dork_flap

I am 225lbs, and routinely carry another ~30lbs on my old steel Schwinn World frame. It's something of a franken-bike that I built up from a bare frame, but it's working great and I'm attached to it. I ride a long commute every day over rough roads, and sometimes gravel/smooth trails. I've been meaning to upgrade my wheelset for ages, and the time is ripe. I would appreciate any specific recommendations for a wheelset and/or links to places to buy. Here's what I'm looking for:

A strong, durable 700c wheelset, 36h would be best (32 possibly ok)

Double wall rims - I like the Sun CR 18, although eyelet reinforced rims might be nice. Rim must be at least 17mm inner width, as I like to run 35mm tires, and would like be able to do 32-40mm safely. Ideal rim width would be 19mm.

Any decent hubs, but I want 100mm front hub and 130mm rear hub. My rear spacing was originally 120mm, and is a bit stretched to measure 122mm. It seems like I will need to cold-set the frame to accept a modern wheel, but I'd rather not attempt to go all the way to a 135. I've read the other threads on cold-setting and plan to use the Sheldon Brown method when the time comes.

Cassette freehub would be best. My current freewheel serves me fine, but as long as I'm upgrading things I'd like to leave the freewheel world behind.

Budget is limited - up to about $160 max for the set, a little cheaper would be nice.

Weight is not a big issue - I'm looking for sturdiness and economy over weight.

Black would be cool to match my frame... no biggie. I'd be thrilled to find a wheelset that matches those specs in hot pink!

Another question: what size axel do you think I need? It's an older steel frame with no "lawyer lips" and horizontal rear dropouts.

Thank you.

mstateglfr 

Universal Cycles. https://www.universalcycles.com/wheelkit.php
Their website has a wheel builder option where you pick the rim, hub, spokes, and nips. They will hand build and send.

Shimano Sora 36h hubs, Sun CR18 36h rims, DT Comp butted spokes, brass nips- $207.86
You can get cheaper thru Amazon, Nashbar, etc. UC's wheels are handbuilt and you can choose each component, which I really like.

Handbuilt 36 hole wheels with butted spokes should last a long time.



Another option online is Velomine. Their options are all prebuilt, but they are handbuilt and I know a couple people who have bought wheels from them and love the quality.

bikemig 

See what velomine has; it has inexpensive wheels which, in my experience, are well made. I suspect that they are not all handmade given the prices but I could be wrong.

arex

What he said. Sun CR18's and DT Swiss spokes are hard to beat.

fietsbob

So whats wrong with using your local bike shops in Santa Cruz?


wheel axle standards 9mm front 10mm rear..


on UCSC campus wheel/bike theft may be an issue to think of..

SkyDog75

If you could go 1 mm narrower on the width, the Vuelta Corsa HD wheels from Nashbar could be an option. They tick all the other boxes you're looking for: 36 spokes, 300 lb weight rating, 130/100 spacing, 11-speed freehub, black, and cheap. They're $155 right now, but if you catch one of Nashbar's frequent sales, they can be had for about $100. I own a set myself and was pleasantly surprised by the quality for the price.

Darth Lefty 

They really don't match a Schwinn World for style, though!

SkyDog75

Agreed, but he did say he'd prefer black rims and I don't think any black rims would match the bike's original character.

dork_flap

Thanks, everyone, for the good info. Universal cycles is AWESOME! I had no idea such a service existed. The wheelset mstategifr and arex described are perfect - although I was quoted $252.00 on universal cycles which is stretching my budget a little bit... I will continue searching nashbar, amazon, etc. for a slightly cheaper version of the same.

I wonder if any 126mm rear hubs with a freehub rather than freewheel exist? Then I wouldn't even have to cold set.

Good point on the LBS usage, fletsbob. I like to support the LBS when practical, but none of them seem to stock anything remotely like what I'm looking for (cater to the racing and mtb crowd). Could do a special order, but may as well do it myself I spose.

Yup, sadly bike theft is big here. That's new to me, since I have lived in a lot of quiet rural places. My bike stays in my house or locked office at work 99% of the time. When necessary to lock outdoors I employ a U-lock plus cable lock strategy, and have some gnarly looking duck tape (over saran wrap) on the frame to make her look a bit less desirable... bike-camo.

Chime in if ya come across a bargain price 'set.

Thanks again.

mstateglfr 

What was the component mix you chose on Universal? Just asking because by all means go nicer, but Sora hubs are basically mid-level Shimano hubs when considering all their options, and they should perform without any issue for a long long time.


Here are some other options from velomine, not sure if you checked them out.

WEINMANN LP18 SILVER 27 126mm ROAD 5/6/7 speed wheelset [72774716654] - $99.00 Velomine.com : Worldwide Bicycle Shop, fixed gear track bike wheelsets campagnolo super record vintage bike Weinmann 27" 36hole and freewheel, but also $100 for the set. All components are more entry level compared to other options, but the wheelset is also much cheaper. 126 rear dropout spacing too.

Sun CR18 27 5,6,7 Speed Freewheel hubs Road Bike Wheelset [72274726665] - $115.00 Velomine.com : Worldwide Bicycle Shop, fixed gear track bike wheelsets campagnolo super record vintage bike Sun CR18 36hole wheelset on the same hubs as above and 27" for $115. Also freewheel and 126 spacing.

Sun M13 Silver 36h 126mm fits 5 6 7 speed Vintage Road Bikes [072774731008] - $119.00 Velomine.com : Worldwide Bicycle Shop, fixed gear track bike wheelsets campagnolo super record vintage bike Sun M13 36hole wheelset which is 700c for $120. Freewheel and 126 spacing.

Mavic Open Sport Rims Shimano 2200 Silver Hubs Road Bike Wheels [65006 65007] - $109.00 Velomine.com : Worldwide Bicycle Shop, fixed gear track bike wheelsets campagnolo super record vintage bike Mavic Open Pro 32hole wheelset which is 700c and would take a cassette and 130 spacing for $110.





Ill just suggest that a freewheel isnt really any worse than a cassette. There are nice 6 and 7 speed freewheels still which will perform as well as a cassette(all it has to do is move with the chain and let the chain go up and down). I have a couple 80s road bikes with freewheels because they have the original wheels still. A new freewheel can have all the benefits of indexed shifting(which makes friction shifting easier).
Amazon.com : SunRace 7spd 13-28 Freewheel : Bike Cassettes And Freewheels : Sports & Outdoors Only $15 for a 7 speed 13-28 freewheel.

dork_flap

[QUOTE=mstateglfr;18458759]What was the component mix you chose on Universal? Just asking because by all means go nicer, but Sora hubs are basically mid-level Shimano hubs when considering all their options, and they should perform without any issue for a long long time.

I chose the Sora / DT brass nipples / DT competition butted spokes / cr18 and got 252.00. Perhaps you get a discount!

Thanks again for the advice - I will look through all the velomine options too. At fist glance, the 126mm freewheel sets are tempting, but most seem to be a bit narrow on the rims.

mstateglfr 

[QUOTE=dork_flap;18460837]If you choose black spokes the total jumps to $240.
Add black nipples and the price goes to $252.

Pretty nuts- $43 more just for black spokes and nipples. Odd reason for such a jump.

I selected silver for everything.