I have this Lotus Excelle roadie in really good condition. But I am looking to resto/mod with some newer style 700c wheels. My question is. What about the cassette ? Do I have to get a new one for the newer wheels or will the original one work or what ? Im pretty lost in this area Im used to ss/fixie bikes.

Its a Shimano 600 EX, that's not a cassette ? I'm still learning the terminology I guess. I just want to make sure that I buy the right parts to convert correctly. I want a newer set of 700c wheels what else do I need to buy to make it work properly? (when it comes to the rear wheel cassette/freewheel setup?)

You'll need a freehub cassette and depending on the spacing of your frame in back it might only fit a 7 or 8 speed. Google Sheldon Brown's webpage about it: Freewheel or Cassette?

An 84 will likely fit an 8 speed so a standard 130mm rear wheel would work, but if your chain rubs the seat stay then you'll have to swap the existing freehub for a shorter one and use a 7 speed cassette. You'll only know for certain after you try. It's safest to use Shimano hubs because the old shorter freehub part is readily available if you have to go that route and it's compatible with modern shimano rear hubs and modern Shimano 7 speed cassettes. There's another shorter version of the Shimano freehub called the Uniglide and these are throw-aways. Your bike probably already has that. https://sheldonbrown.com/k7.html

Just to be clear, there are two versions of the Shimano hyperglide freehubs. One version is about 6mm shorter than the standard version. Both are interchangeable on modern Shimano rear hubs and Shimano still manufacturers cassettes for both. The shorter version uses a 7 speed cassette. The standard version uses 8/9/10 speed cassettes. To reuse your existing dérailleurs and friction shifters aim for an 8 speed setup. Failing that go for 7 speed.

A lot of 600EX were Uniglide, which is totally obsolete. Pull it off and you will know for sure.

I already answered the other question.

Need to give a lot more information on the wheels you plan to buy. You can still buy a freewheel style rear wheel. Or you can buy a free hub wheel (cassette). You can buy a freewheel wheel for a five speed freewheel, a 6 or 7 speed freewheel. You can buy a free hub wheel for a 6 or 7 speed cassette, or a 8/9/10 speed cassette. You can buy a road wheel with 126mm rear spacing, 130mm rear spacing, or 135mm rear spacing. You might even be able to find one with 120mm spacing.

Some of the cheaper new wheels are freewheel style.

To make it even more confusing, I recently bought a freewheel style rear wheel with 135mm spacing (very unusual).

LoL , like being busy at work and trying to figure this out at the same time wasn't confusing enough lol, I really appreciate the knowledge you guys are dropping on me though. I still havent picked a specific wheels set. I was browsing and wanted to know if there were any specifics before I bought anything to throw on this bike. All I already knew was I needed a 130mm rear wheel for sure. The rest was up in the air for me.

The beast....


Bout to take it on a 20mile Critical Mass ride today

Just a thought, why not just keep your 27 inch wheels intact? Sure a lot less hassle. Wheels look to be in great condition.

The bike is in very very good condition overall. Its just that I really love the newer style wheels plus I am very use to singlespeed/fixie type bikes. I might just go with a singlespeed conversion and run an Aerospoke wheel up front and a Mavic Ellipses in the rear. This bike I would like it to be my retro street bike, old school styling with some new schools stuff.

Some of the bikes I have already built and sold this past year...

Yeah, the old style 27" rims kinda suck in terms of advertising space. It's amazing that they were ever cool.

That's a beautiful vintage Lotus that's survived for 30 years. It's already cool just the way she sits. Why not just ride it as is and find some other candidate for your resto/mod . . .

Original Lotus bikes are hard to find.

Yea I might just keep i that way. But i do need new wheels at least because the rear wheel is done. Its bent or the spokes are bent or something.