DrewSavage
Retro Guru
In the process of moving my 1987 Peugeot Tradition round to my girlfriend's house, I was riding at dusk without particularly good lights on a road I didn't know, which turned out to have quite substantial potholes in it... and I hit some of them too fast and too hard.
So the heavy old steel rims are quite substantially dented - I can still ride the bike, but comfortably for the 10 mile commute to work. I've done a bit of research and they're what seems to be a fairly obscure old French size - 650b, or 26 x 1½ - although it seems 650b wheels are gaining a following in mountain biking circles. Anyway, I've had problems getting tyres for it before.
What would you say was a cost-effective solution to get it back on the road? The annoying thing is that I'd just had it serviced and it was running beautifully.
I know the bike itself isn't worth much, and replacing wheels or rims may cost more than its worth, but the steel rims have been the worst thing about it - hardly any braking capability whatsoever in the rain - and I've idly considered upgrading them for ages.
Just for the improved braking really, although I assume it would help a bit to have lighter wheels, it's never going to be a lightweight. But it's a good, lugged frame with a nice comfortable ride and has got me to work reliably in various locations for a good 12 years now - and I always appreciate a Sturmey Archer in city traffic, and having the ability to surprise hipsters on fixies by casually leaving them standing at the traffic lights as I snick up seamlessly through the gears.
So does anyone know of any good cheap 650b rims out there on the market, or anyone that may have NOS wheels? And is this the kind of job that could be tackled by someone whose technical level of expertise currently amounts to being able to adjust brakes or raise a stem?
On another note, I'd bought a Shimano 600 mini groupset recently which came with two hubs, and I'd had half a mind to get some rims and try and build them up for the Raleigh tourer with a Reynolds 531 frame I got for £20 off eBay.
How hard is wheelbuilding? I suspect it might be beyond me, or sit in the shed as an unfinished project for far too long...
Would *really* appreciate any advice anyone has to offer - unless that advice is, scrap the Peugeot... I'm too attached to it to do that.
Cheers,
Drew
So the heavy old steel rims are quite substantially dented - I can still ride the bike, but comfortably for the 10 mile commute to work. I've done a bit of research and they're what seems to be a fairly obscure old French size - 650b, or 26 x 1½ - although it seems 650b wheels are gaining a following in mountain biking circles. Anyway, I've had problems getting tyres for it before.
What would you say was a cost-effective solution to get it back on the road? The annoying thing is that I'd just had it serviced and it was running beautifully.
I know the bike itself isn't worth much, and replacing wheels or rims may cost more than its worth, but the steel rims have been the worst thing about it - hardly any braking capability whatsoever in the rain - and I've idly considered upgrading them for ages.
Just for the improved braking really, although I assume it would help a bit to have lighter wheels, it's never going to be a lightweight. But it's a good, lugged frame with a nice comfortable ride and has got me to work reliably in various locations for a good 12 years now - and I always appreciate a Sturmey Archer in city traffic, and having the ability to surprise hipsters on fixies by casually leaving them standing at the traffic lights as I snick up seamlessly through the gears.
So does anyone know of any good cheap 650b rims out there on the market, or anyone that may have NOS wheels? And is this the kind of job that could be tackled by someone whose technical level of expertise currently amounts to being able to adjust brakes or raise a stem?
On another note, I'd bought a Shimano 600 mini groupset recently which came with two hubs, and I'd had half a mind to get some rims and try and build them up for the Raleigh tourer with a Reynolds 531 frame I got for £20 off eBay.
How hard is wheelbuilding? I suspect it might be beyond me, or sit in the shed as an unfinished project for far too long...
Would *really* appreciate any advice anyone has to offer - unless that advice is, scrap the Peugeot... I'm too attached to it to do that.
Cheers,
Drew