How to shop for new wheels

[capner2112]

I've been thinking for a while that I want to get a new wheelset for my old Schwinn World Sport road bike. I've never bought wheels before so I'm looking around online with just a small amount of understanding. The current setup is old steel 26" rims and the hubs I think are [F] 96mm and [R] 120mm (I haven't measured the spread yet to be sure). I know my limitation for the rear is a threaded freewheel 5sp. Are brake types a consideration too?

I want something that is lighter-weight, durable, and a little bit above middle-of-the-road quality (not performance but not cheap as hell/mediocre). Velocity is who I'm interested in and I know they have rims, hubs, and complete wheelsets but mostly cater towards newer framesets with wider spreads, most notably freehubs.

Is there anything else to consider?

[nfmisso]

Hi;

First; all of the information that I could find on the 'net said that the World Sport has 27" (ISO 630) rims. The World Sport was basically the World Tourist with drop bars and a few other differences; but same frame and rims.
http://bikecatalogs.org/SCHWINN/MODELS/World%20Sport.html

You haven't given us a budget, so it is difficult to make recommendations.

Unlimited budget:
* Tektro R556 or R559 NUTTED brakes. http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/brake-calipers.html#55-73 These will work with 27" (ISO630) or 700c (ISO622) wheels in your frame.
* wheels from Peter White: scroll down to "Seven Speed Shimano 105 SC (almost) Wheelsets" http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/wheels.asp built with 700c rims
* 7 speed cassette: http://www.amazon.com/Shimano-CS-HG50-7-Speed-Cassette-12-28/dp/B001AYOL32/
* Shimano RD4500 RD http://www.amazon.com/Shimano-RD-4500-Tiagra-Derallieur-9-Speed/dp/B001AYOQF0/ NOTE 27T max large cog in the rear, if you need/want a larger cog, you need the long cage version, it will work with your current friction shifters or bar cons (note 8 speed will work with 7 or 8 speed).
* bar cons http://www.amazon.com/Shimano-Dura-Ace-SL-BS79-Shifter-Bar-End/dp/B002XSWIIY/
* or http://www.amazon.com/Shimano-Handlebar-Mount-speed-Shifter/dp/B001L5Y1GC/
* or http://www.amazon.com/Falcon-friction-ATB-thumb-shifters/dp/B0025UH44I/

You can also, either just spread your frame to fit 130mm OLD - which is what I did with my SR Sierra Sport, or cold set the frame (see Sheldon Brown's discussion).

700c: http://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Master-Weinmann-Release-Double/dp/B0033H4XLE/
http://www.amazon.com/Weinmann-LP18-Front-Wheel-Silver/dp/B0033H1C9K/

27": http://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Master-Weinmann-LP18-Set/dp/B0040DRGB4/

or build your own; which is what I do.

[GeorgeET]

Look in the help forums marketplace for Robs Garage on this list. He has a set of Schwinn wheels for sale and a lot of other stuff..

[capner2112]

I'll look at 27"s and 700c if they work with the bike. I guess what I am asking is what should I consider when looking for new wheels. I can search for it if I know what to look for price and all. Also, I want to get a set that is better by today's standards. My main questions are:

Should I consider a special built wheel for my hub limitations (I know what does and does not work)?
Are the brake types important (center-pull's)?
Is there anything else to consider besides these?

[nfmisso]

I am not sure where this came from:

Quote:My budget isn't set yet, but I'd figure $400 for a set. I measured the wheels and they are 26" so I'll compare with 27"s. I'm keeping the brakes so ...

it came to me via e-mail..... But to answer it:

How did you measure them? 27" rims measure approximately 25½" outer diameter, and have a 630mm (24.8") bead seat diameter.

Do yourself and others a BIG safety favor, and switch to the dual pivot Tektros - they will stop you bike in less than half the distance.

With a $400- budget, go with Peter White option discussed above; the 126mm rear hub will fit with no issues.

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(11-27-2011, 11:47 AM)capner2112 Wrote:  I'll look at 27"s and 700c if they work with the bike. I guess what I am asking is what should I consider when looking for new wheels. I can search for it if I know what to look for price and all. Also, I want to get a set that is better by today's standards. My main questions are:

Should I consider a special built wheel for my hub limitations (I know what does and does not work)?
Are the brake types important (center-pull's)?
Is there anything else to consider besides these?

The most important thing about bicycle wheels is the quality of the build process. The wheels needs to be true, with the spokes properly tensioned and stress relieved (a multistep process). The particular rim, spokes and hub are not very important compared with how the wheel is built.

The 2nd most important thing is stainless steel spokes. High quality spokes are made of 304 stainless steel (SS or SST); which have yield strength around 150ksi. UCP spokes on the bottom end wheels have yield strenght less than 50ksi.

Low-end machine built wheels with stainless steel spokes, can be re-tensioned and stress relieved and re-trued. They are just not finished as purchased.

Brakes - center pulls are scarily poor at braking compared with modern dual pivot side pulls.

Hubs - a 130mm will be a tight fit, but not an issue. A 126mm will drop in.

How many cogs do you want to have? My World Tourist and Sierra Sport both started out as 2x5 "ten speeds" and are both now 2x7 "fourteen speeds", mainly because 7 speed parts are about the lowest cost point. 5 speed stuff is for the most part no longer made, so prices are going up.

[capner2112]

Sorry about the confusion with e-mails, I edited what I said.

Brakes- they work well enough for me but I'll keep it in mind.

Wheels- I always thought the rim size was independent from the tire size, so 27" is the correct size.

Cogs- Mine is a 2x5 ten speed. I tried upgrading to a 7sp freewheel but had to switch back to the 5 because of spacing problems.

Either way, this is what I was interested in learning about wheel buying. I'm rather novice when it comes to the technical and advanced stuff.

[nfmisso]

(11-27-2011, 02:21 PM)capner2112 Wrote:  .....

Cogs- Mine is a 2x5 ten speed. I tried upgrading to a 7sp freewheel but had to switch back to the 5 because of spacing problems.

......

Spacing problems ?? Meaning that the freewheel rubbed on the frame? On the Suzue-Araya wheels on the World Tourist, had to add three 1mm thick washers for the 7 speed freewheel to clear. On the 126mm 5-7 speed wheels - no issues.

Your orginal RD may or may not have enough travel for 7 speed.

The rim diameter and wheel diameter have to match, and the width should be with a certain range.
http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html#width

[capner2112]

The tire is 27x1-1/4 and the rim did measure 25.5" at a closer look. I have no idea what make of rim is on it now.

The smallest cog rubbed on the chain stay and the axle wouldn't reach the drop outs. I took it to my bike shop, who thought no problem with the 7sp at first. After the trouble, they suggested to just keep in where it's engineered to run which I've mostly done. I don't really want to put tons more money into this bike as it was a free-be out of my garage and I'll someday get a new bike.

[nfmisso]

Your lowest cost alternative for aluminum wheels is the 27" ones from Amazon. They will need tensioning, stress relieving and trueing.

[capner2112]

I tend to be over-ambitious with wanting high-quality stuff so good thing I read into it first. Considering the dropout spreads and other stuff, better to invest into a new bike if I want to best use the high-Q parts. I do enjoy this old touring bike alot though.

[Joe_W]

Well, old touring (and road) bikes ride very nicely, smooth and relaxed. The frames are usually not very stiff (or heavy), though. If you like how it rides it can be worth upgrading.
Addressing some points above:
The axle of a new(er) hub is (usually) too long, a steel frame can be spread, though (as Nigel mentioned above). I have three bikes where i did that, nothing bad came from it so far. Steel can be cold set, as far as I know it sometimes needed to be done after the building process. Those guys are experts however and know exactly what they are doing.
Small cog rubbing on the frame: bad luck there... You might be able to do something with axle spacers. This would require a redishing of the wheel and will weaken it. So I cannot really recommend it.

Are the hub bearings still ok? If yes, you could get a wheel built with the old hub and a new rim (and new spokes!). You might also be able to get a new(ish) hub for freewheels, remove one axle spacer (reduce width a bit, you will use a 5speed or 6 speed freewheel anyway) and get a wheel built with that.

Front wheel: You could try cold setting the fork... I wouldn't do this, the front end of the bike is critical. If something fails you'll go down hard and hurt yourself a lot! Check bearings for wear, maybe rebuild wheel with new rim? Or get a new fork + headset + wheel (+maybe stem + handlebars...). This will be costly.

Other than that, I can only stress all of Nigel's points on the importance of the wheel building process! If you buy a cheap wheel, it needs to be tensioned and stress relieved and the hubs will need grease.

[capner2112]

I never thought about rebuilding the wheel using the same hubs. As far as I can tell they are the original wheels with a few dents in the rim here and there but they run true. The main reason I want to upgrade to something lighter is because I want to start towards entering races and just less weight in general. For now I'm going to sit on the idea and save until I know what I want to do. I have all winter to make a decision now.

[Joe_W]

OK, with the idea of starting races and getting something lighter and more high end: Don't upgrade and save the money. Old bikes are time and money sinks (though it can be worthwhile for casual riding). For racing (road racing?) it is something entirely different. You would want a frame that is stiff and light and most likely you'll have to get something new. For casual (well, non-racing) riding weight and stiffness are usually no problem unless you have to climb a lot or sprint your friends for city limits signs. For time trial events (and the bike leg of a triathlon) weight is again not the main problem (unless there is lots of climbing, some races have that). Once you are rolling at your top speed, weight only enters through rolling resistance which is small compared to the aerodynamic drag.

Shopping for a new bike is exciting, but I would advice you to start looking soon: Many shops are currently making room for the new models, great bargains can be made at the moment!

Oh, and I consider rims as being consumables, but I build my own wheels...