seaden

OKay so I've got this old 12spd Trek 360. I was gonna sell it BUT took it for a ride today going to work. It was so comfortable and great that now I want to keep it. My main issue with it is that the wheelset stinks. They are old, the spokes are hard to turn, the hubs are either done for or need to be opened up, cleaned and greased. I was wondering if anyone knew of a good source for a decent 6 spd wheelset....The bike I think is spaced at 126(??) I need something fairly low priced.

the beef

Assuming that it's a friction-shifting bike (as opposed to index-shifting, which you can tell by the 'clicks' in the shifters), any wheel will do. Friction shift means you control the cable pull and subsequently the precise amount of derailleur movement, so that any cassette/freewheel will work (your drivetrain is not bound by a number of 'speeds' as modern ones are).

Newer wheels have 130 mm spacing, but you can cram one in there with a little shove (steel frames will do this just fine). All the wheels you buy these days will normally be 130 mm spaced. If you buy a used, non-indexed wheelset (7, 6, 5 speed freewheel) it'll be 126.

Look on the good ol' Seattle Craigslist. It's a great source. Slap a nice 36-spoke wheelset in there with a 7-speed freewheel, voila - instant upgrade. You could probably find one for around $50 if you wait a few days.

seaden

it is indexed

arsw1

Check out gvhbikes' parts page. They have some 126mm freewheel hubs and some older wheels.

Other than that.. I know Phil Wood has some 126mm freewheel hubs as well.. not cheap though..

same time

Is the frame steel, and are the parts Shimano? If so, anything up to 8 speeds will work. If Suntour or Campagnolo are involved, it'll probably work, too. The cog spacings are very very close. You'll only be able to index 6 of the 8 speeds, but it'll work.

A 130mm wheel will need to be jammed into a 126mm frame, or you can have the rear triangle spread to 130mm by a good bike shop. There's a way to do it yourself, too, maybe somebody can provide a link. Again, I'm assuming your frame is steel.

Also, if you have downtube shifters, you can probably turn a D-ring on the right (rear) shift lever and switch it from indexing to friction, if you need to.

Good luck!

drdhsimon

try Recycled Cycles on Boat street by UW. I bought my Trek there, and they have all kinds of used parts (at least they did when I moved in July )

yairi

126mm freewheel hubs are cheap and abundant on fleabay and elsewhere. Something like this for example. No point in going with a 130mm hub really. Front hubs are all 100mm so any front hub will work. I got a couple new LX front hubs for less than $10 each the other day. www.spicercycles.com for some rims, www.wheelbuilder.com for spokes and nipples, build it, done.

the beef

Yay! Time to change your location under your username. Recycled Cycles is awesome.

seaden

what if a wheelset has a 7spd cassette...is there anyway to put a 6spd cassette in so my indexing will still work?

drdhsimon

I meant moved FROM Seattle....loved the town, but as Austinite SRV once said, "couldn't stand the weather!"

deanp

Harris Cyclery has a good deal on a 126 rear, 100 front wheel set. $149.95 shipped price. I bought a set and have ridden them several times now and am happy. Sun rims with a sealed bearing hub, Quandro or some such name. Nothing super fancy, just a decent 36 hole hubs with a thread on free wheel style wheel set.

jccaclimber

The 6sp cassette is fine, just move the one you have now (or have shop do that).

blickblocks

I bought a cheap, $35 130mm hub rear wheel at a LBS for when the 126mm hub rear wheel on my old bike potato chipped. I didn't know about the different widths then, so I simply removed one of the nuts to make it fit. I redished the wheel to center it, but this is probably not the way to go.

That said, I don't think the hub is too good, since after riding on it a good 6 months it doesn't spin as freely as it did. It's probably just a crappy freewheel though.