Dear NG,

Is there any site where I can learn how to change the rims and the
gears of the rear side of my bike. I went to the bike shop asking for
a rear rim and they tell me I need to show them the bike because there
are different kind of rims. After doing so, they tell me that I don't
know how to change the rear rim anyway, so they will do everything for
me for a total of 70 euro (I don't know if Im being ripped off or
not.. but I havent paid that much for my bike since forever, I bought
the second hand bike itself for around 70 euros) .. I saved myself the
headache arguing to the shopkeeper that I can learn doing it myself.
Although I really want to do it myself (I dont care if it cost time
and effort, I am a do-it-yourself kind of person and I enjoy doing
it).

I think the rear rim would cost no more than 30 euros (and the
shopkeeper wants 50 euros for it actually...) . The shopkeeper tells
me that for changing the rim, I need a special tool that most people
dont have and he showed me something like a short cylinder that looked
like a nut.

To make the story short, I had like to learn
1. How to change the rims of both the front and the rearside of a bike
2. How to change the rear and front gears of a 7x3 gear bike.

Would appreciate and help or suggestion..

Sincerely,
Jose Capco

PS: I live in a very small town and I think from now on, if I want to
buy an expensive part of a bike (like a frame or a rim .. anything
costing more than 20 euros) I would do it online. Is this a good idea?
There is only one bikeshop nearby where I live and sometimes I think
the prices are just too high.

On 9 Feb, 11:17, "Jose Capco" <cliomse...@kriocoucke.mailexpire.com>
wrote:
> Dear NG,
>
> Is there any site where I can learn how to change the rims and the
> gears of the rear side of my bike. I went to the bike shop asking for
> a rear rim and they tell me I need to show them the bike because there
> are different kind of rims. After doing so, they tell me that I don't
> know how to change the rear rim anyway, so they will do everything for
> me for a total of 70 euro (I don't know if Im being ripped off or
> not.. but I havent paid that much for my bike since forever, I bought
> the second hand bike itself for around 70 euros) .. I saved myself the
> headache arguing to the shopkeeper that I can learn doing it myself.
> Although I really want to do it myself (I dont care if it cost time
> and effort, I am a do-it-yourself kind of person and I enjoy doing
> it).
>
> I think the rear rim would cost no more than 30 euros (and the
> shopkeeper wants 50 euros for it actually...) . The shopkeeper tells
> me that for changing the rim, I need a special tool that most people
> dont have and he showed me something like a short cylinder that looked
> like a nut.
>
> To make the story short, I had like to learn
> 1. How to change the rims of both the front and the rearside of a bike
> 2. How to change the rear and front gears of a 7x3 gear bike.
>
> Would appreciate and help or suggestion..
>
> Sincerely,
> Jose Capco
>
> PS: I live in a very small town and I think from now on, if I want to
> buy an expensive part of a bike (like a frame or a rim .. anything
> costing more than 20 euros) I would do it online. Is this a good idea?
> There is only one bikeshop nearby where I live and sometimes I think
> the prices are just too high.

The tool he had was probably a cassette or freewheel lockring remover
to remove the 7 speed block from the wheel. One of the tools would
cost you prob less than 10 euros. There's a great online book on
wheelbuilding but it costs £8 GBP http://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php
but you would need other tools & a some time & patience if you've not
done it before. You need a spoke nipple key but these are very cheap
- apart from that you need a wheel trueing stand which would cost
probably 50 euro+ or you could make one from wood if you follow the
instuctions in the ebook.

On Feb 9, 1:12 pm, "al77" <alkenyo...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> The tool he had was probably a cassette or freewheel lockring remover
> to remove the 7 speed block from the wheel. One of the tools would
> cost you prob less than 10 euros. There's a great online book on
> wheelbuilding but it costs £8 GBPhttp://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php
> but you would need other tools & a some time & patience if you've not
> done it before. You need a spoke nipple key but these are very cheap
> - apart from that you need a wheel trueing stand which would cost
> probably 50 euro+ or you could make one from wood if you follow the
> instuctions in the ebook.

Well, I don't think I will want to build a whole wheel. I just want to
replace the wheel. I think I caused some misunderstanding when I said
I want to change the rim.. the rim is in pulps now, but I suppose it
will still save time and effort if I just buy a whole wheel and
replace it and thats the 70 euros Im paying for (wheel=50 euros and
service charge=20 euros). I dont have a professional bike, so I dont
think making my own wheel is a great idea now. Although I think the
book you suggest would be an interesting read. Maybe http://
www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html will give me half the information
of whats in that book anyway, so I'll start reading that

On 9 Feb, 12:36, "Jose Capco" <cliomse...@kriocoucke.mailexpire.com>
wrote:
> On Feb 9, 1:12 pm, "al77" <alkenyo...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > The tool he had was probably a cassette or freewheel lockring remover
> > to remove the 7 speed block from the wheel. One of the tools would
> > cost you prob less than 10 euros. There's a great online book on
> > wheelbuilding but it costs £8 GBPhttp://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php
> > but you would need other tools & a some time & patience if you've not
> > done it before. You need a spoke nipple key but these are very cheap
> > - apart from that you need a wheel trueing stand which would cost
> > probably 50 euro+ or you could make one from wood if you follow the
> > instuctions in the ebook.
>
> Well, I don't think I will want to build a whole wheel. I just want to
> replace the wheel. I think I caused some misunderstanding when I said
> I want to change the rim.. the rim is in pulps now, but I suppose it
> will still save time and effort if I just buy a whole wheel and
> replace it and thats the 70 euros Im paying for (wheel=50 euros and
> service charge=20 euros). I dont have a professional bike, so I dont
> think making my own wheel is a great idea now. Although I think the
> book you suggest would be an interesting read. Maybe http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.htmlwill give me half the information
> of whats in that book anyway, so I'll start reading that

Hi again, Even if you want to just replace a rim it's really the same
as building a new wheel. You'll still have to remove the cassette &
spokes & would need something like a wheel truing stand to get the
spoke tension right again so that the wheel runs true.

You could probably find a new wheel cheaper than 70 euros online,
especially on ebay. But it may need some adjustment to the spoke
tension once you've ridden it for a little while. The bike shop would
likely do this for free if you buy from them, but not if you buy
online.

On Feb 9, 6:17 am, "Jose Capco" <cliomse...@kriocoucke.mailexpire.com>
wrote:
> Dear NG,
>
> Is there any site where I can learn how to change the rims and the
> gears of the rear side of my bike. I went to the bike shop asking for
> a rear rim and they tell me I need to show them the bike because there
> are different kind of rims. After doing so, they tell me that I don't
> know how to change the rear rim anyway, so they will do everything for
> me for a total of 70 euro (I don't know if Im being ripped off or
> not.. but I havent paid that much for my bike since forever, I bought
> the second hand bike itself for around 70 euros) .. I saved myself the
> headache arguing to the shopkeeper that I can learn doing it myself.
> Although I really want to do it myself (I dont care if it cost time
> and effort, I am a do-it-yourself kind of person and I enjoy doing
> it).
>
> I think the rear rim would cost no more than 30 euros (and the
> shopkeeper wants 50 euros for it actually...) . The shopkeeper tells
> me that for changing the rim, I need a special tool that most people
> dont have and he showed me something like a short cylinder that looked
> like a nut.
>
> To make the story short, I had like to learn
> 1. How to change the rims of both the front and the rearside of a bike
> 2. How to change the rear and front gears of a 7x3 gear bike.
>
> Would appreciate and help or suggestion..
>
> Sincerely,
> Jose Capco
>
> PS: I live in a very small town and I think from now on, if I want to
> buy an expensive part of a bike (like a frame or a rim .. anything
> costing more than 20 euros) I would do it online. Is this a good idea?
> There is only one bikeshop nearby where I live and sometimes I think
> the prices are just too high.

Hi there.

> 1. How to change the rims of both the front and the rearside of a bike

>From your other comments it seems you want to change the wheels and
not relace a wheel using a new rim.
If you have nutted wheels on your bike you will need a wrench of the
right size. just loosen the front wheel nuts until the wheel can be
removed. You may have to open the brakes so the tire will clear the
brake pads as it slips out.

To change the rear wheel if it has nuts you put the chain on the
smallest gear sprocket located next to the frame. You loosen the nuts
and slide the wheel out of the dropouts. You will need to pull the
rear derailleur back to allow the wheel to clear it.

If your wheel has quick releases all you need to do is pull the lever
on the quick release open and perhaps give it a couple of turns while
holding the nut on the opposite side. This should allow the wheel to
drop out.

> 2. How to change the rear and front gears of a 7x3 gear bike.
Now to swap the gear cluster. If it is a freehub your new wheel should
come with the freehub lready attached. You will need a special tool to
take off the ring that holds the gears (cogs) on the freehub. The
gears can then easily be put onto the new wheel. If your wheel uses a
freewheel you will need the proper tool to fit your particular make of
freewheel in order to take it off.

It might be easier and cheaper to get the bike shop to swap the old
gears onto the new wheel for you.

To change the front gears you either need to replace the chain rings
or the entire crankset depending on if your existing chainrings are
riveted to the crank or bolted. It also depends on how much you want
to spend. Replacing the cranks requires a crank extractor to pull off
the existing crank. Changing the chain rings requires a 5 mm Allen Key
and a inexpensive tool to hold the female part of the bolt while you
turn the male part with the Allen Key.

I hope this helps a bit.

Peter

Assuming all your spokes and nipples are OK it is fairly easy (but a bit tedious) to replace a rim. First you need to get hold of a replacement rim, same no of holes and one that's OK with the same length of spokes as you have. Then simply put the rims side-by-side and transfer one spoke at the time.
Sheldon Browns's site (which you apparently have discovered) will tell you a lot about trueing and such.