AEsco48

on this bike....

mind you this is a temp bike i am riding....

i just started riding 2 months ago....mt father back in Colombia had a custom made AL bike...when we moved to the USA (i was 2 years old) he just sold it cheap...and bought this Schwinn to mess around with..he knew he was not going to be riding a lot with the new company and the flat south Florida roads did not really call his attention....

its an 1988 model, full 105...weighs 25lb....have no idea what wheels or hubs are on there....


(lol, my legs look so damn skinny in that pic)


So the question is...if i get a set of AC sprint 350....how much difference will i feel....the idea is to get these wheels between now and the time i get my real road bike (hopefully a Record equipped Litespeed Ultimate)....

or will these wheels be basically a waste.....i figure once i get my Litespeed i can sell the AC 350's (new bike will be campy so i understand they wont fit) and then put back the original wheels and use this bike as a rain day ride....

thanks guys

NJWheelBuilder

You'll feel some difference just because you'll drop a ton of weight from the bike. That said, that frame you're riding is still pretty heavy. Does that bike you're riding have a 130 mm drop out? If not, you'll have to have a shop cold set it to spread the rear drop out.
One neat thing about American Classic wheels, you can switch the freehub from Shimano to Campy. woohoo!
Also, American Classic's customer service is excellent!

AEsco48

what part do i measure to determine the drop out?

Jaco

You also might want to consider taking the $600 or so that you will spend on wheels and maybe checking ebay for a new bike in general. No offense to you or your bike, but an old, heavy frame with downtube shifters would be what I would upgrade before the wheelset.

sorebutt

you most likely will not feel much difference.. the difference in weight between a heavy wheel set (2kg) and a light set (1kg?) is "only" 2lbs, and in the scheme of things it wont make a big difference... This is a classic bike and it looks better with those wheels (My personal opinion). The measurement you need to take is the space between the rear dropouts. The newer cassettes (8/9/10sp) need a wider spacing (135mm). Since this is a steel bike, you will be able to "cold set" the rear spacing (any LBS could do it for you)...

AEsco48

the thing is it shifts well....a little vibration but its due to the wheels that are not round and true...they just cant be fixed....

i figure i can sell the wheels after...

i guess i could buy a Specialized Allez for $700 plus tax....and i know its going to ride better then my current bike...but i dont mind riding my Schwinn for say two months more as long as its smooth...and im sure any new wheel i get will be better then the current out of round wheels i have....i just figured i could sell the AC 350's later at a decent price due to the fact they are highly regarded wheels....


im 99.9% sure im not going to buy another bike before i get the litespeed....

maybe a less expensive set of wheels...what do you reccomend?...thx

AEsco48

is it 130 or 135mm

it originally had a 7 or 6 casset....and my LBS was able to put in a 10sp...the smallest gear is usable but the chain rubs against the frame....the tech did not spread the frame....he just moved the spacing all to one side and tuned the wheel to one side also....

Jaco

First off, it's important to note that wheels, or any part of your bike once ridden, tend to have pretty poor resale values. You might be able to get half or so of what you paid, but that's a big if. Unfortunately bike parts just don't resale very well.

As far as wheelsets go, there is the ever popular Mavic Open Pro's which would probably be fine for you. I would recommend spending a little more on a set of Campy Proton's. They can be found new for right around $400 (Wise Cycling Buys or Reporto Corse) and they are a "keeper." You could use them on your next bike, and sell whatever wheels come with it, or use them as trainers. The benefit of selling the wheels from your new bike is that they would be new, and you could sell them as such. Or, you could see if the shop where you're buying your bike from would keep the wheels and knock off a couple hundred bucks from the price of the bike.

AEsco48

If i get the campy protons for my current shimano bike can i then use it on the campy Litespeed?

Jaco

You'd have to get a new cassette body (Shimano at first, then Campy) or get a Campy casette body and one of the conversion cassettes that allow you to run a Shimano drive train on a Campy hub then switch to a Campy cassette when you're ready.

roadbuzz

If you're dreaming of a Litespeed, live with the wheels you have, or if you need new ones, get a pair of 32 spoke (butted) 3x, Mavic OPs with 105 or Ultegra hubs. And apply the $400+ difference to getting the Litespeed sooner. High end components are generally a lot cheaper when they come as part of a complete bike build-up. Save it for the maxed out deal on the Litespeed.

Regarding the 130mm drop-out question, if the rear cassette is 8, 9, or 10 speed, the drop-out spacing is 130mm, otherwise it is 126mm.

jitteringjr

So not true. This thing called Ebay is full of idiots willing to pay more than you paid new for used items. If you take the time to present it nicely with lots of pictures, the bidding wars will begin.

Jaco

From my experience top of the line stuff sells okay, but the mediocre stuff doesn't. Complete bikes also sell better than individuals parts. Again, that's my opinion though, and I know there will be people that don't agree.

EDIT:

I looked up some things on ebay. First, here is a link to the American Classic stuff that people are trying to sell. LINK As you can see there are many things that have no bids, and the things that are being bid on are much below their value. Also, if you do a search of completed auctions for the 350's, the average price is around $300-350 dollars, which is half of their suggested price, even if the auctioned wheels were virtually new.

StanSeven

Everyone has talked about the difference (or lack there of) from the reduced weight. You will notice a difference and that is from the deeper aero shape of the rims. I believe these are 24 mm which is an improvement over what you ride now. This will give you a top end increase when you are moving along relatively fast (say over 20 mph)

Serpico

aesco, thats a cool looking bike. I know nothing of schwinns, but I really like the look of some of them.

What shoes are those, are the cleats recessed. Looking for some mtb shoes for my singlespeed.

thanks

AEsco48

Yea it a MTB shoe...its actually the same shoe i used when i use to race MTB in 1996...went on ebay looking for a shoe and found the same one in my current size....im using my ONZA pedals from my MTB...yea recesed....need to get some speedpaly Zeros...

good shoe