700c
 

I have a 1985 schwinn world 10 speed I was thinking about upgrading to 700c wheels I ride about 20 miles a day commuting also have done some short tours on this bike. Can anyone recommend a good wheel set that would hold up well and fit this bike?

The rims on the '85 World are 27" alloy Weinmanns, so I'm not sure it would be worth the investment to upgrade to 700c. If the bike is stock, the brakes are Chang Star sidepulls. A 700c rim has a BSD radius 4mm less than your current 27" rims (622mm diameter for 700c, 630mm diameter for 27"), so you'll need to verify the pads can be lowered 4mm in the caliper slots for the brakes to work with 700c rims. The World is an entry level bike, so only you can decide if the expense and hassle is worthwhile. Probably the easiest route to 700c is to get your LBS to simply relace your current hubs to 700c rims like Mavic Open Pros or Sun CR18s.

relacing those cheap hubs would be a mistake. the world hubs are the least impressive i've seen. and the rear doesn't even have a hollow axle.

if there's a problem with the current wheelset, i'd probably do the least to get the bike back on the road, sell it, and look for a better used bike already complete with a 700c wheelset. it's not the wheels on the world that are holding it back, it's the frameset.

if you need your commuter to look cheap (like the world) for anti-theft reasons, there are plenty of better bikes ready for this task.

do upgrade the rear to a hollow axle with skewer; and do replace the steel bars with aluminum ones. put 1" tires on it, and ride it if it meets your needs.