Bicycle Mechanics - Schwinn Sprint with pulse in rear

I recently picked up a Schwinn Sprint road bike. Overall it is in great shape. My problem is that I can feel a pulse in the rear wheel. It's like running over a really tiny bump over and over. I replaced the dry rotted tires and tubes, and I'm moving on to the other areas of the bike. Could this be in the hub? Is it something that I can fix? The bike looks like that it was owned by someone that liked the idea of riding more than doing it, so I would guess by the condition of tires, brakes, etc. that there was probably not more than 30 miles on it. I'm new to this forum and cycling in general, so if I say some silly things please excuse me.

~Jason

Sounds like the tire isn't seated properly. There is a line along the edge of the tire; when seated properly, it should be equidistant to the edge of the rim all the way around.

I did take a look at that. I do believe it's seated all the way around. It behaves the same with the new tires and tubes as it did with the ones that came on the bike when I got it. The tires would hold air when I got it, they just weren't very safe, so I replaced them. I didn't really notice the pulse when I first got it, and I think it developed since then. I've put about 20 miles on it and just really noticed it in the last couple.

Turn the bike upside down and spin the wheel. Apart from the tire being not seated properly the rim may be out of round. If its the rim, you will need a spoke wrench ($5), and check the Sheldon Brown or Park Tool websites.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/articles.html

http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/FAQindex.shtml