Road Cycling - Upgrading Wheelsets-your top 3 best buys vs. quality

Hi Everyone,
I thought I would continue the discussion about wheels since I am now going to upgrade my 20 year old Peugeot. (Lots of XC'ing with my G.Fisher, now I'm dusting off the old road bike for some reason...) Every store owner tells me 'buy a new bike' but my Peugeot Course is in great shape!
So now I'm considering getting a new wheelset just because the bike needs it. But I want big bang for my buck, high quality, intermediate price(not 'take you to the cleaners' price, as most places do on wheelsets)!!

I've seen these deals:

Mavic CXP-33's w/Ultegra 700C mentioned for $217.00 at Colorado Cyclist as mentioned below.

Formula Xero XR-1 700C road wheels $219/pair at Supergo.com.

Shimano Velocity Spartacus 700C $239/pair at Supergo.com

I will couple this with a new rear cassette (sprockets), any suggestions on wheelsets, and a cassette? Where to get it and price?

I'm figuring the total upgrade will cost around $350 with a Campi Chorus cassette.

X

What is the width or your rear dropouts. The current standard for road bikes is 130mm. With older bikes you can either cold-set (ie bend) the frame, or fit a hub with a shorter axle. Modern 8 to 10 speed systems dont fit well into narrower dropouts. My 126mm ones can take 7speeds on a freewheel, and my LBS says that 7speed freehubs are still available.

What gear lever/rear mech are you planning to use? Not everything is compatable.

Another question... what size are your wheels? There's a chance that a 20-yeart-old Peugeot has 27" wheels.

Really good questions guys, something I never thought about. The original wheelset I have is all French Wolber Gentleman 81 superchampion 700c wheels. I think that rules out the 27" wheels. Next is the width. I measured using a standard measuring tape and from the last gear to the end of the hub it's about 5" or 130mm approx. But I will definately ask these questions at A-1 cyclery, a shop run for 34 years in Indianapolis by a Dutch woman who knows bikes when I go to price some more wheels, but thank-you guys.

Any suggestions on the best buy for a modern wheelset, cassette vs. price and place to buy?

If it means I can't fit anything onto the frame, I guess the next step is buying a road bike, I see a discount price Scattante Italian bike Columbus aluminum/carbon frame, Ultegra race comp. with a Shimano wheelset for $1400 from Supergo.com. Any other good deals out there?

X

As it's a steel frame, you might ask the bike shop how much they would charge to cold-set the rear triangle to 130mm if it turns out that it's 126mm now. You can factor that into your decision on whether or not to buy a new bike.

Mavic Heliums, mint condition, via ebay $250

You guys are right. I talked to an expert at a local shop and yes, I have 6 gears on the back that make it 126mm, plus no one does 'cold-setting' here.
They mentioned bending the rear triangle wide enough for the 130mm hub/gear set but that does not sound good to me since the bottom of the bracket would sit at a strange angle rather than 90' degrees solidly on the hubs. <sigh>
I have 3 options: they use my old hubs and rebuild the wheels with rims and spokes for about $100 and old technology;I buy a whole new bike,(putting a new gearset with shifters and new wheels would cost $600+ !! ouch); or I grin and bare it with the old French rims and hope they hold out-spokes are tight and the rims are true. Can't complain I guess.
New bike prices-both $1300-Specialized Aluminum frame-carbon fork good components and wheels, and a Trek 2000 road bike same price. Not bad.
Tempting.
Thanks again,

X

If you want some new 126mm width hubs, you could go for Phil Woods*, or source some "Old New Stock". Any good big bike shop would have some gathering dust:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/hubs.html

and

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_sp-ss.html#spacing

All this fuss for nothing! My bike shop guy plopped a pair of 130mm width ultegra hubs, Mavic CXP-21 entry level wheelset, no problem. No forcing the rear triangle apart, no cold-setting.
The 4mm is not a problem whatsoever, the dropouts look perpendicular not at odd angles.
It cost me a $100 for a used set of wheels, tire and innertubes included. I threw in a new cassette and chain plus a new tape job to the handlebars. Total cost $175 and I have a new bike that I can cross train with. Lets see...triathelon next year here I come!!

X

I was going to say... bending the frame 4 mm, 2mm for each rear triangle is nothing.

Funny thing though, my old wheels were 27" big wheels, the new ones are 25" wheels.
I've got Onza italian clipless race pedals on that bike, probably worth more than the whole bike put together. But to buy the whole bike over again would have been cheaper than buying the parts. Overpriced parts, overpriced bikes, what is the world coming to??! I've also noticed(call me a late bloomer) that road bikes in general are far more expensive than mountain bikes if you compare part components,make, and composition, and you'd think that it would be the opposite or at least close to the same. With a mountain bike, it would last forever, in other words, they are very durable, but road bikes built for speed are fragile and have to be treated with kit gloves.

Now, once I get into roading again, I will hunt down a more expensive bike probably in the $1300 range, like a 'Motobicane' or something that rides very solid. My bike, as nice as it is is "gettin' old", steel frame and all<nashing teeth>, and today's bikers would probably never go with steel,only all aluminum, carbon fibre, gaaahh..
titanium...it's crazy but good I guess, if you've got the love and money for it all. And ride, ride, ride...

Best moment so far: Last 30 minutes of a 2 hour cross country tough trail, it pours rain, everyone previous is raiving about V-brakes being lighter, cheaper, better,'never consider discs', and they fail the test in the rain.
Myself, total control with Hayes disc brakes on my G.Fisher, finish the trail wet and totally satisfied, never falling once on slick muddy uphills and downhills, those discs passed the test!! How often does it rain on the trail,getting caught half way through, it's not like you are going to stop, we have weather reports?! 'Disc's are a $1000 overpriced upgrade' I've heard, and weight the bike down. I say 'you get used to it, and control is everything'.

X

That's not really true. MTB are just as expensive as road bikes.

Compare a Dura Ace road bike with a comparable XTR MTB and the price range for both are above $2K.

I find that both are equally expensive/cheap. and MTB don't really last any longer than road bikes and if anything, less. Expensive parts like the forks and rear shock always need replacing or maintainence. You break wheels, get flats and stress components much more on MTB than road so I think road bikes are alot cheaper in the long run.