While rear indexing is the same for all recent shifters/derailers, Shimano fronts use a different amount of cable pull for drop-bar vs flat-bar controls.

Yes, 8-speed freewheels do exist. One example is the DNP 8-Speed Screw-on MTB Bike Freewheel, which offers smooth shifting, lower noise, and improved performance compared to factory freewheels. 2. Are all 8 speed cassettes compatible?For perfect matching, you might substitute different spacers, use alternate cable routing, or use a Jtek ShiftMate pulley adaptor. Uniglide cassettes are no longer available. If you have a hub that only uses Uniglide cassettes, the best thing to do is to upgrade the hub by transplanting a Hyperglide body onto it.

Shimano Freehubs dating from the mid 1980s onward have replaceable bodies, held onto the hub shell by screw threads and, usually, splines. This is explained above in the transplant section of this article. Campagnolo 8-speed cassettes used a slightly different spline pattern from the current pattern used for 9-and 10-speed systems.speed freewheels with 13-15-17-19-21-24-28 teeth are available from Shimano, SunRace and IRD. This is a nice, even progression, or you may choose another -- see list of available freewheels from Harris Cyclery. Modern freewheels have the same easy-shifting features as cassettes. Very early Freehubs (sometimes identifiable by the absence of the typical bulge on the right end of the hub barrel) which have non-interchangeable bodies. The Freehub body of these hubs is held on only by the axle bearings, and will slip off once the axle is removed. FH-7850 and FH-7900 Dura-Ace bodies, which have returned to a splined attachment between Freehub body and hub shell, but it is larger than the usual one. It is similar but not interchangeable between these two models. Shimano information on the 7850; 7900.