Frankie Santa R

Hi there,

I want to replace my 1981 Puch's wheelset. The bicycle has Shimano 600 derailleurs and a rear cassette with 6 sprockets. However, I want to replace the ENTIRE wheelset including the cassette. Any recommendation for an online site or mechanic in N. California that can help me?

(Budget up to $500)

Thanks very much!

SurferRosa

Brush up on the concept of o.l.d. here:

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html

If I were to guess, yours is 126mm in the rear, and you're using a 6-speed freewheel, not a cassette.

Frankie Santa R

Thanks Surfer Rosa!

Your assessment is probably right on: "126mm in the rear, and you're using a 6-speed freewheel".

Any recommendation for where to find a nice wheelset replacement including hub, freewheel, etc ?

Prefer not to spread the frame much (if at all).

bark_eater 

https://velo-orange.com/collections/wheels

Looks like 126mm 27" wheels are out of stock at the moment. You can call them to see when more are expected.

The 6 wheel freewheel can be replaced with a modern offering from Shimano, IRD, or Sunrace. I would avoid any other off brands.

The older "vintage" free wheels are supposedly mechanically superior. There are plenty of "new" and "NOS" freewheels on Ebay. Suntour is considered a safe bet.

I would count the number of teeth on the smallest and largest cogs of your free wheel. This will be a proven gear range. Rear derailleurs have a certain mechanical limits that should be determined if you are changing the freewheel to a lower gearing with a large cog with more teeth. Standard for modern Freewheels is 14-28. I think some of the older short cage derailleurs max out at 24. The specifications for many vintage components can be found at https://velobase.com/default.aspx.

If there's an REI with a bike service center near you, stop in and talk to them. You might make a mechanics day. If they just try and sell you a new bike, look for some one over the age of 40, or go buy some socks....

bikemig 

+ 1 on Velomine. Are you looking for 27 inch or 700c? If changing wheels, this is a good time to switch to 700c as there is better tire availability. The brake pads will need to drop down around 4 mm to make this work but that is usually not a problem.

27 inch: https://www.velomine.com/index.php?m...nrvan1td93u5v5

or these, https://www.velomine.com/index.php?m...nrvan1td93u5v5

There are a number of 700c wheelsets available like these, https://www.velomine.com/index.php?m...nrvan1td93u5v5

ehcoplex 

With a budget of $500 the world is pretty much your oyster (sure, you could find a way to spend a lot more, but $500 will get you a really good wheelset). Why are you wanting to change the wheels in the first place? Is your Puch a Luzerne, with with the full Shimano 600 group, including the hubs? If the races and cones are good you could service and reuse the hubs and have a new set of wheels built with them- there's got to be a shop somewhere around you that can/will build wheels. Rims of your choice, modern, stainless DB spokes... I like the polished Sun M13II rims for a new, but vintage-appropriate rim, and they're pretty cheap. Figure around $150 for the rims and spokes, another $25-40 for a new freewheel and you've got a lot of $ left in the budget to support a local shop by having them build up the wheels (& you keep the 600 group 'together' on the bike). 2¢

Classtime 

I like the ehcoplex assessment. When someone recommends a good shop in your area, get wheels built around your current 600 hubs. TB-14 rims are pretty snazzy.

ehcoplex 

Addendum to my response, if you go this route.... Get a spoke wrench and dismantle your wheels yourself (or go brutalist and use a wire-cutter- it just seems wrong, but its fast and oddly satisfying....). You could dismantle, polish up and repack your own hubs too, though getting the freewheel off will require the right tool and can be a PITA. Definitely let the shop/wheel builder order the spokes for the build (getting the right lengths involves a bunch of careful measuring and calculating)...

Oh wait, wait, wait..... DO NOT dismantle the rear wheel until after the freewheel is off! It's a lot easier to get it off of a built wheel! So I guess you'd want to find/talk to a shop about building the wheels, have them get the freewheel off, then dismantle your wheels and go back to them with the hubs and rims....

bark_eater 

I would have recommended Velomine but the machine built wheels they resell are a bit of a project. Sounded like the OP wanted to spend his money and go riding.

Mr. 66

I don't know about the 600, but Shimano did make 6 speed cassette hubs with the 105 arrow.

madpogue 

I reckon a 1981 Puch would more likely have a freewheel. If the OP is near a bike co-op / kitchen, there's probably a bin there with plenty to choose from. Then just buy a stardard freewheel wheelset with the appropriate rear OLD.

icemilkcoffee 

Although the bike originally came with a freewheel hub, I would suggest you go with a cassette hub this time around if you are starting from scratch. Cassette hubs are much more reliable than old freewheel hubs. If you wait around on Ebay you can find Shimano 600 FH6401 cassette hubs which are 126mm OLD. That would go well with the rest of your 600 groupset.