used wheels

[Tek]

I'm super poor but I have fallen in love with cycling. I have a cyclocross bike but I don't think I am too hot on that sport (oh no... wannabe rodie?? )

Anyway, over the winter as I get cash here an there, I do want to upgrade some of my parts.

What do people think about buying wheels off ebay?

[kimba]

Well- I have to say- I'm the queen of Ebay.
I love Ebay. I could never have afforded my bikes if I didn't pick em up piece by piece on Ebay- fortunately I have a gearhead friend who puts em together for me.
If I bought them from my LBS- and yeah- I know- I do try and support my LBS in other ways...I just dropped a hundred bucks today on assorted clothing,shifters and grease...I'm buying some more clothing next pay...
my one bike would've been about 1100.00 Cdn... I paid about 450, including shipping fees.That's 9 speed, Deore LX all around,Rockshox Judy XC forks...

I've bought 3 wheelsets on Ebay. and 4 frames ...plus various components.. They all arrived in excellent condition. I saved a substantial amount. Hey- I just got one brand new never used wheelset for- get this! $5.00.
course, the shipping is 14 bucks- but still.
( In this case I got a second chance offer- the winning bidder paid 29 bucks for the same wheelset. I was just horsing around and put a 5 buck bid on it...didn't expect to win it)

So- I'm sold.
Just make sure you check their feedbacks...stick with a company that has sold a lot...or you could check out some of the online stores that advertise in the bike mags...depends on how highend you wanna be. I figure I'm pretty middle of the road, but it's fine for my purposes. I am in the midst of upgrading my other bike to XT.

You can get some pretty good deals...especially from places that buy up liquidation stock, and part out the components instead of selling the whole bike. Sometimes it might be last years model- but who cares? The stuff is new and unused.

I've also bought used stuff- and I've never had a bad deal. But check feedbacks- that's imperative. Go back in their history and see what other stuff they've sold as well...

HTH

Kimba

[kpc]

I know this sounds lame but how do you figure out the wheel size? I have an old Schwinn (1975) I am considering messing around with this winter.

[kimba]

Old Schwinn?
Probably too old to be a mountain bike... I remember those years...IIRC cruiser bikes had 28 inch wheels? Road bikes had 27 inch wheels.
so- if it's a road bike, (say old 10 speed) then a
current 700 road bike wheelset would work.
At least that's what my LBS said.

I'm thinking of refurbishing my hubby's old Fuji racebike ( circa 1978 i think) for Xmas for him.
But I am also thinking of just making him a new bike. I'm checking components now- I want at least midrange gear. Hey- I knew nothing about building mountain bikes when I built my first one- and I did okay!
(Deore LX, Avid brakes...)
But- I am looking at a yellow and black 7005 aluminum frame-my hubby's favourite colour is yellow- and this one is bright yellow with a black fork. It's double butted with a replaceable derailleur hanger...I was looking at another one that was Dedacaii (sp) aluminum.
And- after seeing the OCC Lance Armstrong bike- I was kinda thinkin'...
It was this last Tour De France that got my hubby thinking about road riding again. He won't racce, but still...so I was thinking of doing my own version of the OCC bike.
This frame comes without decals- so I was thinking to put LiveStrong in appropriate font along the downtube...it's yellow and black. It would work.
What do you think...

Kimba

[kpc]

Sounds VERY cool. Yellow is a happy and unusual color and it would certainly be a gift from the heart. And the fact that you can do all of this is even more cool.