Yes. You’ll need a different shifter and possibly chain.
EffectiveMarch1649 on
8 speed freewheels are very rare, and even if you do get one, it’ll probably overlap the axle locknut (meaning the wheel won’t seat in the frame properly).
The good news though, is that if you do have a 135 frame spacing, you should have no problem getting an 8 speed cassette wheel, which will be a huge upgrade in many ways.
BinkyBinky on
Possibly the 8-sprocket freewheel will be too much wider than the 5-sprocket freewheel. How wide is the lateral travel path on your rear derailleur ? Is the derailleur capable of travelling far enough to line up with all 8 sprockets ? If your bike has a 5-speed indexed shifter, you will need to make changes.
Wolfy35 on
IF you can find one yes it can be done but I don’t hold out much chance that you will find one. Freewheels really only go up to 7 gears I did once see an 8 gear version in a catalogue from a parts supplier but it was never available to the best of my knowledge.
If you found one you would need new shifters and a new chain, probably a new derraleur and maybe chainrings or chainset because an 8 speed compatable chain is narrower than a 5 and may not physically fit on the chainrings. Then we would need to talk about possible axle spacing and redishing of the wheel……
In short yes it can be done but you would need a healthy wad of cash to fund it.
4 Comments
Yes. You’ll need a different shifter and possibly chain.
8 speed freewheels are very rare, and even if you do get one, it’ll probably overlap the axle locknut (meaning the wheel won’t seat in the frame properly).
The good news though, is that if you do have a 135 frame spacing, you should have no problem getting an 8 speed cassette wheel, which will be a huge upgrade in many ways.
Possibly the 8-sprocket freewheel will be too much wider than the 5-sprocket freewheel. How wide is the lateral travel path on your rear derailleur ? Is the derailleur capable of travelling far enough to line up with all 8 sprockets ? If your bike has a 5-speed indexed shifter, you will need to make changes.
IF you can find one yes it can be done but I don’t hold out much chance that you will find one. Freewheels really only go up to 7 gears I did once see an 8 gear version in a catalogue from a parts supplier but it was never available to the best of my knowledge.
If you found one you would need new shifters and a new chain, probably a new derraleur and maybe chainrings or chainset because an 8 speed compatable chain is narrower than a 5 and may not physically fit on the chainrings. Then we would need to talk about possible axle spacing and redishing of the wheel……
In short yes it can be done but you would need a healthy wad of cash to fund it.