Direto with an 8 speed cassette

[posixPilot]

Hi,

I have a road bike with an 8 speed Shimano cassette, and I'm looking at purchasing the Direto trainer. I see that the specs for the Direto say that Shimano cassettes with 9/10/11 speeds are supported. Can I use my 8 speed cassette with the Direto? My bike shop owner thinks that I should be able to add additional spacers behind the cassette to make it work.

Thanks
Mike

[Elite Admin S]

Hi Mike

We are officially compatible only with 9, 10 and 11 speed.
In theory, using some spacers you could be able to install also a 8 speed cassette but we cannot guarantee that this combination will work properly.
Ask your trusted mechanic and give it a try, in the worst case the gear won't change well

Regards

[posixPilot]

Thanks for the feedback! I think I'll give it a shot.

Cheers
Mike

[ali]

Did it work?

[kreto]

hi
i have been using a 8 speed shimano cassette on the direto no problems.....just use enough spaceres so the cassette lock ring can lock the cassette in please.

[spacedad]

I am using an old Shimano 105 8 Spd cassette on my Elite Drivo- as above, just use the spacers supplied. Works fine.

Thinking of changing the rear gear shifter on my handlebars to 10 or 11 spd when I replace the cassette to 10/11 spd, so I can do the steeper climbs on Zwift and Elite ride videos. Doesn’t matter when you train in ERG mode as you just use one gear.

[posixPilot]

Did it work?

Hi, sorry about the slow response; I don't get back here very often. Yes, adding spacers behind my 8 speed cassette worked very well. I ended up with 2 1mm spacers.

One issue that I ran into was specific with my stock Shimano 8 speed cassette. On the Shimano product, there are three screw heads that protrude from the hub side of the largest cog on the cassette. These normally nest into the grooves at the base of the hub, but those grooves are blocked when you add a spacer. However, my bike mechanic was smart enough to have ordered a SRAM cassette for my trainer. The SRAM has a single screw, and that screw is flush with the back side of the cog. This allows you to use the spacer.

Cheers
Mike

[Velomeant]

Hi there! I've just ordered Elite Direto XR-T and meanwhile it's on its way to me I want to figure our some question regarding installation of my 8 speed cassette: Shimano CS-HG41-8 aw (11-30). I've talked to some bike technicians and none of them know why some spacer is needed. The matter is that my cassette's width is equal to the similar 9 speed cassette. So, which spacers are you talking about and where it must be installed?