How to know what rear wheel to purchase for Specialized Allez road bike?

[Susie M]

Hello biking community!

I stumbled upon BikeRide and really happy to have found it! Thanking anyone in advance for any guidance on my situation.

My rear tire was stolen on my Specialized Allez (at least 7 years old) road bike a few months ago and haven't had a chance to replace it. It has been sitting in a bike storage room on the bare fork and derailer :/ I'm concerned this may have added some work for the repair. Unsure how to properly evaluate it.

I have had some mixed advice on what to do about seeking out a new rear wheel - everything from getting whatever rear tire I can get my hands on to replacing the chain, cassette, OEM specific tire, and even the bearings. It's all very confusing.

What I know is that my bike has 8 gears, the front tire is 25 c and apparently the rear tire was 23c but I was reading on another thread that it should be the same as the front tire? Also, the chain was replaced at least 2 years ago and my bike would occasionally skip when I was riding up hill. A bike mechanic told me it could possibly be the bearings. I believe the chain is 332 (unsure if this is enough info).

What do you folks think about how to approach this repair? What tire do I really need? Can I use the cassette that a used tire would come with or should I purchase it separately? Do I need a new chain? What tools do I need? Am I better off just buying another used road bike?!

Any and all input is highly appreciated!!

Hope you all are staying healthy and safe.

Susie

[Joe_W]

The wheel you buy should have the correct type of freehub body, that is either the shimano or sram type or the campagnolo type. You cannot (reliably) mix between those. Then it's just a matter of how much you are willing to spend...

From what you are writing I see two possibilities. If you think you are mechanically inclined I would try and find a used rear road wheel with a shimano freehub body and cup and cone bearings. Those need to be serviced! It is not difficult, you need metric wrenches for that, and a set of bearing adjustment wrenches (they are really thin, never use them for anything else), also bearing balls, grease, degreaser and rags and a pair of long tweezers. There should be tutorials out there how to do it.

Otherwise get an entry level rear wheel. Not the cheapest you can buy (there you'd have to adjust spoke tension and also rebuild the bearings, not enough grease in most of them), but something like the entry level mavic aksium or so. Check for last year's stuff, this can sometimes be had for a bargain price.

I would put a 23mm or (if it fits) even a 25mm wide tyre on it. I like the Conti GP 4000s, pretty fast and not too flimsy.

A used cassette should be replaced, and with a new cassette you should get a new chain as well.