There are two main categories of biking which road and mountain biking, this setup is compatible with mountain bikes, the reason is that mountain bike hubs are larger and stronger and also thicker in diameter and are more durable enough to hold 11-speed cassettes, MTB 8-speed hubs are manufactured to absorb bumps and jumps of the trails, so they are made wider, and also the spacing of MTB 8-speed hub is wider and is 135mm or 142mm, this 8-peed hub spacing is also compatible to adopt 11-speed cassettes, but if you are a road biker, then remember road bike 8-speed hubs are not as much wider as MTB 8-speed hubs, so it is not possible to install 11-speed cassettes on 8-speed road bike hubs.
If you are a mountain biker then, first of all, remove the older 8-speed cassette from the 8-speed hub, and with the help of a rag wet cloth clean the edges of the hub thoroughly. after that install an 11-speed cassette within the hub, after its installation apply a rotating torque force in both clockwise and counter-clockwise directions and note, whether the cassette is moving comfortably or sticking or rubbing with anything, after this, there would be a small lock-ring, install this ring on the outer end of the cassette, after installing of lock-ring now its time to install the big nut bolt of the cassette, and tight this bolt with the help of wrench tool thoroughly, all the Shimano 8-speed hubs are compatible with the 11-speed cassettes only for mountain bikes.
Old and traditional 8-speed mountain bike hubs are not compatible with 8 to 12-speed cassettes, but if your bike hub is new and expensive then it would easily be installed without any issue or problem. but always remember, these 11-speed cassettes are compatible with the 8-speed MTB hubs, these cassettes are not MTB cassettes, but these are road bike cassettes, although you can also install MTB 11-speed cassettes because there is not a large difference between road and MTB 11-speed cassettes. there are two major types of hubs in mountain and road biking.
- CenterLock Hubs
- 6-Bolt Hubs
6-bolt hubs are old and traditional hubs mostly sued and installed in old and cheap mountain bikes, so these 6-bolt hubs would not accept 11-speed cassettes but center lock hubs are new and expensive and modern hubs and you can easily install 11-speed cassettes on these hubs without any irritating moment.
Lock-Ring:
When you are tightening the lock ring of an 11-speed cassette, then never give it few or limited torque rounds, you have to tight much more by applying a larger rotating force, it will save your cassette, and also your hub does not wobble, there are small ratchets and points on the hub and internals of the 11-speed cassette when you push pedal of your bike for riding purpose, then you are applying a large force on bike hub and cassette, due to which the capacity and working ability of your bike cassette is totally dependent on the lock ring, make sure if the lock ring is not compatible with the cassette then remove this lock-ring with a new compatible ring.
Shimano 11-speed Compatibility:
The width and diameter of Shimano 11-sped cassettes are the same as that of 9-speed and 10-speed cassettes, so if you have a 9 or 10-speed cassette and you are looking to install it with the 8-speed hub then it is possible and you can easily install these cassettes on your 8-speed hub.
Major Changes Between 9-speed,10-speed, And 11-speed cassettes:
Cassettes and hubs of these speeds are of the same diameter and are compatible with each other, but the other parts and components like chain width, the width of cogs, and the spacing between the right and left dropouts have changed between them, the number of chain links of all of these cogs has different numbers, and you can count them, you will know that few chains would be small or large in size. and also also the number of cogs is different for all of the speeds.9,10 and 11 have different millimeters of spacing and are specific and compatible with their own parts and bike components.
Difference Between Older And Modern 8-Speed Hubs:
Older hubs have shorter or decreased lengths, and modern and expensive hubs are greater in length, shorter length hubs would need the installment of spacers on the lower side of the drivetrain cassette, these differences in the length of hubs would make the setup of hubs and cassettes non-compatible with each other.
Derailleur Movement:
There is a large difference between the shifting of cable and the value of stretching and tensioning within the cables of the shifters, never install a new derailleur and new cables with this setup, because new components would also have different values of cable pulls. you can easily adjust the lateral and longitudinal movement of the derailleur by tightening and loosening two screws that are present on the neck of the derailleur.
Although there is also a large difference between the gear shifters of different speed bikes, and different types of shifters would perform differently, as above I have explained about the movement of the derailleur, this is only applicable with the friction shifters, and if you have a thumb or top tube shifters then you need to search information about them.
Is It Possible To Increase the Distance Or Travel Of The Movement Of The Derailleur?
Yes it is possible, and you can easily control and adjust the movement of the derailleur, but after doing or changing the location of the derailleur, you will notice a clear difference in shifting of gears, and when you want to shift your bike chain from lower to higher or higher to lower cogs of the cassette, then this shifting won’t occur accurately and you have to face much trouble and irritating moments, the best and thorough principle of the movement of the derailleur is totally dependent on their specific and recommended cable pull values, different speed derailleurs have different cable pull values.