How to Upgrade the Wheels on a 7-Speed Bike

    Modified at: Jul 26, 2023

    Posted at: May 28, 2021

    The 7-speed is used in cheap road bikes and hybrid bikes, and we have compiled a list of ways to upgrade from 7-speed to higher grade gears such as 8-speed, 9-speed, 10-speed, and 11-speed.

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    How to Upgrade the Wheels on a 7-Speed Bike

    Table of contents

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    Let’s check the hub type of the wheel.

    The hub type of a bicycle wheel with multi-speed capability is

    1. cassette free
    2. boss free

    There are two types of wheel hubs.

    In the case of 7-speed bicycles, the cheaper the model, the more likely it is to be equipped with boss-free type wheels, so check the wheel type carefully first. If it is a boss-free type wheel, we recommend replacing it with a cassette-free type wheel in order to upgrade to 8-speed or higher.

    For this article, we will assume that you are using a cassette-free type wheel.

    Are you using an 11-speed wheel or a 10-speed wheel?

    If your current road bike, hybrid bike, or MTB is a 7-speed bike, then you have two types of wheels.

    1. 11-speed wheel
    2. 10-speed (8, 9, 10-speed) wheel
    3. 7-speed dedicated wheel

    Either of the following is true.

    The way to determine which is which is by looking at the spacers on the low side.

    Free body spacers for wheels
    1. 5.45mm spacer on low side => 11-speed wheel
    2. 3.6mm spacer was installed on the low side => 10-speed (8, 9, 10-speed) wheel
    3. no spacer on low side => 7-speed wheel

    There is no problem in judging that. The possibility is not zero, but it is very unlikely that a 7-speed bike is equipped with an 11-speed wheel.

    Converting a 7-speed wheel to an 8-speed

    An 8-speed sprocket is 3.6 mm taller than a 7-speed sprocket, so if you try to install an 8-speed sprocket on a 7-speed wheel, the lock ring that holds the sprocket in place will not tighten. Therefore, it is necessary to replace the wheel with an 8-speed wheel or higher.

    If your current wheels are 10-speed (8, 9, or 10-speed) wheels, they should have low spacers to match the 7-speed sprockets, so you can install 8-speed sprockets simply by removing the spacers.

    Of course, you will also need to prepare the 8-speed sprocket.

    Types and Differences of Shimano 8-Speed Sprockets

    Shimano's 8-speed sprockets are persistently popular as entry-level sprockets. Here is a summary of the differences between the many types and grades.

    Converting a 7-speed wheel to 9-speed

    The sprocket of the 9-speed wheel is the same height as that of the 8-speed wheel, so it can be converted to 9-speed using the same method as for the 8-speed wheel.

    Types and Differences of Shimano 9-Speed Sprockets

    The 9-speed sprocket is used in Shimano's SORA compo for road bikes and ALIVIO compo for MTB. In this article, we summarize the types and differences of 9-speed sprockets.

    Converting a 7-speed wheel to a 10-speed

    Since the 10-speed sprocket is designed to be 2.5mm higher than the 7-speed sprocket, a 7-speed wheel cannot be fitted with a 10-speed sprocket.

    If your current wheel is a 10-speed wheel (8, 9, or 10-speed), you can convert it to a 10-speed wheel by adding 1mm spacers to the low side.

    SHIMANO Low spacer 1.0mm Y1Z807000

    Buy on Amazon
    Manufacturer Shimano
    Size (Height) 1.0mm

    7-speed wheel upgrade summary

    Finally, here is a summary of all the cases.

    sprocket steps 8-10 speed wheel 7 speed only wheel
    8-Speed Wheel Remove and Replace Spacer Not Available
    10-speed conversion Remove spacer and replace Not available
    10-speed conversion Replace with 1mm spacer Not available

    If you have a 7-speed-only wheel, it is not possible to upgrade to 8-speed or higher, so you should simply buy a new wheel. If you have a 10-speed wheel with spacers (8, 9, or 10 speed), you can upgrade to 8, 9, or 10 speed with or without spacers and in combination.

    Items mentioned in this article

    • Low spacer 1.0mm Y1Z807000

      Manufacturer Shimano
      Size (Height) 1.0mm

      Amazon

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    How to Upgrade the Wheels on a 7-Speed Bike

    The 7-speed is used in cheap road bikes and hybrid bikes, and we have compiled a list of ways to upgrade from 7-speed to higher grade gears such as 8-speed, 9-speed, 10-speed, and 11-speed.

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