BigPolishJimmy

Twas bound to happen, I was riding on borrowed time. The wheels were plain standard wheels made in the 80's, there was only so much they could offer to someone 265+- lbs

Last week at the club ride I thought I was loosing a wheel bearing, or perhaps it was brake squeak, but my wheels were squeaking the entire ride and robbing me of effort with increased resistance. I noticed after the ride that my front wheel had a dent, most likely from a pothole, but also it had some run-out that I tried to true up, but it was having none of it. I tried to squeeze the dent back in with some channel locks, but alas, the damage was done. I ended up switching wheels for yesterdays club ride but ran into trouble with my rear wheel too. Then I remembered I had felt it 'give' when I was htfu to catch up with the rest of the group. It was likely out-of true and I over-torqued it, suffice to say I did not ride last night because I couldn't pull the knock out of it before the start time.

These were just old steel wheels, and I do have another set in alloy that i was going to use on my new-to-me Nishiki, but I know those wheels--also from the early 80's--are also on borrowed time. It's time to invest in a buit-to-handle-my-weight wheelset.

So, what should I build? I'm good with just reusing my hubs if they're in good shape. I could go the 700c conversion, but really don't care if I don't. I'd be happy running the 27" Continentals I just bought but haven't mounted yet. Also I just got some nice silver-anodized brakes that would look fantastic on the Fuji, but I don't know that they'd have the reach for a 700c conversion. The area I ride is mostly flat, so I don't need the performance upgrade of more gear choices on a modern cassette, plus I'm nervous about spreading the drops on my frame. It's not easy to come by nice frames large enough to fit me.

Ok, any suggestions are most welcome. I'm concerned about strength, not weight or looks.

dscheidt

Assuming you've got 36 hole hubs (you probably do, but check, eh?), use your existing hubs, if the cups and cones are in good shape, if you want. Sun still sell the CR18 in 27". As far as I know, it's the only double wall rim available in 27". There are a bunch of cheap single wall rims, but if you're builidng a wheel, spend the extra ten or 15 bucks and buy the double wall rim.

Brando_T.

pfft, you don't do yourself credit, you're 265- lbs, not 265+