New wheels?
 

My road bike is a 80's Schwinn Super Le Tour.I really enoy riding it but I may need new wheels as the bearing races in the hubs may be badly scored.
It is a 6 speed freewheel. So is there a wheel out there that will work for me?
Thanks!

There's many options, it all comes down to how much do you want to spend?

At this point I am not sure. I would like to see what is available. I have looked at a few sites but as a nebie i am not sure I understand which wheel will accept the 6 speed wheelwheel.

It's a slippery slope, because if you get a new wheel, you can get more gears. I'd get the Velo Orange Grand Cru 126mm wheelset and a nice 7spd freewheel.

I have several 80s road bikes that I have changed the wheels. Let me tell you, the looks and the ride is worth the change.. It just so happens I am getting ready to change the wheels on my 86 Schwinn Prelude too..Most of the time I am getting my wheels off Ebay.. Running about $85 to $130 a set.. IMO, not only will your Le Tour ride better it will look better too.. ;)

BTW, I nailed 2 sets of wheels off CL too..

hey howard havent seen you posting in awhile (maybe i just miss your posts though) - still raleigh obsessed I see ;)

Curious that you wrote "may be badly scored". What gives you that impression?

If you've had a look inside the hubs after disassembly and cleaning you'd most likely know one way or the other...

I spoke too soon. I take the wheel apart today and clean and inspect. While riding last night one guy mentioned that one of the ball bearings may have shead some of the plating when may cones loosened up. This happen a few times earlier this season.

Bearing balls aren't plated.

Clean and inspect the cups and cones of your hubs. If the cups aren't scored, pitted, they are still good. If the cones are pitted, you can try to buy replacements and overhaul the hubs. The bearing balls are quite inexpensive. You can buy high quality Grade 25 balls around $5/100 pieces. 1/4" for the rear, and 3/16" for the front.

the Super Le Tour from the mid 80s is a nice bike, Columbus Tenax tubing.
IIRC, the hubs are Maillard. With a reputation for soft cones.

If replacement wheels are inevitable, I'd go with a newer freehub wheelset with a 7 spd HG body, and a HG50 cassette.

I agree with cehowardGS. I have a bunch of late70's to late 80's bikes. The first thing I do is swap the wheels. I usually find a great set of vintage hubs on CL or eBay (shimano 600, vintage Dura Ace, Supurbe). I have a LBS in Dayton that will lace a set of Open Pro's to the hubs for a reasonable cost. The wheel builder there is a master. (I used to work in a LBS in the mid-80's and built wheels - never as talented as this individual!)

The ride is unbelievable.

BTW - the second thing I do is get rid of the center pulls and safety levers - opting instead for shimano 600 side pulls, or Supurbe side pulls. Lastly, I make sure the derailleurs are quality- shimano 600 or suntour ARX. I keep the original parts in case I sell the bike.

Have fun!

This old timer has been around! :beer:

Raleigh and Centurion obsessed would be more like it!! ;)