B
B.B.
Guest
I'll be moving in a month and my daily commute to work will stretch
from 1 mile to about 15, through some high traffic areas in Dallas,
Texas.
My rickety old bike (Fuji Espree, circa late 70's I've been told)
won't be up to the task, so it's overhaul time. But I'm on a budget, so
it's going to be a gradual overhaul. Looking to spend roughly $50-$100
per month for as long as necessary to complete the project. Big ticket
items just mean saving up a few months. I prefer as low cost as
practical, but without getting into cheap **** that performs poorly or
breaks often.
First, and most expensively, wheels. I have 27" steel wheels.
Assuming I don't care at all about weight and care most about sturdiness
and compatibility with as much hardware and as many tires as possible,
what's a logical replacement? 700c? Good sources of prebuilt wheels?
Cassette hubs vastly preferred. Ugly is good too. Cheaper/better to
build my own? Tire recommendations? I've always gone with whatever was
cheap since they typically fall victim to glass cuts or vandals before
they wear out.
I'm perfectly content with ten speeds, but that doesn't appear to be
a viable option unless I want to buy all of my parts at thrift stores
and accumulate extra frames. I don't. What number of speeds should I
aim for if I want the most parts availability? Internal hubs are out
for now because asking around locally they seem both rare and mysterious
to the bike store guys, plus a bit too spendy. It looks to me like
eight or nine are about even in price/availability with 8 being a little
bit cheaper on the average. Correct?
At what point will I need to replace the derailer? A Suntour
Accushift right now. Am I going to be limited by chain dimensions, gear
sizes, travel, or something else? Towards the end of this project I'd
like the option of brifters. I've had exactly zero experience with
brifters, so what aspects do I need to take into account right now so I
don't find myself screwed a few months down the road? I've heard
Shimano's aren't fixable, so they're out; what other makers are there?
Is it practical to stick a nine speed cassette in the back and just
one chainwheel in the front, (on a temporary basis) or would chain line
become a problem? I favor faster speeds anyway, so I was thinking I
could get away with just the large chainwheel even if chainline isn't
optimal in the low gears.
BTW, still looking for a good bike shop in the DFW area. If you know
of one, I'm all ears.
Thanks.
--
B.B. --I am not a goat! thegoat4 at airmail dot net
movies.crooksandliars.com/Countdown-Timeline-Katrina.mov
from 1 mile to about 15, through some high traffic areas in Dallas,
Texas.
My rickety old bike (Fuji Espree, circa late 70's I've been told)
won't be up to the task, so it's overhaul time. But I'm on a budget, so
it's going to be a gradual overhaul. Looking to spend roughly $50-$100
per month for as long as necessary to complete the project. Big ticket
items just mean saving up a few months. I prefer as low cost as
practical, but without getting into cheap **** that performs poorly or
breaks often.
First, and most expensively, wheels. I have 27" steel wheels.
Assuming I don't care at all about weight and care most about sturdiness
and compatibility with as much hardware and as many tires as possible,
what's a logical replacement? 700c? Good sources of prebuilt wheels?
Cassette hubs vastly preferred. Ugly is good too. Cheaper/better to
build my own? Tire recommendations? I've always gone with whatever was
cheap since they typically fall victim to glass cuts or vandals before
they wear out.
I'm perfectly content with ten speeds, but that doesn't appear to be
a viable option unless I want to buy all of my parts at thrift stores
and accumulate extra frames. I don't. What number of speeds should I
aim for if I want the most parts availability? Internal hubs are out
for now because asking around locally they seem both rare and mysterious
to the bike store guys, plus a bit too spendy. It looks to me like
eight or nine are about even in price/availability with 8 being a little
bit cheaper on the average. Correct?
At what point will I need to replace the derailer? A Suntour
Accushift right now. Am I going to be limited by chain dimensions, gear
sizes, travel, or something else? Towards the end of this project I'd
like the option of brifters. I've had exactly zero experience with
brifters, so what aspects do I need to take into account right now so I
don't find myself screwed a few months down the road? I've heard
Shimano's aren't fixable, so they're out; what other makers are there?
Is it practical to stick a nine speed cassette in the back and just
one chainwheel in the front, (on a temporary basis) or would chain line
become a problem? I favor faster speeds anyway, so I was thinking I
could get away with just the large chainwheel even if chainline isn't
optimal in the low gears.
BTW, still looking for a good bike shop in the DFW area. If you know
of one, I'm all ears.
Thanks.
--
B.B. --I am not a goat! thegoat4 at airmail dot net
movies.crooksandliars.com/Countdown-Timeline-Katrina.mov