Both of these old bikes have 10 speed cassettes now.

[@garrettsmith8286]

Dude I work in a bike shop & you're more helpful than half the guys there. I love this stuff and love building up old bikes. Some of the snobs there ask what I'm doing with these "old $hity bikes". I think some of them have lost the joy of riding and working on bikes and get to caught up in the latest parts and lightest weight. Even with my discount I still prefer to ride an old bike I fixed up & made my own rather than shave a couple minutes off my strava time! _Thanks!_

[@Phlizz]

I work at a shop too. Just recently building up my 2022 Meta TR and a 1993 Rocky Mountain Hammer (all hacked out): I enjoyed the retro build much more 💚 building up a new frame with new modern parts is even a bit unnerving. If it’s anything but perfect it’s my fault. The old bike on the other hand means getting creative and it might even turn out better than it was brand new almost 30 years ago.

[@garrettsmith8286]

@@Phlizz Couldn't agree more! Glad to hear about the awesome builds. 👍🏼

[@Lve2face]

Mister Spindatt, thank you so very much! This answered so many questions about converting my old 26'' townie to a 1x drivetrain. You're a great teacher and good work with your editing.

[@chrishomel9558]

The bike nerdy stuff is my favorite. Especially on a Tinker Tuesday. Well done by the way. You managed to demystify that process well. I may even try it myself. Thanks.

[@HoloScope]

I thought it'd be harder!

[@ttiwehde]

Nice explanation, even at 4am , on chemotherapy, just a little fuzzy, I total get the 7 to 10 conversion.. You are now tied with Calvin and the blue men crew at Park tools for making it easy to jump in on this retro-modern-refresh-renovation. Thanks !

[@shominister]

wish you the best!!

[@guandasin3099]

Wish you the best my friend! I hope all goes well with your treatment

[@CGGarage]

How are you holding up

[@anthonyharris483]

I just updated my 1997 Rocky Mountain Blizzard to 1x 10 speed with 48 tooth cassette using Microshift Advent X. No changes to the hub necessary because it works with my old shimano xt hub.

[@qualm43]

the idea of removing one cog & spacer to make fit a 7 speed body is simply brilliant! A simple way to breathe new life into an old ride.

[@josef.contreras2130]

Oh man cycling purists are throwing a fit with these conversions.

[@NothingmanPT]

Hi friend. I need a help.. where did you buy that hanger fork for the cantilever brakes? Many thanks.

[@pokeypaul78]

Hmmm, sorry Eric, apparently this doesn't always work. I replaced the 7 speed freehub body with the 8/9/10 and the bearing surface was 3mm further out. I'm not saying it never works, but didn't for me.

[@georgehagstrom4022]

This is incredibly helpful. I have a 1995 Rockhopper I was changing from 3x7 to 1x9 and I ran into this same problem. Seeing the video made me feel way more confident about going for the freehub swap.

[@vpcogworks]

Can confirm that removing one sprocket and spacer from an 8 or more speed casette does work perfectly on an older 7sp Shimano freehub. I have my gravel-ish bike set up pretty much the same way. Just make sure to have correct cable tension so there are no phantom gears on the small cogs.

[@garyonnen7634]

This is the kind of information that helps a lot of your viewers, keep it up. Thanks

[@beezer946]

This is exactly the video I was hoping for the moment you said “swap the free hub”

[@dlirving1]

Thanks for this series of videos on converting your Rockhopper. I’m still riding my ‘92 and have debated changing to a 1x and I have also considered changing other components. This video demystified changing out the freehub body in a way that I hadn’t found succinctly anywhere else while at the same time talking about the dropout spacing on this older bike. Again, thank you for covering all of that!

[@jdillon8360]

Cool! I didn't know that second option was possible (dropping one cog to make it fit the existing hub). Super!

[@stuartpotter4923]

So glad I found this again.... I knew I'd watched it a while ago and thought 'that'll be useful one day!' ... I just picked me up a 1993 GT with original 3x6 LX/XT group and keen to swap it out for a 1x10 (or 1 x 9 out of 10) setup. Thanks for general awesomeness, as always.

[@nickcampbell6658]

Literally answered all the questions I’ve been wanting to ask!

[@tomatostakefabrik9429]

Sweet! I want to go do it, just to do it now. Wish I didn't have to work. 26" isn't dead!!!

[@Jason-qz2yr]

I'm glad you're demystifying how stuff works with your hacks. I've tried to explain such things to 'master mechanics' and they looked at me with their grand wisdom and called me blasphemous.

[@TheRokko66]

use a magnet to pull the ball bearings out

[@jeremyhook1818]

Great videos. I've done something similar during lockdown. Now running 11 speed 11-32 using standard rear mech reusing old trek madone aluminium frame. Claiming KOMs so I've cancelled buying the new carbon Trek Domane for a couple of years. Thanks again

[@mxims97]

The freehub body swap worked for me on a Deore LX M560 hub. I bought a new freehub body on Amazon for $20 (Deore FH-M525-A) that has the same splined interface. Aside from the steps you listed, all I had to do was remove a 2mm spacer on the drive side after the swap. This was on my 1993 Stumpjumper with 135mm spacing. In this time period, they were selling the same frames with both 7 and 8 speed cassettes, so the "coincidental" 2mm spacer on the DS of my bike was probably not there by chance. Next up is to braze on a rear disc brake tab and do a 650B wheel swap!

[@johnnydoe66]

This is good to know, because I am planning on converting my Wife's old Marin 26er to a gravel bike for myself in the future.....Only I plan on using bar end shifters.

[@Ming3r]

I had to relive my Oval 327 freehub a while back because it sounded like marbles. God that thing needed a 12mm Allen to get off, but I'm loving regreasing hubs and bearings now 😂 If you plan on relubing that tiagra hub, flushing with paint thinner and lubing with STP worked wonders

[@bsdooby]

Can't wait to go on with my own 26" bike conversion. A bit unfortunate that my bike shop now does the rear gear conversion for me (200$) to fit an 11 speed cassette. If I only knew that it isn't that complicated...

[@Spindatt]

Well it depends on what your wheel is! Non shimano hubs can be trickier to find freehub bodies for

[@bsdooby]

@@Spindatt As a long time Shimano user, I switched to Sram for this build (also because of you ;)). Wheel will get a new Shimano hub to accommodate the Sram cassette. The original drivetrain/cassette was Shimano. Maybe it would have fit the new one...

[@kristiandawe85]

I love the neardy by talk, its how we learn. I really like your bike, and very cool hack on the cassette of your friends bike, I honestly never thought of just taking a gear out of a cassette like that, but now I will never forget it and probably use on some future build I might do.

[@sicsempertyrannis9024]

Let's spin! I built a custom Felt F75 1x10 with flats. She's quick!

[@nickwinn7812]

Super informative and concise. You have given me all of the information i need to do this . Thanks!

[@YoungDoug13]

Loca bike shop looked at me sideways when I asked them to do this.... guess I'll have to make it happen! Thanks!

[@stijnw8626]

Another great video! Thanks Eric for keeping us inspired!!! 🙌

[@danielzwettler929]

Awesome video, just wrapping up a 7 to 9 speed conversion on my Schwinn Crosspoint! Wish I had seen this a few days ago, just because Sheldon Brown says it can work doesn't always mean I have 100% confidence.

[@TaylorGonz]

Super helpful! My project bike is a 90’s Marin full rigid that’s a 3x7 but I luckily I confirmed with my bike shop the other day, it already has an 8 speed free hub body. This will be helpful for any future conversions though!

[@bongmayor4828]

that Spec Rockhopper is pretty rad!

[@kevinjfeeney77]

I love these old 26er mtb drop bar conversions.... I have a 1993 nishiki Pueblo with cowbell 2s... (cowchippers en route)... 3x7 MicroNEW brifters. Had to swap Altus FD for an old roadie one I had lying around but it works fine. Thinking of going with Microshift Advent or Advent X.. (approx costs $43 for that one extra gear)... I also inherited an old GT hardtail....model unknown as the previous owner hand painted the frame... lmao... Going for same set up. 3x7.... (probably take the MicroNEW brifters off the Nishiki when I go 1x and use on the GT). I will be using friction bar end shifters first. Trying to keep costs down until I'm able to get the 1x set up completed on the Pueblo. That being said, what's y'all thoughts on the Microshift Advent (9 and 10 speed)? (I am actually quite happy with the MicroNEW brifters too. For the price they are awesome)

[@artad6420]

i've been researching hacks like this and couldn't find anything until this vid. great information and detail! now i can look into upgrading my 3x8 setup to a 1x10. thumbs up!!!!

[@roamingwolfpack]

This is the video I was needing, and at the right time. A hub swap it will be, I already did the remove one gear trick and I want it back! Thank you so much!

[@johnhanley9946]

I like my 3×7 drivetrain! If I had a Uniglide freehub body I would convert it to a new one though...

[@robertgarcia3748]

Love this...working on a bike myself that is actually a looker. struggling to decide on the drive train easiest and less money, or should i throw some money at it as it will look nice. Steel 26 inch frame, slapped on 700c wheels and slapped on gravel king brownwall 35c, had to make brakes v brakes with some chinese adapters. I've sold some parts laying around to help finance my project...so far I've spent 150 out of pocket. If it rides like i think it will, i might pimp it out with time. Looks like a regular classic road bike. 1995 fisher aquila in dark forest green, brown letters...gonna add brown bar tape and brown brooks saddle in the future. Maybe a gold kmc chain.

[@christimson6233]

Thank you so much for going over all of this. Exactly what I needed to see as I'm looking for a an older mountain bike to convert. I like both methods, but learning how to swap the freehub and knowing how to do that seems worth the stress if I'm going to keep tinkering with bikes.

[@EcBuddy123]

Ugh I have your bikes twin and want to build it out like yours and use it. Back in my h.s. days I made it into a 700c hybrid bike. It was a quick bike

[@pedalingpastor]

That visual was superb. Maybe you are DKlein’s brother.

[@marchanselman]

It would be really helpful to see you drop a cog and spacer off the 10x. At this point, I'm more familiar with swapping the freehub body!

[@weeringjohnny]

I've messed with cassettes like this before. Obviously if you take one cog out you will have quite a big gap between the two adjacent gears, which might irritate you, especially on the road. When out riding I always find myself looking for the very cog I have removed Also, some cassettes have the first 4 or 5 low-range cogs locked together on a carrier so you'll be forced to remove a cog from the remaining high gear, smaller cogs, where you might be more loathe to do it. Not a reason to not go ahead but maybe worth noting.

[@mutos82]

IMO one of the best (the most useful) of your video which you've made ever.

[@andyamos8594]

Brilliant! And there was I thinking it would need a whole new hub and lace to the rim... got me eager to try it out!

[@tes_roues]

Can'y wait to do this on my '94 Rockhopper Comp, i really expected it to be more complicated!

[@TheProjectsimpson]

Awesome video! Really liked your explanation of the 2 freehub bodys.

[@robertocavalcanti7767]

Really great explanation

[@hobo_overland]

I'm in the process of doing a similar conversion, but using a slightly newer disc brake frame (but still a 26er with 3x9), and fitting 650b wheels with narrow tyres. It has riser drop bars on it as well, I'll be upsetting everyone with this build.

[@a.sarmiento5116]

Dude just what I almost did. Had a 10 speed 11x46 cogs but the hub was for a 7speed. Had to change it for a hub that can accommodate 10 speed. Once installed the chain would not go to the biggest cog even after adjusting the limiting screw to the max. So removed one cog used it as a spacer to push the cog outside so now I can use the biggest cog 46 with a 39 chainring. Easy on the uphill. Have not changed to a dropbar cause still trying to find the height cause when using a flat, hand gets numb.

[@legrouch4304]

Finally! Been hanging for this video! Thanks dude!

[@WalkerBikes]

Awesome video! Will be doing this soon with an old Norco frame

[@recyclespinning9839]

These old school mountain bikes with good chromoly frames make excellent : touring bike, commuters ,, trail bike. I have an old Schwinn Paramount mountain bike PDG 40 made in Japan and I like that way better than my road racing bike,, no toe overlap,, rear racks,, rides comfortable, awesome bike. They are under tube radar and cheap . The high end ones have Shimane Deore and love the old school thumbshifter. The first brifters.

[@diggiediggz]

Hahahahahaha I was thinking of doing this for my father in law!!! Word for word was I was questioning. Subscribed!!

[@h0tr0d31337]

Lucky duck! I had to dish the wheel and remove a 2mm spacer from my '93 rockhopper freehub swap.

[@axelthorpe]

Love it! Another great video! One question; are both forks 1-1/8"? Or 1" threadless? I have a cheapo MTB with threaded 1" I want to convert to threadless. Waiting for a video on that! 😎

[@gregorahler]

DAMN FINE VIDEO SIR! Saving this for a rainy day

[@LTPottenger]

Wow, had no idea you could do this so easily!

[@ComandanteNissaro]

I love this kind of stuff.

[@bb1039]

nicely done

[@GeoffMcLelland]

Instructional, teaching video!? I know you don't like to do these but you did a great job explaining the why's and how's.

[@cospinan]

Hi, this is a great video... I feel identified. I did also my bike... well... it is not too old frame. But it is 26. I have durace 10 speed shifters with a crank mtb slx triple but I removed the very small ring so it works like double. The FD is xt 9 speed. Cassette is sram 10 speed and a mtb slx 9 speed RD. No issue with the free body. I installed mechanical disc brakes and I have for a front suspension... I like to sometimes go for a bumpy exploring rides. For the suspension I had to replece the crown on the fork... it was a bit difficult.

[@kimkrimson]

Awesome video! Could you also take out 1 cog on an 11 Speed cassette to get 10 speed? Cheers

[@gitarduden]

I have done this on my regular bike, and it works. LBS didn't have any 11speed wheels, so I had to take out a cog and a spacer on my cassette. I do deliveries on this bike all week long, and I've been riding that setup for 4 months now.

[@johnmills837]

Your old 7 speed FH is a HG free hub. Uniglide was not made in 7 speed. HG was available in 6 speed

[@TheWoodyworker]

Exactly what I needed today. Thanx.

[@aliastagami2346]

You and I have very similar tastes in bikes and projects.

[@stephensnyder1510]

I'm in the process of this for the first time converting an Cannondale cad1 and getting ready to go get the cassette so this definitely helped. Only thing I don't have experience with is derailleur, would you have to run an 11 speed or can it be done buying a 10 speed group set to accomplish the same result without having to lock out the last gear? I get it in theory, but haven't tackled any of this before so don't know that process.. keep it up, always entertaining and informative.

[@Spaeckli]

Where did you get your FH body? i got a fh-mc30 and shimano stx

[@obsequious_obsolescence]

So heads up i did the second method, with a 9 speed and got ghost shifts and dead shifts all over. Played around with the cable tension, stops, for a week and could never dial out the weirdness. Ive done this on other bikes with success

[@hgh96]

wow that 10 speed spaced 9 speed is genius!

[@theprojectproject01]

9 of 10 on 7 or 8 is pretty common. It's how you make a Shimergo setup play nice. Though, honestly, I prefer the shift feeling of Uniglide to Hyperglide. Just personal preference.

[@jhornett]

This was great. I'm looking at doing this soon!

[@ROBinJVILLE]

i learned stuff in this video, its been a long time thanks

[@jlmagandelcerro2415]

So you're finally making a tutorial! I'm about to cry...not exactly sure why

[@bosanderspublictheology]

So good.Thank you.

[@oftankoftan]

I don't understand. RJ The bike guy upgraded from 7 to 10 speed and just switched cassettes.

[@thecyclopath8845]

Some old 7-speed wheels were actually designed to fit 8-speed freehubs. But to use up old parts and save money, they equipped these wheels with a 7-speed freehub and a spacer to take up the extra room. If you remove the spacer behind such an old 7-speed feeehub, an 8-speed freehub will fit.

[@gregclark4870]

Did you encounter chain angle alignment issues with the rear cassette? When peddling backwards the chain can fall off the largest rear cassette rings because of poor chain angle alignment? Did you have to install a different bottom bracket to bring the drive crank arm in closer to correct the chain angle ? Did you check the chain angle? I recently did a similar conversion on my vintage specialized crossroad cruz and had issues with this.

[@beezer946]

Greg Clark The trick is to get the chainring as close as possible to the frame. There is a chance the issue could be where you placed the chainring. The chain alignment won’t change with a different cassette, regardless of speeds.

[@yousefgeorge3060]

This is so helpful thank you so much!

[@leinie2317]

I wonder what would happen if you submit the rockhopper build to the GCN show lol

[@djbiggz7960]

Part list please

[@andrewschneider5722]

@spindatt, what model freehub did you use for the rockhopper?

[@richardking3681]

Awesome! Thanks.

[@kylesmith853]

Kinda freaky how your video today focused on the freehub body while I released one that also focused on my misbehaving freehub body 🤣🤣

[@Spindatt]

Great minds!

[@jbaillie]

If your starting point is an old 3x8 mtb rather than 3x7 then you can swap a 10 speed cassette in without any tinkering... I think?

[@kimkrimson]

Indeed

[@thecyclopath8845]

Correctamundo

[@Spindatt]

Also agree with this

[@jptrainor]

Buy a bag of 1/4 inch (3/16 for rear) ball bearings and don't worry losing bearings because you should replace them anyways.... and ...... realistically, you're going to loose ball bearings.

[@donaldkavanaugh7382]

2000 Specialized Hardrock, rear drop out between 126 to 130mm, what's yours and why not just put a nine speed cassette on it.

[@Phlizz]

Brilliant!!!

[@michaeltillman886]

Well. You made two gravels. That's great. This is all gravel bikes are.

[@BradWadeNL]

Awesome! I'm glad I learned something!

[@steffanoswald7917]

Ah ha!! Great video!! Now I know why I subscribed

[@aybee69]

This just made my day!

[@CL-dh2mf]

Hi Eric, I try to build a bike for my sister's birthday in the same fashion as you did here. One question: What exact 10speed Shimano cassettes can you for the 7speed freewheel hack? Would be so glad to hear from you! Greetings from Germany! ✌

[@Londinius]

Best video on this topic so far. Thank you! So if I put a 10-speed cassette (removing 1 cog) on my 7-speed hub, do still have to use a 10-speed derailleur and shifter or can I just use a 9-speed derailleur/shifter?

[@froggerc625]

My 1992 Cinder Cone 3x7 has a Suntour XC rear hub, not even sure it can take a Shimano style splined cassette :(. Might need to just bite the bullet and find a deal on a wheel with a Shimano hub.

[@joskes123]

great vid dude !

[@damonvanopdorp2905]

Super helpful!

[@thinkpadBentnoseTheBlind]

I literally just lost a bearing on a lower head set cup. now i have to hunt down one lil tiny bearing,lol. All my fault

[@jackwilson8651]

So, the new 10 speed free hub will fit on the axel of the 7 speed without any other changes?

[@simplelife6827]

Could you run this back BUT with a disk brake conversion as well? Tinker that😁

[@MeesJager]

Possibly dumb question, but I need to ask; why put a 10 speed on which effectively becomes a 9 speed rather than putting on a 9 speed to begin with? Was it that you had the 10 speed lying around or am I missing something like “a 10 speed without a cog and spacer is somehow less wide than a 9 speed”. Thanks if anyone could answer this for me :)

[@Spindatt]

Nope, the overall width of a 10 speed and 9 speed cassette are “essentially” the same. A 9 speed chain is wider than a 10 speed chain. You’d need to take a cog out of a 9 speed or 8 speed cassette to fit as well!

[@songsandverses]

In the last hack for removing one cog and spacer from the 10 speed, on which speed hub are those sprockets put on? Is it a 7 speed or it doesn't matter? Also, can you put any free hub body on any freehub wheel?

[@tomrussell7899]

My old MB that I would want to upgrade has a freewheel, not a freehub, so rather than buy or build new wheels, I am just watching for a slightly newer, freehub equipped, bike, and discarding the old MB.