I do hope this is the correct forum for this question. Recently unpacked my Motobecane from its boat trip across the Pacific. Reassembled it and took it to a local Tokyo bike shop for air and a check to make sure I reassembled it correctly. I did. So,

I'm lookin' at the bike while he's lookin' at it and I'm thinkin' those wheels & spokes are really grundgy after 37 years. I was thinkin' that I might want to have the rims re-spoked with stainless spokes and while the wheels were disassembled I'd buff the heck outta the rims and the hubs. You remember the wide flange aluminum hubs....real nice.

I'm not looking to sell the bike, so I don't mind changing the spokes from the originals...but maybe I shouldn't...but they are crummy and I'm not sure what to do about them. And here in this apt, I don't have access to a shop area so anything I do must be safe. And too, there's my wife and the Cat. Ideas, suggestions please.

Whenever I rebuild a bike my pet hate is cleaning wheels, its time consuming and awkward. You won't get a better result than stripping them down and rebuilding with new spokes, and it makes cleaning the rim and hub so much easier.

If I'm not rebuilding a wheel I clean the spokes with some fine steel wool and a drop of oil on. Then a toothbrush and degreaser for cleaning the hard to get at areas like the hub and around the nipples on the rim. Then same again with a good metal polish.

The spokes were probably the galvanized straight gage of the period and it would be a very worthwhile upgrade to replace them. Good plan, Id say. Any chance you can post pics of your Motobecane?

I hate cleaning and polishing wheels with the spokes in place, if it is a good wheel from a C&V bike and it didn't come with SS spokes this is the best time to upgrade as it will be so much easier to clean and polish everything while it is apart. I have several wheels apart as we speak that I am doing this with, a set of Mavic Module E's that didn't have SS spokes and a cheap set of hubs. The rims were pretty dirty and had some minor pitting ( although the original decals are like new ) and there was rust on the eyelets but instead of trying to clean them up by hand I tried my buffing wheel which is working out better then expected. When I am done I am going to relace with SS spokes to a set of NOS Shimano XT MTB hubs I have and return them to my Bianchi Touring bike that they came off.

Cleaning wheels is a pain, but can be accomplished in about an hour, per wheel. Remove the heavy debris with soap and water. Clean the rims, if chrome plated, by rubbing them with aluminum foil, then a coat of wax (do not wax the braking surfaces).

Hubs can be cleaned with a soft brass wire brush, and/or plastic scouring pads that you use to do dishes. Spokes can benefit from the brass brush treatment around nipples and bends, but the shaft of the spoke is best cleaned with the previously mentioned aluminum foil.

Hope that is a help.

Thank you all for the great advice on the wheels. I think I'll wait a bit longer than go for a re-spoke. Frankly, I haven't closely examined the rims but I will now. I like the idea of polishing the rims and hubs on a buffer. Used to help a Jeweler friend get his stock ready for display and although it can be a dirty job it produces very satisfying results. The trick is using more than one compound...anyway, if I do buff up the hubs to a bright finish, would it be better to clear-coat them with a lacquer spray, or not? As for some pics, I'll post some soon. Thanx again.

try steel wool for the spokes and rubbing/polishing compound for the rims... steel wool for the spokes ... is simple not very messy.. just takes elbow grease