Hi. Im converting a 1978 schwinn super le tour 12.2 to fixie. I dont care how heavy the bike is. It is the chromed out version. Its pretty sweet frame

I need to get a new wheelset for this bike. There seems to be hundreds of different rims and hubs to choose from. Can someone point me in the direction of the best wheelset I can get for 200-250$.

I've been looking on ebay and found some sweet carbon wheels for reasonable prices.

Velocity Deep V.

carbon wheels for 200? for a set?

sounds fishy. probably either chipped rev-x's or old tubular disks, possibly 650. most carbon is probably tubular, where tires will cost more than your bike.

get weinmann dp-18's if shopping new. if color doesn't matter go on craigslist and get some formulas to velocities for about the price of the weinmann's new. comparable rims

also bicyclewheelwarehouse has open pros to formulas for like 200. that's what i would get since they're lighter.

nono, he should definitly get some zipp carbon wheels for a 40lb gaspipe frame

'76-'78 Super LeTour 12.2 had chrome moly top and down tubes, it's not that bad of a frame. I like the chrome too.

I'd go with Sun CR-18 rims for that bike. They are very shiny like chrome and would match the frame.

Sun rims with Formula hubs can be had for $200 or so. 32 spoke count in 3 cross pattern. Durable and good looking.

I was thinking just the opposite. I'd go with all black wheels and components for that bike.

this is what I would do too.

^This. I don't even own a Schwinn, but it nags me that people lump them all in (except Paramounts) with the electroforged tanks. Then again, I prob shouldn't complain, since the better Schwinns are among the only decent deals I seem to find on old bikes anymore.

source on "carbon wheels for reasonable prices" ?

carbon wheels are for track racing, not urban riding.

Formula hubs are the best cheap hubs made, and weinmanns are heavy but durable and cheap.

To the jacka** talking smack about how much money I want to spend on my 42 lb army tank. If I wanted to spend $1500 on a wheelset what does it matter to you? If you noticed, my second sentence is, "I dont care how heavy my schwinn is" You sound like some punk kid or some old fart with a hair up his loose little butthole.

Anyways, super letour is a 12.2 kilo frame. =26 pounds. And whats more important than total mass is the total reciprocating mass (wheels, cranks, bottom brackets) So go learn some physics before you try to give someone advice.

To every single other poster on this thread. Thank you for the input. I've been debating either super shiny rims or black wheels. I like the velocity deep V's but cannot decide on a color. My condition is they must be high quality and very light. I dont need carbon but thought some of the wheels would look good on an all chrome super letour.

Some of the carbon wheels I've looked at on ebay where Rev-Xs in good condition for 450 a set. I'm only looking at clinchers.

But I will stray away from the carbon wheels for now since I have some advice from experienced persons.



ps. fluffhead. I like your name.

ps. Here is an actual photo of my bicycle before I ripped all the components and fenders off.



The chrome is in super good condition. Blinding.

your stem.

EDIT: nevermind, I'm assuming that this was fixed after the "I ripped the components off" part. But still.

Also I think those fenders look super-classy, I would've kept them.

Put those fenders back on this very minute young man! Ha ha. Honestly though, those fenders are tasty.

I'm just going to quote this for added emphasis.

Mini fenders don't really do much other than keep your seat a "little" drier and your headset a bit cleaner... pretty much worthless IMO.

You can find plenty of 27" chrome full fenders off of old Schwinns if you know where to look. Otherwise, pretty much any road fender could be fit on there.

Thanks for demanding i put the mini fenders back on. I probably will but need a wheelset before I move any further with this project. The picture of the bike is how it looked when I bought it. (yes i know the stem WAS backwards) it has since been removed.


I have a half dozen old schwinns sitting around. I could put full fenders on but I dont think I'd like how they would look. (plus they might add 50 more lbs to my already heavier than a tank bicycle... )


I am looking into getting some type of flatbars for this bike. I have a broken back, so I cannot be huunched over like a racer. I see a lot of fixies on here that look like you need to lean over pretty far. Can someone point me in the direction of what kind of handlebar/stem would work for me? I want a more upright seating position, similar to a Trek pilot or something.

So which is it?

edit: Okay, you're really worried about rotating mass. But seriously, crank and BB weight? There's negligible rotational inertia there.

An Open Pro wheelset will probably cut your rim weight by half or more. Carbon could get you another half, but that's diminishing returns.

Captaincool: I was just making the distinction in my post between total mass and reciprocating mass. I didn't say I want the lighest BB and cranks out there. I'm not even asking about those parts. I probablly wont replace either.

Wheels and hubs is what I'm concerned about.


I will look into Open pro wheelset. Thank you very much for the input.

I think this is the one a poster above was recommending: https://bicyclewheelwarehouse.com/ind...&productId=194

I thought BWW published weights, but I don't see it now. All of the parts are probably on the weight weenies site.

I think we are being trolled here.

Why am I being called a Troll because I am asking for advice for a light wheelset? I know any aluminum wheel will perform better than the steel wheels on the bike.

I joined this forum for help because I dont know a single thing about the 1000 different wheel combinations I can choose; the LBS suck for help.

acyl: that bike looks awesome! Please make it classy!
As for rotating mass, hub weight matters very little (radius from center to outside of hub is so small), if you want to have small rotational inertia, lighter rims will matter much more than lighter hubs.

please post pictures of your bike when it's complete w/ carbon wheels. it will be hilarious.