brooklyn

whats the oldest wheelset that you ride on?

lotek 

I have a pair of Mavic Gel 330's that are probably 30 years old that
I ride often, most of my other wheels are vintage components that I
laced together within the last few years.

marty

pastorbobnlnh 

The wheels on my Collegiate are 40+ years old. Do they count? I still ride it!
The wheels I use on the trainer in the winter are 27 years old.
The ones I've been riding all summer until I broke a spoke last week, are 24 years new!

spider-man

I was riding the original BH/Dunlop wheels on my '59 Raleigh until the bike was caught in floodwaters last year.

tolfan

The front wheel on my 1975 continental is original so 31 years

apw55

I ride a 1967 Schwinn Racer that I believe has the original wheels and a Paris Sport that I bought new in 1972 that I know has the original wheels (Rigida rims, Normandy Hubs).

Regards,
Alan

brooklyn

Thanks for the feedback from everyone. I wasnt sure if wheels are one of those things that have a limited lifespan that should be changed. I have a tubular wheelset that i plan on using that are from the early 80's. It looks like i just need to repack the bearings an whipe off the spider webs. After that i am probably going to bring them into the shop and have them check to see if everything is straight and properly tensioned.

Wil Davis

I still have the original wheels which came with my Schwinn Super Sport back in 1981, and rode them until the end of last year. In the past 12 months I've been playing around with different hub/rim/spoke-pattern/gear combinations, and I currently have 3 sets which I've built up and have been riding this season.

It's nice to have the original equipment, but the new rims are of a better design, the hubs allow much greater flexibility when it comes to choice of cassette, and the modern cassettes with lands and sculpted teeth provide much better shifting even with down-tube friction shifters.

- Wil

wahoonc

I have a 34 year old Raleigh that still has the orginal steel rims on them. They need to be replaced but I can still ride them. I have a set of wheels that I put together in 1976 from old parts that are still ridealble. They have done an West-East Trans America and a North-South on the east coast. Then spent quite a few more years as wheels for training rides. They are Wolber 58 rims on Sansin? might be Sunshine hubs. They were put together in a hurry because I needed a set of wheels for the trans america tour when someone stole my fully loaded touring bike about a week before we were supposed to leave

Aaron

cyclotoine

I am riding lots of wheel sets from the early to mid 80s with no problems... overhaul and replace bearings and cones as necessary... then true them up... if you are really worried check the tension.

a77impala

My single speed has aroya aluminum rims that are not clinchers with sunshine high flange hubs marked 5345 and one has what appears to be an I and the the other a G? I picked them up at Yellowbike for $7.00 for the pair. Polished them up and they look great. Can anyone date the hubs for me, vintage-trek.com was no help.

USAZorro

I have a few sets that are over 30 years old.

crazyb

78 Campy, on my Paramount. 75 Rigida chrome knurled on a Motobecane.

spider-man

Now that I think about it, when my girlfriend and I visited my parents earlier this year, said girlfriend used my father's '52 Norman for our daily tours around Lake Maxinkuckee. The bike's back wheel is original, and the front is a period wheel installed after a crash in the mid-'50s.

reverborama

I've been riding on a couple of wheelsets from the 80's and I've had no problem -- and I'm about 225.

StokerPoker

am I gonna win this one? 54 years....from a 1952 Schwinn Traveler 3 speed... somebody has to ride on something older

repechage

My oldest is from 1975, built from an old 3pc. Campagnolo G.S. rear hub, when they were just OLD hubs, Airlite skewer, used Super Champ Professional rim and Union cad plated spokes. The rim was from a customer where I worked who switched to clinchers, the rim was cut out of its original wheel, I have ridden thousands of miles on this wheel, just can't kill it, the spokes are brown with rust, I will retire it soon, the front was basically the same but built with USED spokes and rim, finally was retired last year. It was the culprit of my first case of speed wobble on my favorite bike, so out it went.

The hub axle cone sets will be reused in some soon to be built G.S. High flange Campagnolo hubs that are now just mint looking shells, they just ooze STYLING.

top506

The rear wheel on my Atala was original to the bike, vintage of about '73.
I replaced it last month after snapping three spokes in two days.
Top
(who'll relace it this winter with high-speed low-drag DB spokes)

Tom Stormcrowe

1988 Arawa's on my Raleigh!

lyeinyoureye

The oldest may be 45 years, but I have no way to verify this. They're just old, steel, and I assume original.

Blue Order

One of the wheels on my 77 Motobecane is original; the other wheel replaced the damaged original sometime in the early 90s.

nlerner

I did 50 miles last weekend on my 1949 Raleigh Clubman with original wheels (Dunlop alloy EA1 rims). Unfortunately, the leather on the original B17 saddle on that bike split through at the nose a couple of miles into the ride.

Neal

silversmith

Sunshine was just a name used by Sansin. I've found Sansin hubs to be very smooth.

oldy57

My 1948 Rudge Aero Clubman has original EA1 rims. I ride it a few times a year. I just rode my 1934 Monarch Silver King. I also ride my 1956 Eatons Glider a lot. This year I rode my 1951 Rudge Sports and my 1952 Humber Sports.

John E

Circa 1981 Ofmega low flange hubs, unlabeled (Nisi?) 700C clincher rims, originally on the Bianchi, now on Capo #1, which unfortunately came without its original Campag. Record high flange hubs.

I am looking for a nice set of clincher rims to use with my very clean original 1960 Campag. Record high flange hubset, for Capo #2. I have the original tubular rims, but don't really trust them after 46 years, and I don't feel motivated to get back into restitching sewups.