I use Sun Rhyno-Lite rims, Deore LX Hubs, and 35mm Schwabe Marathons on my 1994 Trek 520 and they've served me very well. For what it's worth I recently upgraded the Groupset to Deore XT. I had 42 mm Continental Top Contact tires, but when I switched to the 35 mm Marathons, I noticed an improvement of about 8% off my previous times and about 2 mph faster avg speed on the 40-50 mile trips that I regularly do. I bought the bike new 22 years ago and I just keep rebuilding it every 5 years or so. After my last upgrade, the bike is in the best shape it's ever been in.

I'm with you on lighter wheels for lighter loads. Since you hike, you probably hear the debates about boots vs. running shoes, and heavy pack vs ultralight. I think bike wheels might have some analogs in those debates.

It's the space between the dropouts that you need to measure. That is to say, the inside width. A vernier caliper is by far the best tool, but you should be able to do it with a ruler. Not to put to fine a point on it, but your measurement skills are terrible. Work on it. You need accuracy to 1/32" at least, not 'around' 1/4" or whatever. Better to buy or borrow a better measuring device and measure in mm. If you aren't comfortable with it, take it to a bike shop and pay them to do it. Oh, and take the wheels off before you measure.

It's almost certainly 100mm in front (standard) and 135mm in back. However 1994 was a transitional time, and there is a very slight chance the rear hub is 130mm. (they made both 130 and 135)

So, if you buy from velomine, most in that size would be listed under 29'er wheels. (mountain bike 700c) Problem is these are mostly sold to MTB'ers, and these days that means disc brake hubs. You want regular quick release hubs. Rims will be a bit on the heavy side, but that's ok for touring.

Velomine's website is kind of screwed up right now, you might have to do a search and or email them. Or try Amazon, etc, one of the vendors that sells through amazon drop ships wheels from Velomine.

Speeds /Vitesses is just how many Cogs are stacked up on your rear wheel.. a hardware count.

gear ratios is Math .. Numbers.. tooth counts , how many times does your rear wheel turn for every time the crank goes around once .

and that multiplied by how big your wheel is.

like forty two is twice 21, so a 42 chain ring and a 21 rear cog 42:21=2:1 ratio wheel turns twice .. 26" wheel? ...

not good at multiplication or division, with a calculator ?

People wrote programs to do the heavy lifting for you, such as Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Gear Calculator

The range of gear ratios (i.e., the difference between the highest and lowest gears) determines the minimum and maximum speeds you can travel while pedaling at a reasonable cadence. A large range, such as found on a mountain bike with a triple crankset, will let you have gears suitable for climbing steep hills as well as ones suitable for high-speed downhills.

The number of speeds (or number of gears) determines how smoothly you can transition between different speeds -- if you had some hypothetical two-speed setup with a mountain-bike-like range, for example, your problem would be that the bike would be great at climbing a steep hill or speeding down a steep hill, but terrible at everything in between. In contrast, a 21-speed mountain bike (3x front * 7x rear gears) let you have a good gear for steep uphill, slightly-less-steep uphill, moderate uphill, gentle uphill, flat, slight downhill, etc.

Bikes have been getting more and more gears over the past few decades (they're up to 11 rear gears now, which combined with a triple crank would be 33 speeds). This IMO is mostly marketing-driven (Shimano wants you to "upgrade") but I suppose also has some benefits for racers who really care a lot about keeping the variation in their cadence to a minimum.

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For touring, I think 2x7 or 3x7 gearing is more than sufficient.

As far as wheels go, I think the rear wheel you already have is just fine and you should just get a front wheel of similar age and component style, as long as it's in good condition. It's your ridiculous handlbar/shifter combination that you need to worry about!

milofilo, I forgot to mention the handle bar situation! It just looks dangerous to me and I suggest you find a set of drop bars (road bike style). As with many other bicycle specs, there's a size requirement. The center section which is clamped by the stem must match the stem and the width of the handle bars should be about the distance between the two bony bumps atop your shoulders (somebody knows what the bones are called ).

Brad

Correct. I'm on the trail running shoes side of the debate (maybe because I'm also a trail runner), and a typical backpacking base weight (including shoes, trekking poles, everything but food and water) is ~18 pounds. Light, but not ultralight. My approach to bike touring also reflects this.

Acromion process. A very interesting bit of human anatomy. I'm surprised it doesn't break off more than it does. Google it if you like.

Oh!! don't go for more than 24 spokes!!!

Sorry folks couldn't pass the chance for a jab.
32 or 36 should do you well. You're probably not fat, nor carrying extra stuff.
You've got a solid inexpensive bicycle, match the wheels.
Save the 1K$ wheels for the 4K$ bicycle. If you ever decide to go there.

Why you must run wider tires on your road bike


I have heard some industry people saying the new normal on road bikes is actually tipping towards 28. That is racing gods, little fellas, superbly fit. And yet some in the touring crowd still thinks they are doing something cool running 28s. I run 35s, and that is probably a mistake.

3x7, is actually what is on the bike I have currently reduced to. I have one in build that will be 3x9, though I prefer 3x8. I think 3x8 is the sweet spot of lots of gears (particularly if you get a touring cassette), and rugged cheap components. 3x9 starts to get fussy and expensive, and it just gets sillier from there on, but nothing wrong with rich people's problems if you want them.

On the other side, Rohloff with solid 13 gears properly spaced, is highly regarded in some circles. Even with the overlaps you don't need 33 gears to match the 13 on Rohloff using a derailleur system. But the gearheads that praise Rohloff seem equally taken with high gear numbers or derailleur bikes.

What I prefer to avoid is getting new hubs designed around high gear cassettes, and then running say an 8 on them. Just makes for an necessarily stressed wheel.

Another thing I feel strongly about for myself is if I am running a lot of gears, I need a really great shift system so that I can shift like a squirrel on crack . No point in a million gears and tube shifters, needs to be something more modern if rolling that way on the gears.

Build a balanced system, then just forget about it.

I've been interested in this issue and have started changing slowly, 23 to 25 on my road tires. (One reason is tire life.) But...it'll be interesting to see if the wider tire idea catches on. So far, around here, (and there are a LOT of cyclists around here, some very serious climbers among them) I haven't seen much of a change to 28s. Like you say, "some industry people..." It'll be interesting to see what happens on the street. Comfort and rolling resistance might be at odds with overall weight at some point, for some cyclists, for instance. Fat bikes are still a niche--that's another interesting trend that will be interesting to watch. Thanks for the link.

Great advice in your post. I had to chuckle at this paragraph, because I just salvaged a very nice rear wheel with a 10-speed, and found out an 8 speed cassette fits it perfectly, no spacers, uses the same chain as my 7 speed. I'm thinking of using it with a friction shifter, since I don't have an indexed 8. I could get a 4.5 mm spacer and put my 7 speed cassette on, but I agree, that would be a little too "stressful."

It is a very light wheel so I won't use it touring (30 spokes; 10 radial NDS, 20 3-cross DS), but it sure feels nice as a sportier wheel around town. And it was free!

Hmm cool. That is a very compelling argument to me... Hiked CDT and 80% of PCT in zero drop shoes. Will look into gatorskins.

I really would check out a highly rated local bike shop, they can tell you a lot by looking at the bike.

The best option in my opinion would be to pay a good wheelbuilder (gotta be a few in Chicago) to rebuilt the rear wheel around a new rim unless that wheelbuilder checks your old wheel and says it's up to snuff for touring still. If it's the original wheel it might just need new bearings and grease as well a quick check to make sure the spokes aren't seized. If they are then I'd recommend a new wheel built around the existing hub. You can then match the rims of a prebuilt front wheel with stainless spokes; something like a sun CR18 rim would be a good choice. I toured on them and they are a great value. Sticking with the 7 speed hub that is on the bike makes for a stronger wheel and I agree also with the person that suggested a 13-34 cassette, it'll work well with your current crankset.

When you're at the local shop pick up some drop bars and get those shifters/brake levers back onto the kinds of bars they are made for, it'll also be more comfortable. It might also be worth changing the bottom bracket bearings to a cartridge unit if they need servicing, as well changing the cables and housing if anything feels sticky or is showing signs of wear or damage... hard to assess these things from a picture.

I highly recommend using the widest tires your frame will take, wider tires are more comfortable and tend to flat less since pinch flats are harder to get. I have moved away from schwalbe marathons and onto the more supple tires that are lighter and quicker, even for touring I don't mind fixing flat or two and I enjoy the increased speed and comfort that the wide supple tires bring. If you don't like fixing flats or want to avoid the hassle the marathon supremes are much nicer to ride that the standard marathons and not all that slow.

This maybe the best advice. There have been a lot of fine points expressed that can wait until the bike is a safe and dependable roller.

Case in point, my beater bike. It's a very high mileage touring bike that saw little maintenance or TLC. The rims look horrible, but after testing show to be sound enough for me to cancel the purchase another wheel set. A good mechanic can save money for you in the long run.

Brad

About 10 years I had a custom built touring bike built in "expedition grade". Steel, and heavy with racks made of steel aircraft-grade steel tubing. It has stood the test of time in 3 different tours across different parts of outback Australia.

The wheels are built using 48 spoke PW hubs and Rhyno-Lite rims. Very strong wheels and they have certainly survived several mis-adventures and stayed quite true - even 10 years later. Schwalbe Marathon tyres are good - but they must be inflated to 65 psi to keep them going....

i always had a backup plan and cash to deal with issues. fortunately they were minimal

Hey fellow thru hiker! Do you use the folding or wire bead version of gatorskins? Does it matter which I get?

From one hiker trash to another; I think the only reason to buy a folding tire is if you're going to carry a spare. Riding on high quality tires in a developed nation, I don't see the need. I use wire bead.

haha thanks!