27" wheelset needed!
 

I got some nice 27x1.25 cross tires for my 1987 Schwiannt World Sport and subsequently wrecked my wheels riding trails too hard. Broke a couple spokes. I'm in need of some trail ready (double+walled, 36+h, properly built, etc) wheels in this size, as I already have tires and don't want to replace my incompatible calipers to go 700 as of yet. Considering going with a tandem wheelset as they seem more common to find in 27" and would likely hold up to my abuse. I just need something sturdy, I'm already riding a frame with high-tens stays so weight is no concern of mine (I'm an avg 185ish lb build so my weight is no concern either). Any info on where I can find such a thing? If so, what should I expect to pay? Everything I can find seems to be priced way above its value, especially considering this wheel size is obsolete.

Velomine is a nice place for wheel sets - especially for decent 27" freewheel stuff - I've bought 2-3 sets of wheels from them and have never touched them since i installed them.

Look at these - 27' Sun CR18 36 spoke

https://www.velomine.com/index.php?m...roducts_id=739

I'm not affiliated with this store, Just a happy customer of theirs.

Schwinn World's of that era had steel rims. Do you have steel rims [MENTION=543486]aaroninternet[/MENTION] ? If so, upgrading to a better, aluminum rim wheel set will be a big improvement. You may want to keep an eye on the width of the hub. I think yours will be 126mm. You could get wheels with wider hubs, which will require you to widen the space for the hub to fit. This is do-able on your bike.

A tandem wheelset will almost certainly not fit your bike. The rear spacing on your bike is likely 126mm, tandems of the era were 140 to 145mm.

eBay, FB marketplace, and if you have one your local co-op are all places to find a decent 27" wheelset.

$$ will vary a lot depending upon source, wheelset quality (hubs, rims, etc.). For example, I have a 27" wheelset with Specialized sealed bearing hubs and Ambrosio rims -- what I would regard as a fairly high-end 27" wheelset -- I'll be looking to sell those soonish for about $150, whereas we sold a set of Normandy hub Weinman rim wheels in decent ridable condition for $50 with tires at our local co-op a few weeks ago.

Thanks a ton for the recommendation, this is definitely the most promising listing I've seen for these rims. Will keep my eyes on velomine!~

1987 World Sport came stock with araya sp-30 alloy.

Being obsolete can sometimes mean that supply and demand pushes the price up, the real question is what you think a reasonable price really is. The Sun CR18 wheelset from velomine is spot on for what you want. The rim is a little heavy but a good sturdy rim I've used several times in the past with cartridge bearing hubs, these are built to last and the price is about as good as you get with a wheelset regardless of size or speeds. I could save money by building the same thing cheaper, recently built the exact same set in a different size, but only cause I can make the wheels, labor on the build if I had a shop do it would have pushed it well over the cost of this set.

That wheelset from velomine is at the top of my list along with an auction for a used set of 36h Mavic G40's laced to Campy record hubs at the moment. Whichever turns out to be less $$$ will probably be what I end up going with. Thanks for the insight!

Awesome.

At some point, we (I) would like to see a picture of your World Sport.

Every prebuilt 27 inch wheelset I've seen are all heavy lower end wheels with straight gauge spokes and cheaper hubs. I have an '86 Univega Nuovo Sport and this year I'm going to upgrade it to an Ultegra 6500 group w/ 9 speed downtube shifters. I'm going to order a wheelset from Pro Wheel Builder with Velocity Dyad 27in rims, DT Comp spokes and some modern 130 hubs. I've ordered wheels from them before and if they have the parts in stock the turnaround is like 3-4 weeks. You select each part you want and it will give you the total price, weight and estimated turnaround time and you can send them your own hubs to build up if desired.

They also have VO rims if you want to run wider tires, both come in a 36.

https://www.prowheelbuilder.com/rims/shopby/27in.html

I don't know about the '87 World Sport, but the '86 Giant built World Sport that I had was trivial to convert to 700c with the original brakes and a few minutes of effort.