A Shimano M730/32XT hubs question. 6spd or 7spd on a 130mm rear spacing?

So to answer @boy"O"boy question....on page 1.

XTii is from 1989, so i assume that probably what came on your bike. It was 7 speed.

That would be a 100mm m730 front hub and a m732 rear hub which came in either 130 or 135mm.

130mm rear is quite quite normal ( see above pics) in m732. And yes, they all took 7 speed hyperglide with a normal lock ring.

The spacers and all the internals of a m732 130 / 135 are identical ( including the freehub) save for the spindle 141mm / 146mm and the fact that the physical hub body is 5mm shorter to allow this.

Its really really really not rocket science.....no mystery, no horses with glued on bits, no rebuilds needed.....🤣.
 
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So I've looked at probably 10,000 fhbs in the decades of a busy shop and at a glance, the length of these German ebay numbers make them a 6View attachment 825313
And then the ones in a bag are 7:View attachment 825314
If I pulled them out of the drawer (blindfolded obvs) I would say the top one is 130/6 and the bottom 135/7
... but we've been looking for the unicorn of 130/7, and see a vision in the clear morning light that is hard to deny!
Mine is defo 130/7
 

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When did this change from 130 to 135 happen? I’ve always wondered if the spacing on my 1990 (I think) Kili Flyer Comp was meant for a 130 hub or just badly made/checked.
It has always made a mockery of the term quick release. I have to heave it upside down and wrestle the back wheel in by getting one side in and then sort of pull against the chain stays whilst pushing the hub down into the dropouts. Not much but, to my eye it could easily be a couple of mm per side. Once in place, everything looks and feels nicely aligned.

Shimano introduced 135mm with the new XT II range in 1989. 126mm was ditched at the same time
 
The hub bodies are different shapes between m730 and m732. The shoulders are square on m730 and rounded off on m732. Also the grease port is different.

The top pic is m730...bagged m732.

They are not rare.....m732 with 130 spacing 7 speed are all around us. Most people just don't realise as all they read is m732 and assume its 135mm.

These below are all 7sp 130mm m732 hubs......i would give the spare to @boy"O"boy but its earmarked for some wheels sadly. So thats 4 of them, and those are just the ones laying round my house! Unicorn.....donkey......as most want 135mm to fit their frames.
Bikes on carpet!!! Lucky, lucky bikes, I suspect they may even be exposed to central heating??? 😍
 
When did this change from 130 to 135 happen? I’ve always wondered if the spacing on my 1990 (I think) Kili Flyer Comp was meant for a 130 hub or just badly made/checked.
It has always made a mockery of the term quick release. I have to heave it upside down and wrestle the back wheel in by getting one side in and then sort of pull against the chain stays whilst pushing the hub down into the dropouts. Not much but, to my eye it could easily be a couple of mm per side. Once in place, everything looks and feels nicely aligned.

And sometimes the frame specs carry a few forward into the next year, sometimes leftover frames get painted and fitted up for the next year's stock, and sometimes the bikes are built up with what's to hand to get them out to dealers before they fill their stockroom with a rival brand's earlier delivery.

Recently it's been (cheapish) cable disk braked mtbs with caliper pull levers.
The short cable pull calipers should be available, but perhaps cost more or have a longer lead time, and the guys at the top have their eyes on the money or don't have a clue, or probably both🙄
 
I run two British Eagle Pro Carbon bikes - both 1990 (+/- a year). These are 130mm, 7 speed XT hubs from new. Over the years they've worn both 32 & 36 hole rims and I've never had a problem sourcing Shimano M732 parts in any of these combinations. NOS parts still come up on eBay fairly frequently but do fetch strong money these days.
 
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