Switchable Wheels?

[MilkyWhy]

I just bought a used schwinn and am starting to ride since I was a kid. Am
starting to notice a bunch of **** on this bike I bought. Lot of gears I never
use and other ****. A thought occurred to me,

Do all bicycles wheels (of same size) "switch"? Or is this idiot schwinn stuff
very proprietary and hard to match with other makes of bike? And, is there a
bike that lets you quickly switch out front and rear wheels? I'm thinking of
finding another (quick replacement, whole) wheel, in case I ever get a flat.
I'm lazy and can't see myself dicking around trying to fix a flat --if i could
just swap out the whole wheel.

 

[B i l l S o r n s o n]

MilkyWhy wrote:
> I just bought a used schwinn and am starting to ride since I was a
> kid. Am starting to notice a bunch of **** on this bike I bought. Lot
> of gears I never use and other ****. A thought occurred to me,
>
> Do all bicycles wheels (of same size) "switch"? Or is this idiot
> schwinn stuff very proprietary and hard to match with other makes of
> bike? And, is there a bike that lets you quickly switch out front and
> rear wheels? I'm thinking of finding another (quick replacement,
> whole) wheel, in case I ever get a flat. I'm lazy and can't see
> myself dicking around trying to fix a flat --if i could just swap out
> the whole wheel.

Sure. Just take the spare wheel -- BEND THE SPOKES APART -- and stick your
head in there. Then ride, with your spare wheel around your neck like a
bandana. (You don't even need a helmet this way, as the tire will bounce
and thus prevent your noggin from reaching the pavement and/or dirt.)

You'll have to do a bit of minor truing before using that spare wheel,
however, so carry a spoke wrench...and a hammer.

HTH,
--
BS (no, really)

 

[[email protected]]

What a great idea!!
Why didn't you suggest something like this to Red Cloud?

 

[B i l l S o r n s o n]

[email protected] wrote:
> What a great idea!!
> Why didn't you suggest something like this to Red Cloud?

Spokes can't get wide enough to accommodate his fat head.
--
"Sorry the world just does not work by your white penis ass."
-- Pungent Cloud

 

[[email protected]]

Milhouse - you are a DUMBASS.

App

 

[[email protected]]

Milhouse - you are a DUMBASS.

App

 

[Mike Kruger]

MilkyWhy wrote:
> I just bought a used schwinn and am starting to ride since
I was a
> kid. Am starting to notice a bunch of **** on this bike I
bought. Lot
> of gears I never use and other ****. A thought occurred to
me,
>
> Do all bicycles wheels (of same size) "switch"? Or is this
idiot
> schwinn stuff very proprietary and hard to match with
other makes of
> bike?

There are only a few sizes of bicycle wheels, so there are
many that can switch.
It depends on the wheel radius (26, 27, 700), on the hub
width and usually on the number of gear sprokets on the back
whether you can switch easily.

For example, I keep my studded tires on a separate wheel
set, so I can easily swap them on and off in the winter as
needed.

Old Schwinns had proprietary rims, so they needed different
tires. If your tire says something like "S5" or "S6" on it,
it's a proprietary Schwinn size. But you can swap it for a
"standard" size.

> And, is there a bike that lets you quickly switch out
front and
> rear wheels? I'm thinking of finding another (quick
replacement,
> whole) wheel, in case I ever get a flat. I'm lazy and
can't see
> myself dicking around trying to fix a flat --if i could
just swap out
> the whole wheel.

The main problem with flats is when you get one while you
are riding. This approach won't help while you are on a bike
ride, unless you want to tow a Burley trailer with spare
wheels.

If you aren't on the bike, but don't want to fix the flat,
take it to a bike shop and they will fix it for you. It's
been years since I've done this, but the cost was about $5
for the tube and $5 for labor.

By way of contrast, you will probably spend at least $60 for
a cheap wheel, tube and tire -- the back will be about $30
more because you will need a new gear cluster.

--
Mike Kruger
"So class, who can tell me how much of our genetic code we
share with
chimpanzees?" "Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh! I know, sir!"

 

[Fx199]

>Subject: Re: Switchable Wheels?
>From: "Mike Kruger" [email protected]
>Date: 12/11/2004 3:01 PM US Eastern Standard Time
>Message-id:

>Old Schwinns had proprietary rims, so they needed different
>tires. If your tire says something like "S5" or "S6" on it,
>it's a proprietary Schwinn size. But you can swap it for a
>"standard" size.

Yep, Schwinn tires are a unique size. They are a fractional size, not decimal.
Sheldon brown has all that info on his site.
www.sheldonbrown.com
Make sure you look at the tire for the s-6 or whatever is on there when you get
a new tire.

 

[Mike Kruger]

Mike Kruger wrote:
>
> Old Schwinns had proprietary rims, so they needed
different
> tires. If your tire says something like "S5" or "S6" on
it,
> it's a proprietary Schwinn size. But you can swap it for
a
> "standard" size.
>
The last sentence was ambiguous.
When I said "you can swap it" I meant you can swap out the
whole wheel for a wheel with a standard rim.

(The axles still need to be compatible unless the OP wants
to get into cold setting, and if he doesn't want to change
flats, he definitely doesn't want to cold set).

 

[Stephen Harding]

Mike Kruger wrote:

> There are only a few sizes of bicycle wheels, so there are
> many that can switch.
> It depends on the wheel radius (26, 27, 700), on the hub
> width and usually on the number of gear sprokets on the back
> whether you can switch easily.
>
> For example, I keep my studded tires on a separate wheel
> set, so I can easily swap them on and off in the winter as
> needed.

I used to do this, but I found the difference in wheel axle
spacing always caused problems. Ended up cobbing the second
rear wheel to the bike with spacers. Then braking always
behaved different or out of adjustment when wheels were
swapped.

I've now gone to a second MTB that is dedicated to wearing
studded knobbies. I'll merely switch the front wheel of
my primary winter mount between wide Avocet cross tire and
standard knobby if road conditions are somewhere between road
and studded tire performance.

Swapping the front wheel is really easy and doesn't have the
fit "complications" of a rear wheel. The two bike option is
very nice!


SMH