1987 Raleigh Royal

[SkipdiverJohn]

Would be interesting to know when this happened - personally the extra upgrade-ability of the freehub would be a proper bonus.. so am I to assume that 6 and 7 speed cassettes are available for freehubs as well as in freewheel format? I always assumed there was a clear demarcation between 7sp freewheel and 8sp freehub..

i don't think 6 speed freehubs were ever very common, since they would have only been used on high quality bikes, which were the first to gain extra rear cogs. The reason there's still plenty of 6 and 7 speed freewheel stuff around is because most low end bikes still use such gearing.
I've never had any problems with axle breakage on 6-speed freewheel bikes,so I dont see it as too big a problem.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

i don't think 6 speed freehubs were ever very common, since they would have only been used on high quality bikes, which were the first to gain extra rear cogs. The reason there's still plenty of 6 and 7 speed freewheel stuff around is because most low end bikes still use such gearing.
I've never had any problems with axle breakage on 6-speed freewheel bikes,so I dont see it as too big a problem.

A long time ago when I moved from 5 to 6 speed I found that I was breaking rear axles a couple of time a year and bending them regularly, at the time I was doing a lot of miles and the club rides I was riding on usually contained some rough stuff. I actually didn't know about 6 speed freehubs until they were discussed on here, I don't remember my LBS pushing the freehubs at all and they weren't a subject for discussion on the club rides.

 

[midlife]

First time I saw freehubs would be 1977-78, shimano UG. 6 speed so in direct competition with freewheels, I think Suntour had their Ultra 7 with thinner chain around that time too.

 

[wafter]

i don't think 6 speed freehubs were ever very common, since they would have only been used on high quality bikes, which were the first to gain extra rear cogs. The reason there's still plenty of 6 and 7 speed freewheel stuff around is because most low end bikes still use such gearing.
I've never had any problems with axle breakage on 6-speed freewheel bikes,so I dont see it as too big a problem.

Thanks - wasn't aware of the axle breakage issue; although my main concern is the ability to use 8sp+ cassettes and the associated STIs (which I'm sure you hate ).

Given the different axle spacing is it reasonable to assume that even if 6/7 speed stuff turns out to be on a freehub it's potentially not compatable with later / larger cassettes anyway..?

 

[chris667]

Very nice, but don't you find those straddle wires a bit long? It must be hard to stop!

 

[Paulus]

Very nice, but don't you find those straddle wires a bit long? It must be hard to stop!

It seems to stop without any dramas.

 

[buzz22]

I modified a modern Hyperglide cassette to fit on a uniglide hub, I've attached the details below.
It was mainly to lower my gearing but it also allowed me to use the set of wheels I wanted to without changing the rear hub.
The uniglide hubs are pretty tough and it's nice to be able to keep a set of older wheels on the road, maintaining a relatively original look.
Gorgeous bike you have there by the way, I love the colour scheme, very stately.

My 80's Throwback build was almost perfect except that the 13-21 uniglide cassette on the back and 42-53 front limited the grade of the hills I could enjoy it on.
View attachment 630155
In my younger years I'd take on any hill with this combination, now at 50 not so much.
They haven't made uniglide cassettes since the early 90's and if I could find one with a 28 I'd be paying $200 or so for a NOS example.
The difference between uniglide and the current hyperglide cassettes is the splines on the hub.
View attachment 630156
It's hard to spot in the photo but the uniglide's (top) splines are all the same size, the hyperglide has one spline that's a bit smaller.
View attachment 630157
In the bottom of this photo you can see where I've filed the tab flat for the smaller spline so that the hyperglide cassette fitted on the uniglide hub.
View attachment 630158
The other difference between the two types is that the uniglide uses the smallest cog to lock the cassette onto the hub.
I found an older cassette with a 12 tooth small cog so I used this with the new hyperglide cassette which is now 12-28 instead of 11- 28.
A new chain to handle the bigger cassette and job done.
End result- a bike that's more usable and still retains the beautiful Shimano 600 tricolour hubs.
View attachment 630159

View attachment 630160

 

[Astrodamus]

I fainted… 🤩