Hello,

I recently bought a 1989 raleigh capri 12 speed off craigslist for an amazing price. My original goal was to just ride it and enjoy it then my rear derailleur broke so I decided to just turn it into a SS.

I first removed the front derailleur and shifters and chose a gearing. Then I put a new chain on and just decided to just use the stock crank and rear freewheel for right now. So basically, as of right now I am using the stock crank and the rear 6 speed freewheel. I also decided to try out a 53-16 gearing. After taking it out and running it for the first time today I decided 2 things.

1) I need to choose a lower gearing that works well for the occasional low grade hill, and long flats.

2) I need a rear wheel that was designed to be a SS and not just the original wheel with a 6 speed freewheel on it.

So basically, my questions are, what is a good gearing, and what is a better choice for a rear wheel? I would like the rear wheel to be 700c that can be both FG and SS.

I am also trying to keep the build as cheap as possible.