slorollin

Hi all. I'm fairly new to the forum, been lurking for a while. Wasn't sure whether to post this in the 50+, the Clydesdale's or the Vintage bike section since I'm 55 YO, 6'1" and 350 lbs. and ride a 27" Puch Meteor Luxe that I bought new in 1981. The frame, crank set and gear cassette (Sun Tour) are original. I've changed the neck, handlebars, seat (wide), brakes, pedals, wheels (twice) and I've been through many tires. Mainly, I have it set up for comfort figuring that the longer I can stay on it the more benefit I can derive. I do all all of the work myself, learning as I go.
I still like to go fast when I can on level ground and downhill. Hopefully, one of you more experienced riders/DIYers can offer me some advice. I use steel wheels because of my weight. Are there any practical alternatives to those that will both fit my bike and support my weight? What about gearing? Also, I've been experiencing a little wobble in my crank (who isn't at my age?) and may be interested in a new crankset soon, but the choices are overwhelming to me. The biggest point of confusion is what will work on my bike and what won't. I would enjoy a "taller" 10th gear. The closest bike shop is 35 miles away and I don't have a lot of faith in their advice. They've had me running up and down the highway a couple of times for stupid stuff already.
Thanks in advance......

Peter_C

While I can't answer your questions, just want to say hello and welcome!

zoste

Welcome to the forum, and the addiction.

Get rid of the steel wheels. Aluminum wheels are just as strong and brakes work a LOT better on aluminum.

Your bike has a freewheel and gears instead of the more modern freehub and cassette. I'm not terribly familiar with the set up. You really should ask these questions in the vintage forum, and the mechanics forum; especially the question about you bottom bracket (where the cranks are)...and if you haven't done so yet, spend a little while checking out Sheldon Brown; there is a LOT of advice there much better than I have to offer

dscheidt

36 spoke alloy wheels, if they're properly built, will support 300 or 400 kilograms. There's no reason to have steel wheels; they were used on cheap bikes in the 70s and 80s because they were cheap. The Puch Meteor Luxe was a pretty low end bike; it was made in Taiwan (japan, a couple years) for Puch (part of Steyr-Daimler-Puch, better known for machine guns, tractors, buses, and off-road Pinzgauers). The good news about that is that it's a pretty standard bike, as far as parts go. Should have english threaded bottom bracket cups, which means that you can easily (and reasonably cheaply) get parts for it.

You can get a machine built 27" wheelset (both front and rear wheels) for ~150 or so. They'd need to be retensioned and adjusted by hand. Or you can get a set of wheels built, by hand, for somewhat more. (or you could build a set for more still (mostly because you'd probably have to buy tools).

As for gearing, what do you have now? (Tooth count would be great, but at least tell us how many chainrings (the ones attached to the crank), how many gears in the back, and where your shifters are. ) And what sort of bars does this bike have? I've seen them both with drops, and swept back upright bars.

slorollin

Thanks for the responses guys. My bike is a 10 speed 2 x 5, upright bars, shifters on the neck. As I recall, I paid around $250 with lights and kickstand in 1981. It seemed to me that it was 1 step up from their entry level model with a couple more above it that were much more expensive. Mainly, I bought it because it because of the big, heavy frame. It has held up well. I experimented with aluminum wheels around 15 yrs ago and was greatly disappointed. I beat the tar out of them. A lot of time and money was spent keeping them true. So, I switched to steel. Possibly, the new alloys are stronger than the ones I used 15 yrs ago? Couldn't a more "robust" crank set give me the extra speed I'm looking for? I'm planning to replace it soon. What sizes are applicable and what should I look for?

Thanks again