Bklyn

My 1981 Lotus Legend came to me in great shape. I rode it as a teenager for about a month, then it sat in my parents' basement for 25 years. But after six months of daily riding, I've started breaking spokes on the rear wheel. The wheel can no longer be perfectly trued. My LBS mechanic told me that the single-walled rims aren't in the best of shape; another mechanic told me that the spokes and nipples were rusty. Failure, they suggested, is imminent. I figured it would be a drag to replace the wheels, but if I have to spend the money....
And then it hit me: Can I even buy wheels for a 1981 Lotus? I've got a 6-speed cassette (I just learned this; assumed it was a freewheel). I don't have a metric ruler handy, but what measurements do I need to enable me to buy a set of replacement wheels? (And where can I get them at a reasonable price? Why did I think that going with a vintage bike was going to save me money??)

Bklyn

(apologies for the multiple posts.)

spider-man

I would rebuild with new rims and spokes. Reuse the hubs, but overhaul the bearings. Rinse. Repeat.

cuda2k

If the rim is a 700c, replacement rims are everythere. Though period correct looking ones, let alone NOS originals of the age are more rare. If the rim is 27" then there are a few options still out there for this size and can be found with some searching. spider-man has a good suggestion on reusing the hub, however I would pose the question if it would be possible to find a replacement cassette if the current one wears out. On the other hand 6speed (or 7 for that matter) freewheels are still easily found.

In any case - if you're having that much trouble with the wheel, something needs to be done about it before harm comes to you and your bike.

MKahrl

I'm willing to bet you have an early Shimano Uniglide cassette with 120mm frame dropout spacing. Cuda2k is right, cassettes for that hub are going to be rare but you might be able to find a few. And the one on the bike has many miles left on it especially if you keep the chain lubricated and use fenders (or stay inside when rain threatens).

Your other choices are replacing the wheel with a 5 speed freewheel for 120mm spacing which is preferred number of cogs for he-men cyclists. You could also go for an 8 speed rear cassette which will require having someone, or yourself, permanently reset the rear dropouts by spreading them.

The measurements you need are rim size and you can look at the tires and see if they have 27x 1 or 700 x 23 somewhere on them. The other distance to measure is between the rear dropouts.

You may want to write to Sheldon Brown directly to see if he thinks rebuilding the wheels is worth it.

Wil Davis

This is a duplicate of an answer to the same question in another thread:

If the rims and hubs are OK, you could rebuild with new spokes, using the same design. If you wanted to improve the choice for gearing, you could do what I did.

I recently built some new wheels for my Schwinn Super Sport - the old wheels were still OK, but I wanted something which would give me more choices for gearing. $30 for a pair of Shimano Ultegra 600 hubs from eBay; $60 for a pair of Mavic MA3 rims (LBS); ~$50 for the spokes (LBS). That was for two wheels, and I did the work myself (LBS charges ~$40 to build a wheel). I now have a rear wheel which will take Shimano HG cassettes. Even with the downtube friction shifters, the shifting is so much better with the newer cassettes.

I've used the old wheels and hubs to play around with different designs. They're UKAI and are quite dated (no eyelets, but the holes are offset), and are single-walled. I've noticed that the old rims are much easier to bend when stress-relieving than are the Mavics which being of a much newer design (double-walled) are stiffer.

- Wil

PS - I've ridden a couple of hundred miles on the new wheels, and have given them a tweak after the last ride. I'm very happy with the new set up, especially as I now have a much better selection of modern (read Shimano HG/UG) gears, which even with downtube friction shifters, shift so much smoother than the old straight-cut Suntour/Regina setup.

John E

I like Wil's suggestion, unless you insist on keeping the bike all-original (I have one of those in my stable). Stay with friction shifting (barcon or downtube), and you have all sorts of upgrade options.

Mariner Fan

That is a good idea. I replaced my hubs also but they were of a poor design (Mallard Helocomatic). The look is slightly different but the rewards of a much better wheelset more than make up for it. I put on Mavic Open Pro's with NOS Shimano 105 hubs built by my LBS.

peripatetic

Bklyn,

If you have 27" wheels and need replacements, I have a pair with a Shimano freehub (no cassette.) I've really been itching to part with them, so I'm really not looking for a profit off of them, it would just comfort me to know that they're going to a needy soul. I live in Brooklyn (I'm assuming you do, too), so PM me.

There are also shops (smaller ones, especially here in Williamsburg) around here with 27" wheels that are not too expensive. It's generally hard to save money on bikes in NYC at all, but PM me, because I've lost a lot of money and made a bunch of mistakes just for the purpose of learning how to do it here.

Bklyn

Excellent advice, thanks everybody. (And peripatetic, thanks for the offer, but the wheels are 700c.)

So just to be clear: I measured between the rear dropouts (eyeballing w/the rear wheel on) and I'm pretty sure that the frame spacing is 125 mm. I gather that's not a standard size anymore. So my only real option is to buy a new 700c rim and new spokes and lace them to the existing hubs. (The Shimano hubs seem to be decent. The bike's group is Shimano 600, which was the Ultegra of it's time, I'm told.) And for this I can expect to spend, what, $100 for a rear wheel built onto my hub? (And once the irreplacable cassette goes, I guess I convert the bike to a fixed gear or something.)
The fork spacing, by the way, seems to be 100 mm. That's standard today, right?

I appreciate the help so much.