KMC chains cost less than the others, and they seem good, too.

Thanks for the responses guys. Sadly I've been way too lazy to take the current wheels to the bike shop. I've been playing with the idea of finding some vintage Mavic, Ukai, Araya on craigslist at a decent price but it is not happening. I recently bought a nice brooks B17 saddle for the Lotus at a black friday special and definitely want to get it going on the road.

As for the newer wheels, let me see if I get this thing right. My gears are not indexed. The brake pads can be slid down to fit 700cs (at least on the front which I already tried). You mean I should just get a 10spd chain, put a 10 speed cassette on the RS80s and then just ride it like that? The bike would go from having "12speeds" to "20speeds"? The bike currently has suntour blue line components non indexed. I am even a little ashamed to say that I dont know the what size rings it has on the Sugino GT crank... Assuming 53-42 or 53-39.

Yes, you pretty much got the idea. Get a ruler that reads metric at the hardware store - General brand has a really convenient 6" one for less than $10. Measure how much farther down your rear brake shoes can be moved. If you have at least 4 mm, you can fit 700's without replacing the calipers.

To commute, you need a bike in good condition every day. Can you achieve that with older wheels? Only if you can resolve problems as they occur. If you start with a new or lightly used wheel or rim, your nightly issues are likely limited to light truing or routine adjustment or inspection, outside of slow leaks. If you start with used wheels that came cheap, all bets are off even on Ebay, unless you have the skills to assess condition.

And rims are critical to safety - you need to get to work, AND get home.

I'm not sure what you mean by "get a ... 10 speed cassette on the RS80s." Didn't you say those wheels have a 10 speed cassette (NOT freewheel!!)? If you need a cassette, that price goes into your conversion cost, though I don't know that price.

What do you mean, saying the RS-80s are carbon/aluminum? Carbon rims with aluminum hub? It does not strike me that carbon rims are suitable for a commuter, depending on road condition, but I don't own any so somebody else should chime in on that. I'm not against using racing gear, I commuted on tubulars in Chicago on 32-hole box-section rims many years ago. But aluminum rims fail by bending, and I'm not sure if carbon rims fail that way.

Re: 20 speeds, why not? If the chain is not too wide and the rear derailleur is set to traverse the whole width of the cassette, your old parts should handle it just fine. And the questions about chainring size - what's your concern? There is a chain length-setting issue which is not actually difficult but requires that you know how to find the correct number of links - it can be done by math or by test-fitting. As far as what gearing should you have for commuting, we can discuss that if you need to. Should decide on the gearing requirements before you cut the chain.

By the way, I would not expect local bike shops to readily get their minds around "will this work?" If one does, you have found a shop worth sticking with. The only way to answer that question for sure is to do it, find the problems, and solve them. Then you'll be the expert.

Awesome! The RS 80 wheels don't currently have a cassette but I can buy a "cheap" tiagra cassette and 10 speed chain. They are alum clinchers with carbon laminate for added stiffness and rigidity. They are actually 20 / 16 spoke count but they are durable. I put around 1,500 miles on them through tough roads and they are still good. I think that would be a good choice since in the event my chinese carbon clinchers fail I can always take the wheels of the lotus if it comes to an emergency.

I'll work on this tonight and come back with results if there are any.

Ok so I went to the bike shop next to my house and to my misfortune the mechanic was gone. However I did manage to get the bike running. I took the front wheel of my fiances hybrid which had alex 700c wheels with 700x31s and switched the tire for a 700c28 that they had for 15 dollars. It worked fine since there was enough space to move the brake pads down.

The rear wheel, one of the sales reps told me was ok. It has its little wobble as in being out of true but doesn't rub against anything. I'll take my time and figure out a home made truing stand to make it better. The non drive spokes are a little lose but the drive side spokes are ok. I am looking forward to going for a short ride on the bike and see how it does. I cleaned it up, put the brooks b17 saddle I got for it and made some fit adjustments. Very happy so far. Only 15 bucks spent.

Tomorrow I may have a surprise coming to the C&V community

Well done. You can use your bike as a truing stand. I do that often, when I'm not near my truing stand. While I love a good truing stand, it's one of the least important bike tools. Making one yourself is a good idea. Buying one is fine, too, but just don't think you absolutely need it.

Do take care of the wheel, though. Loose spokes are bad.

So you got the bike running. And how does it ride?!

The bike is fantastic! First time in my life riding with rat traps, with non indexed downtube shifters and the touring geometry had me wondering if it was a size small but turns out it is the exact same size as my panasonic just with a taller and shorter stem. Should I sell the Roubaix and buy 30 vintage bikes with the proceeds? I LOVE THESE BIKES!

Sell me the Roubaix. I love that model. I've ridden my sister in law's Roubaix a fair bit, pretty hard, and it's better than any of my bikes. But yeah, the old stuff is "neat," too.