hawkijohn

My son (13) has really gotten into wrenching on bikes so I'm trying to foster that. He's going to have to wait until Christmas for that new set of tools and work stand but until then he's tearing down and re-assembling his bikes and I did pick up a $15 Schwinn World 10 speed as a restoration project. Didn't take him long to have it stripped down. First order for him will be to find a replacement rear wheel, which is badly bent and has a few broken spokes. I'm looking for advice on a replacement. Should we consider a 700c instead of the stock 27"? Will we need to find another with a 5 cog for the deraileur to work properly? If we replace the rear with a 700 would it make sense to do the same with the front to be matched? Other suggestions on the project? TNX!

DieselDan

Stick with a 27" wheel, as a 700c needs a different brake that you may have trouble finding. A new 5-speed freewheel can be found at www.loosescrews.com and several other places.

dave80909

That is fantastic !!

I got a 13 yo son just going nuts on it too..
I started a project of fixing donated bikes for the poor. I have
about 30 bikes in various stages of completness. Today He and his friend got
4 of the BMX bikes fixed and helped me on others. It's a great thing that he
and i can do together, and learn all about bike service too.

Are you and your son going to build the wheel yourselves ?? or get a complete one ??
And how tall is that kid ?? 27" seems big for a 13 yo.

dck

If you really want to get him going, buy a new rim and a bunch of spokes and have him relace the rear hub.

operator

Nonsense, long reach modern calipers are available everywhere. http://www.triathlete.com/store/product.php?id=22354

I'd pickup a 700c rear wheel just to be able to easily use newer cassettes and for ease of removal. Running a 27" front and 700c rear also will not create any problems.

FlatFender

yeah, go for the 700C, Good 27" tires are hard to come by anymore.

masiman

Both arguments are valid on the 27" vs 700c. You may or may not need to get new calipers as your existing ones may be able to reach. The ISO sizes for these rims are 630mm and 622mm, respectively. That is about 1/3 of an inch difference with the 700c being smaller.

27" tires are harder to find. You don't have to worry about tubes as they are pretty much interchangeable.

I have never ridden with mixed rim sizes so I don't know if you would notice it but I would think not unless you are an extremely serious cyclist.

That is awesome your kids are wrenching, hawki and dave.

hawkijohn

It does appear the calipers can be adjusted down far enough. I'll have him try one of our other bike's wheels first to check that before buying. Will we need to stick with a 5 cog cassette???

Little Darwin

At 13 your son should be scouring dumps, garbage cans etc on his own. He should be asking friends if they have any unused bikes. I did some of that (with some help from others).

Don't limit his growth at this stage by having him only do the "right" thing. Let him figure out what needs to be done and try it. He will discover that he can figure things out on his own, and also figure out what doesn't work. Be sure to let him know that safety is a significant concern, everything else is secondary, and open to experimentation.

Maybe what he needs most isn't a new wheel, maybe he needs a new rim, or maybe he needs to figure out how to straighten the one he has. Help him to see it as a challenge, not an obstacle. In a year or two he will know through experience when a part needs replacement instead of repair.

I just found out after over 30 years that one friend was impressed with what I could do on a bike starting with almost nothing... and have a bike that could keep up with the rest of the people on our casual rides. Give your son a good time with cycling, not just guidance about how the bke shops do it.

He will be dealing with the monotony of certain bike repairs soon enough if he goes in that direction as a job, for now let him spread his wings.

Let him figure out what size wheels might work, make him do measurements and figure out what to try...

Let him be a kid, for at least a few more years. Help him to be the next Sheldon Brown. The truth is that with your support he will probably become one of the many good mechanics in the field, but give him the chance to be a great mechanic.

AndrewP

A steel frame can be spread to accept a modern rear wheel, with the freehub instead of the freewheel. These put a lot lower strain on the rear axle and are easier to work with. Sheldon Brown's website tells you how.