Old bike refurb. Opinions please.

houndlegs

Afternoon all
Not sure if this is the right forum for this,but I'm after opinions more than how to actually fix something,so I opted for here rather than workshop.
I've recently acquired an old BSA,nothing fancy,just wanted something for a project for a while now.
Anyways, I've started the strip down,and the wheels are heavily corroded,I'm not sure if they can be saved.
Now,heres where I want you're opinions please.
If they can be saved,would you save them? They are old steel wheels and very heavy.
I'm torn between trying to stay with as much original as possible,or going for something newer and lighter,for ease of use,cos mrs houndlegs is going to be using it when it's finished,albeit only for a jaunt up and down the cycle track.
If they can be saved,they will need rechroming,and the front one will need a new hub. I'm hoping I can refurb the sturney archer hub on the back and reuse that.
So,original,fefurbed(if possible),or cheap new ones?

Cheers.

drlodge

I'd bin them, crikey steel went out with the arc, and its gonna cost you to get crap rims chromed so why do it? Either look on Ebay for replacements, or have some made up (NOS hubs, classic looking rims and d/b s/s spokes).

Monty Dog

Steel rims are awful, particularly poor braking in the wet. Rechroming is prohibitively expensive these days because of the environmental controls. Expect spokes are plated not stainless, so you'd want to replace them too - suggest you save yourself a pile of time and money by buying a suitable pair of modern, alloy-rim wheels.

houndlegs

Cheers guys
I guess I just wanted to stay as original as possible if I'm honest,perhaps it's best if I look into alternatives then.
Also,if chroming is that expensive,it might prohibit me getting all the other bits done,I may end up with just the frame at this rate lol.
I'll get some quotes for chroming the other bits and take it from there.

Many thanks

JamesB5446

Depending on the age of the bike the wheels might be a funny size and therefor a pain to get decent tyres for.

Another vote for the get new wheels option. There are a few different 'retro-look' alloy wheels out there.

My parents found an old (1930's, maybe?) Peugeot in the shed of the house they bought in France. I plan to bring it back (or get them to) to the UK and fix it up.

rolf_f

For a jaunt up and down cycle tracks, steel rims are fine. I had some on my Raleigh Record Ace Ebay purchase and covered a few hundred miles with them before I sourced some correct alloy replacements. TBH, the main hassle at that time with the braking was the dodgy ancient pads that left granules of rubber everywhere!

Anyway, thing is, on the flat, low speeds, in the dry with decent pads, steel rims are fine and you can get replacements on Ebay for not much money at all. Go over to Retrobikes forum and ask nicely and someone might even donate you some for karma. They'll certainly give good advice as to what to look for.

Crikey, there's some folk on here would be telling people with pre war rod braked bikes to go and put 2012 Ultegra on them! I once pushed an old Raleigh 3 speed with chrome rims up the Coal Road in Dentdale - I'm pretty sure I'd have still been pushing if it had had alloy wheels!

houndlegs

Cheers Rolf
I've just had a nosey at that retrobike site and signed up,seems like a wealth of info to be had on there. I'll have a good old read though it when I get a bit of time.
I'm not sure if they wil be a funny size or not,it's a 1975 bike if that helps,or at least that's the date code on the rear hub.
I started stripping the drivetrain and brakes this afternoon,bottom bracket is quite good condition really. Brakes are corroded to buggery tho, I think I'm going to enjoy this little project
Anyways thanks again everyone.