to about $50 on top of the wheel.