monkeyevil

Just picked up a nice Univega Nuovo locally for $40. Super nice bike, and I am excited to commute on a road bike instead of my MTB.

It's a 12 speed, with a friction shifter.

It's got a slight flat spot on the wheel, pretty cheap tires, and the freewheel has some slop in it. I take it this would be a good time to switch over to 700c's.

Some searching on here tells me that the swap to 700c will mean 8-speed if I buy new. And that is 130mm spacing. So if I spend the coin on a 700c wheelset, 8 speed cassette, tires, tubes, (possible derailleur), and cold setting my rear to 130mm I should be good to go? That makes my $40 bike closer to a $250 bike

SSRI

dont forget the drop bolts for the brakes( they might not reach the rims once you drop them to 700c)

Walter

Go to eBay. There's a seller who will sell you a 27" rear, Weinman rim, stainless steel spokes for ~35$. Tires are available and 700C tubes fit. I'd only go 700C if I had an extra set and I knew the brakes reached.

Keep your cheap bike cheap.

Walter

Here you go: https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=015

That auction is for a set, pretty sure they sell singles too.

Kabloink

It really depends on what wheel quality you want. You can still get basic Weinmann 700c alloy wheels for 5-6 speeds for about $30 each.

They have some at Bikepartsusa
https://www.bikepartsusa.com/cgi-bin/...gory=wheel-700

Your brakes may have enough reach as most of the brakes of that era were long reach brakes. Look at the pad adjustment slot and see if you have room left to move the pads down.

MKahrl

When you're out with friends do a quick front wheel swap with his 700c wheels and go ahead and adjust the pads to see if they'll work. Don't eyeball, actually move the pads. If you're almost there, less than half a millimeter, you can take a round file and elongate the slot a bit to get it there.

Thanks to the Fixed Gear crowd there is still a booming business in 27" tires still going, my LBS turns over their 27" stock every two weeks, and there are good tires available.

Friction shifters with a six speed freewheel (also still available) is also a good combination. Many of the denizens of this forum maintain finely tuned engines that like to operate in a narrow rpm range that need a great many closely spaced gears to keep at peak performance and efficiency but since you sound like an experienced cyclist I would guess you know how to pedal at different speeds and a six speed freewheel will work just fine.

monkeyevil

Well rode the bike this morning and it's a little too small to be comfortable for me. Should fit the fiance' if/when she decides to ride with me. Thanks for the info on the 27" wheels, I may just go ahead and order a rim and teach my self how to lace/true it. Upon riding the slop in the freewheel is not bad enough to demand a replacement. It's a cool bike, and I would like to keep it around.

Although just riding a road bike for the first time this morning got me totally hooked. I went down to the LBS and ordered a Felt Z90 in my size. I really wanted to spring for the Z70 because of the upgrade to 105 components, but I just couldn't spend the extra $300 just yet. I will ride the Soras ragged, then pick up some used 105 stuff on eBay in a few years for 1/2 the price.