yaros34

Hello everyone. I am a 52 y.o. man who, last fall, road my 1979 panasonic sports deluxe for the first time in 30 years. Managed to get in about five hundred miles before the weather got bad. I can buy a new set of weinmann 27 inch alloy wheels for 65 bucks off of craigs lists. Will I notice a big difference in the weight and riding up the hills? Is $65 a good price. Will changing wheels help me not buy a new bike? Thanks anyone and everyone in advance.
Tony

F red

I'm not sure how much faster they will make you, but they will certainly make you stop better. Definately worth getting aluminum rims, although it might be better to see what your local bike store has, and if your brakes will work with 700c since that is the current standard for tires.

yaros34

Thanks for the reply. I thought 27 inch rims would be already on my bike and that I would be replacing them with the same size.

jimmuller 

First, welcome to C&V!

Now to answer your questions. Yes, you will notice the weight difference, especially if you also pair them up with decent modern C&V-ish tires. (Many of us like the Panaracer Pasela, which comes in 27", with or without an aramid belt for puncture protection.) The lighter weight won't help as much climbing as you might hope, since the main workload of climbing is pushing your own weight up the hill. But the bike will definitely feel more responsive in pure acceleration and braking. Braking with aluminum rims is much better when wet than with steel.

Now, it might matter which Weinmann rim you're looking at. These are new wheels? A pair for only $65? That's cheap for a pair of decent wheels.

Some people will suggest you convert to 700c (622) rims, but I'd say you don't have to. There are plenty of good tires available as long as you aren't looking for the ultimate go-fast/go-far tire. (I've done 75 mile rides on my 25mm-wide, 27" Pasela TourGuards.) One advantage to staying with 27" is you can re-use your current tires, provided they are in decent shape and not dry-rotted.

big chainring 

Welcome to the forum. I would stick with the 27" rims. And $65 is a great price. Are these used wheels? Just make sure they spin true.

I think you will definitely notice a difference with the alloy rims. I swap out steel wheels for alloy on most of the bikes I buy. Lighter weight, better braking, livelier feel.

Metacortex

They appear to be new: https://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/bik/3775785418.html

I'd check the rear axle length to be sure it is compatible with your existing frame dropout spacing. You can respace the frame by cold-setting if necessary. Some re-dishing of the rear wheel may also be required.

ironwood

Check the rear drop out spacing. Your 1979 Panasonic dopouts might might be 120mm wide. Later 126mm became the norm, and now it is 130mm for road bikes. You could probably put a 126mm rear wheel in a 120mm rear, but 130 mm might be too big without spreading the frame. Also check the hub bearings for pitting and axle for straightness. Some older hub parts are hard to come by.

rootboy 

"An ounce off the wheels is worth two off the bike", they used to say.

yaros34

Never Thought about the rear spacing. Glad I asked. Thanks everyone for your replies

andyfloyd

Youll be fine, I would pick those wheels up. They will make your bike ride A LOT better. Get some lightweight tires/tubes and youll notice it will ride a lot better.

Lascauxcaveman 

I bought those exact wheels about 5 years ago to replace my old steel Le Tour rims which were getting a little too dinged and bent up. I paid about $80 for the pair from my LBS. They've served me very well with at least a couple thousand miles so far. I move them from bike to bike, depending on what kind of terrain I'm tackling (they've got my widest tires on them.)

Apart from the fact that you'll stop a lot better, they are somewhat lighter and definitely stronger, being double-walled.

Now to the freewheel. You're going to need a special tool to swap your old freewheel over. Maybe the guy you're buying the wheels from has one and will help you with that? If he's got a lot of bikes he probably does. Or you might consider shopping for a new freewheel with a larger big cog on on it, if hills are a concern. I've had very good luck on this with most of my bikes. Tons of decent cheap freewheels on eBay, and if you post a picture of your rear derailleur, we can give you a ballpark figure of how big a cog can fit under it. (There's a huge difference climbing hills between a 24-tooth cog and a 30.

Road Fan

It IS cheap, but that might just mean they are not built well and you should have a shop who knows wheelmaking re-tension and re-true them, with proper stress-relieveing.

PHT

If you havent done the deal yet, I'd say that's a pretty good deal. The price is slightly over dealer cost when you consider shipping on them. These arent the best alloy wheels in the world but you will notice a difference from what you have. This set is NOT built with double-wall rims though.

As with any new machine-built wheelset you will need to adjust the bearings and check the spokes.

You might be able to find a donor bike for the price with a nicer set, or at least a period-correct set.

Bill Kapaun

You can't really buy the individual parts for $65.
I bought a 26" front wheel with the 519 rim for a CL bike I intend to flip.

Caveats-
The spokes were 2-3mm shorter than they should have been.
Alternating spokes (each side) had proper tension. The ones in between had tension that was WAY LOW.
Bearings had a "film" of grease. Kind of like they were "sprayed" with a lube. They definitely needed more grease, along with being adjusted too tight.

John E

Aluminum rims are by far the best upgrade you can make to a lower-end basic 10-speed. (Been there ... done that ... made a huge difference on a Schwinn Varsity and on a Peugeot UO-8.) If you have not already done so, replace your brake pads with KoolStops.