averyquinn

I'm just beginning the process of restoring a Schwinn Le Tour Luxe which I bought new in 1987. I think it's actually a 1985 or 86 model. The number on the bottom bracket is SC504447 and below that is 840.
I'm new to all this and am planning to start start with the wheels. Does anyone have suggestions for replacement hubs. The originals are Spidel. Are they still made? Are they any good?

seedsbelize 

I have an '84 Letour Luxe, which has Shimano 600 hubs--my favorite. No idea what the originals were, nor anything about Spidel.

Classtime 

What is wrong with the hubs?
Is this it?

SkyDog75

I've got an '85 Le Tour Luxe that I'm slowly putting back together. When it was new, it would've looked just like the picture Classtime posted, but it was a total rust bucket when I got it three decades later. After powder coating and a thorough once-over, it'll make a nice bike that I won't be afraid to put to hard use.

Anyway... Spidel wasn't a manufacturer. It was a short-lived brand name used by French manufacturers like Simplex, Stronglight, and MAFAC to sell their products as a unified offering. The only Spidel hubs I'm aware of were made by Maillard, which makes sense since the 1985 Schwinn catalog lists Maillard hubs as original equipment for the Le Tour Luxe.

Maillard made quality parts, but if you need to replace your original hubs, you won't find any new ones made by the company. Maillard was acquired by Sachs in 1980, which was in turn purchased by SRAM in 1997.

Do you plan on reusing the original rims? That decision could play a pretty big part in selecting new hubs. The catalog specs for an '85 Le Tour Luxe call for a 40-spoke rear wheel and 40-spoke hubs aren't as common as 36- or 32-spoke versions.

Another consideration is whether to stick to a freewheel versus upgrading to a more modern freehub. With a 126 mm freewheel hub, you'll be mostly limited to older parts or lower-quality new ones, but it'll be pretty much plug 'n' play. Once the wheel's assembled, spin on your freewheel and slide the wheel into the frame. A more modern freehub will be more durable and new 130 mm hubs are readily available, but you'll need to pick up a cassette and presumably a spacer to put behind it unless you want to run 8+ gears on the rear. It'll also be spaced 4 mm wider than your original, so you'll need to spread the rear dropouts a little bit to insert the wheel, which is no big deal. You can permanently 'cold set' (bend) the frame to accept the wider hub or just apply a bit of thumb pressure to spread the dropouts when inserting the wheel.

The front hub is a much easier affair to sort out. Your original should will have 100 mm spacing and 36 holes, both of which are common. You've got practically limitless options, new and used.

For my own Le Tour Luxe, I'm waffling between two options: using the original wheels or lacing up new 27" wheels built from Shimano Tiagra hubs and Sun CR-18 rims.

One last thing I'll mention: You might be tempted to replace the whole wheelset, but if you've got cantilever brakes and 27" rims, your options may be limited. 27" wheels were largely superseded by the slightly smaller 700c size in the 1980s. If you had caliper brakes, it's no big deal to make the swap. If you can't move the brake pads down 4 mm to account for the change in wheel size, just switch the brakes for ones with slightly longer reach. Cantilever brakes are limited by post placement on the frame and fork, though, so many canti-equipped bikes built for 27" wheels can't be easily converted to 700c.

Your off-the-shelf options for new 27" wheels are limited, but Velomine sells a pretty decent set built from Quanta cartridge bearing hubs and Sun CR-18 rims. They're not high end, but they work.

Sun CR-18 27" 5/6/7 Wheelset - $115.00 - velomine.com

ryansu

If you want high flange 27 wheels can you get them at Velo Orange a bit more spendy than the velomine option, I had some 700c wheels of theirs that I liked.

For a mid 80s bike low flange would be more period correct FWIW

averyquinn

From the picture provided and what I've found on-line, mine is an '85. The hubs have been repacked more than once and are finally just worn out. It's only a slight exaggeration to say they feel like they have pebbles for bearings.
Thanks, skydog, for all the info. Hadn't thought about a freehub, about which I know nothing - yet. I have been concerned about finding a 40 hole flange.
I'll probably use the original rims as they're in okay shape. I just carry an extra tire when I tour since 27" is sometimes hard to find.

kwhiner

Cantilever brakes are limited by post placement on the frame and fork, though, so many canti-equipped bikes built for 27" wheels can't be easily converted to 700c.

I have an '85 as well and had absolutely no problem switching to 700 wheels. The stock brakes D-C 960s adjust quite easily(1min) to fit the shorter rim position. In my case I used Ultegra 6500 36h hubs and CR18 rims after having the rear triangle spread to 130mm.

seedsbelize 

And I have an '84, with S&S couplers. Mine has the .833 stem.