Bicycle Mechanics - I got a Gunnar Sport frame. Now do I set it up as a 7 speed or a 9 speed?

Hi,
the original plan was to scavenge my old Fuji 7 speed for parts. The parts on the Fuji are in great shape. The crank is a Sugino XD with only a few miles on it.
The chain, rear gears, and rear der have plenty of life in them.
But.. I have an Ultegra triple crank in the cellar, and an Ultegra right hand brake/shifter. So I would need to get a chain, a left hand shifter, and front and rear derailleurs to make it a 9 speed. In both cases I need a cassette, I think. While the Fuji has 27 inch wheels, I have a wheel from a 8 speed hybrid I could use. It's nothing special. It's in a shed, and I will have to wade through some deep snow to get it. I don't remember if it takes the old screw on thingy or the newer cassette thingy.
I could swap the front wheel I have on my CD to the Sport on the days I use that. It's that or get some cheap Nasbar touring wheels. Anyway... as you can tell, I am trying to figure out what I should do. Want to hear something funny? The frame color is similar to a creamsicle, a pale orange. The B17 on my Fuji is green. Maybe I can dye the saddle. I hoped to paint the frame, but the money is simply not there for that this year.

What did you end up paying? Weren't you having "difficulty" arriving at a suitable price?

I paid $500. The price was kinda high, but I have never tried another frame that felt as right as this one does. And the new Gunnars are $875, and that wasn't an option. At least not this year.

Measure the distance between the rear dropouts. Your Gunnar dropouts are probably 130mm. The Fuji 7 wheel is probably 126mm and your hybrid wheel is probably 135mm. While it's possible to force fit a mismatching wheel into your frame, I wouldn't do it on a frame as nice as your Gunnar.

Hi,
and thanks. Yes, I checked the website, and the spacing is
130mm. I can see avoiding the 135mm, but you seem to be saying
the 7 speed would also be bad. Is that right? Velocity Glider touring wheels have a 132.5 mm spacing, would that be ok, and do you know if those wheels are any good?

I have a gunner sport frame too, and I like it, but after a long ride it does seem kinda stiff. I think if I get bigger tires I will like the ride better. The tires that I have on it are IRC 700 x 28c, but I got ripped off and they only measure 25 mm, so I am thinking of going with true 28s. The guy at the bike shop suggested Conti Gator 28s or Panaracer 32s. Be careful of the paint. The paint on mine if very fragile. The brakes are tricky. They need to be medium reach. Regular road caliper brakes are short reach. I have some Shimano R600; they work okay, but they were expensive, and they aren't that special. I think that Tektro has some medium reach brakes that are cheaper. I'd find out if the Tektro brakes work okay before shelling out the big dollars for the Shimano R600s. The rear spacing is definately 130mm; I think that is a bummer, but my wheels haven't broken yet, but they did need to be re-trued.

I don't have any experience with the Velocity glider touring wheels, but I do think that they aren't as high quality as other wheels by Velocity because they use single wall rims without eyelets. And, they might be too wide for road tires. The Velocity Dyad wheelset might be better if you can afford it; I think you can get it with 40 spoke rear and 36 front. Remember to specify 130mm spacing because they come in 135mm too.

Good luck with your build.

Hi,
the Gators are even stiffer than the IRC. I use the Rivendell tires, they have a nice ride.Btw, I run them under 100 lbs of pressure. I pump them up to 90 something, and then ride them for weeks until they're ridiculously soft.They're made by Panaracer.You could also try the Hutchinson Excel 28c. And if you think
the Sport is stiff, you should try my Carpe Diem. What do you use for wheels on your Gunnar?

My wheels are Mavic Open Pro with 105 hubs and 32 spokes. I know that I told the bike shop guy 36 for the back, but he built them up as 32 anyway, and I didn't get around to counting the spokes until I had the bike for a couple of months. They have held up surprisingly well. I had a pair of 32 spoke Open 4/600 wheels in the early nineties and they sucked, but these Open Pros are much better. Even though the wheels have held up, If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't let them talk me into using the racing wheels. These guys were racing oriented, and they talked me into a lighter wheelset than I originally wanted.

Thanks for the tip about the Gators and Rivs.

The Tektro 521 AG brakes, which will also work, run about $50 a pair.
To save some more money, you could always use a downtube shifter for the front derailleur. You'd still have to come up with a brake lever. Your bike shop might cut you a deal on some used ones.
You could drop down to the Tiagra level for shifter and save a few bucks too.
I don't think that wheels are a place to skimp. I'd rather have a good quality pair, even if they are used. I have a Gunnar Sport and put on some used 1st generation Ksyriums wheels on that I paid $200 for.

I have a Gunnar Sport. It came with a Shimano Ultegra 9 speed/triple. I like it a lot and don't have any complaints about it. (and I paid $650 for the complete bike)

You got a very good deal.