Hi guys, does anyone know if I can put a new 10/11 speed freehub onto a 1994ish Alivio rear wheel that currently has a 7 speed free hub fitted. Trying to upgrade a Raleigh m-trax that I owned 25 years back and have just been gifted back.....?
Sorry, no. The driver can't handle a 10 or 11 sp. The hub is probably 130 mm, not the 136 mm of the last quick release style. Modern Boost rear hub spacing is 148 mm.
I disagree, you can have a 10 speed rear cassette work with a 135mm frame spacing 10mm QR drop out.
I run 10 speed rear Shimano XT cassette 11t-40t Hope expander on a couple of my 26" hardtails, no issue.
Raleigh M Trax has the same frame spacing as above, so if your back wheel can't accomodate changing the cassette to a 10sd, you most certainly can get a rear hub that can.
As for 11 spd I can't answer, 10 speed in various configs suits me for all my riding and so have never felt the need to switch.
I disagree, you can have a 10 speed rear cassette work with a 135mm frame spacing 10mm QR drop out.
You can run the 10 or 11 speed with the 135/136 mm rear axle, but that's not on the 1994-era bikes. BTW - even with the wider spacing, the actual hyperglide freehub changed configuration after the 8 to 9 speed era. The 94 M Trax was a 7 X 3 bike, and a decent one for that era.
Having just dug out my long retired 1992 cromoly mtb frame Trek 950 singletrack, for the purpose of checking this, I can say with certainty that a 10 speed cassette on a 135mm frame spacing will fit, admittedly its not a shimano alivio hub as OP asks, its a Hope pro 2 hub QR 135mm 10 spd XT cassette 11-40t Hope T rex expander, and all fitted fine into a 1992 mtb bike frame.
I rebuilt a 1994 mtb Ralegh M Trax Ti 1000 last year that also had a 135mm frame spacing, and fitted it with a 9speed cassette running it as a 1x9.
I also have amongst the bike clutter, a 1988 mtb Muddy Fox Explorer that too has a 135mm frame spacing.
Too answer the OP, not sure with your specific hub, but certainly if changing the drivetrain on your Ralegh M trax, and that it has a 135mm rear wheel spacing, then you most definitely can fit a 9 speed, and as I have checked a 10 speed cassette on a 135mm hub will aslo fit, as for 11 speed, I don't know, would have thought the hub spacing will need to be greater, such as 142mm through axle type.
Hi guys, first off, thanks for input. Well I believe I have managed to sort this issue. Shimano do a 10 speed freehub that fits straight onto my hub. I have fitted an 11 speed XT 11-42 cassette on and can get two full rotations of the cassette lock ring when torqued up. The complete wheel fits nicely into the frame with no clearance issues (135 spacing). However. An 11 speed cassette’s splines are 1.8mm longer than a 10 speeds. So, my 11 speed ring isn’t sitting flush with the freehub. I could have the freehub or the cassette machined to accommodate but don’t know if this is needed.....! Thoughts gents....!!!!
Generally I would'nt push it if you have to resort to maching something down to fit, with regards to this anyway.
If 10 speed works, I say this as I only fitted a bare hub with 10 spd cassette into my old Trek 950, not a complete wheel when checking the sizing, 10 speed will give you a good range of gears, I run 1x10 @11 to 40t, you can also drop the size of the front ring to componsate.