what would be most cost effective?

mea00csf

Hello all, I'm looking for ideas on what would be best long term and most cost effective.

I have a Felt QX60 womens bike from about 2005. I used it to commute on when I first got it and did about 3k-4k miles on it. I then put it away for a few years, doing only occasional journeys (commute was 30miles each way during this time, too far for me!) I've now got it back out again and since November have been doing 40miles a week commute.

I noticed a really nasty loud knocking noise but couldn't find the source of it until tonight. That was when my rear wheel/freewheel assembly fell apart. Thing is, it's a 7 speed bike. The wheel was the type where the cassette had the freewheel as part of it (sorry, I don't know the technical terms for it!) It's definetly a new wheel required and I'll need a new front wheel soon as well as the hub is almost gone. I noticed it was not running smoothly, opened it up and the bit the bearings sit in was worn down completely.

Bearing in mind, the bike will be used day in, day out for 4 miles each way commute, is it worth fixing? Or should I start thinking it's new bike time? Is it going to be full of old tech that's going to be more and more difficult to repair and replace?

Any advice?

Anonymous

You can buy 7 speed cassettes nowadays for around 10-15 quid so replacement shouldn't be an issue.

I would suggest buying a new pair of wheels which are 11 speed compatibility (handbuilt, obviously ) for whatever budget you have and put a 7 speed cassette (it will need a spacer) then if the bike dies, you can transfer the wheels onto a new one. If you get reasonable wheels (Mavic open pro/105 hubs) they will last for years and almost certainly be better than any wheels you can buy on a stock bike.

The good thing about 7 speed is that generally the parts are cheaper, and harder wearing so will potentially last longer for commuting day in and out.

slowbike

coriordan wrote:

You can buy 7 speed cassettes nowadays for around 10-15 quid so replacement shouldn't be an issue.

I read it that the OP had 7 speed freewheel - rather than a 7 speed cassette - £20 for one off one of the well known online retailers - it screws on/off the hub.

However, if the OP was needing a new wheel as well then a cheapo wheelset and 7 speed cassette would make replacing the cassette cheaper in the future.

craker

coriordan wrote:

I would suggest buying a new pair of wheels which are 11 speed compatibility

Is that a good idea? A 7 speed wheel has dropout width of 126mm, the OP will have to stretch the stays to fit a 8/9/10 speed hub in.

You can get 7 speed freehub off ebay (to fit Shimano hubs) (at least I did a few months back) so if you get a 10 speed set of R500s for example (£70 and great value) and an extra £15 or so for the 7 speed freehub, + the cost of the cassette. You'll have to rebuild your rear axle to get it (opps - also need a new axle too).

Sorry if this sounds complex, a bike shop should be able to sort it for you.

Or you could just get a new bike.

Anonymous

I thought the wheels (with 7 speed screw on freewheel) were shot.

My suggestion was to buy new wheels, stick on a 7 speed cassette and away you go. If you were to buy nice wheels then these could be carried over to a new bike. Not sure about dropout widths.

Sorry if it wasn't worded very well.

mea00csf

Hi, thanks for the replies. Yes the back wheel is a gone to, with the front wheel bearings/bearing seat bit going as well.

After a bit of research, i have a freewheel with hub, NOT a freehub and cassette. My initial reaction was to try to replace wheel with 8/9/10 speed freehub wheel with cassette (or even 7speed freehub wheel with cassette) but i'm getting a bit confused with uniglide and hyperglide systems. If i'm on the old uniglide system, will that mean that i then also have to replace chain and chainset/cranks. If so, that's getting too expensive and would be new bike time!

The other option is I've found somewhere that i can get freewheel with front and back wheels for about £60. I'm guessing the wheels will be heavy (not really an issue), but i'm worried about whether they'll actually last any amount of time at all. They'll need to be ridden on pot-holed tracks everyday

Anonymous

I think someone up there said Shimano R500 (or 501) and a 7 speed cassette will be absolutely fine, and cost you around 90-100 quid top. I'm pretty certain that a 7 speed cassette will go onto a 10 speed freehub, it will just need a spacer to ensure it fits. Your LBS should be able to give you concrete advice on this.

I think the issue here is that the dropouts for the rear wheel may be too narrow. Again, it may be worth going to your LBS to check that the new wheels will fit the gap.

gbsahne001

you could also fit an 8 speed cassette onto the wheel and adjust the rear mech to only use the top or bottom 7, as the spacings are the same.

R500 from Merlin @ £65 + 8 speed cassette from CRC @ £12.99 = £78

craker

Just to bump this, I put a 10 speed back wheel in my 126mm dropout steel frame with no problems yesterday, didn't seem to be any harder than normal. So borrow a 10 speed wheel off someone and see if you can get it in the dropouts OK, if so do as everyone above as suggested, 7 or 8 speed cassette and spacers if necessary,