The Lemon Fool

My mount for the last 32 years has been a second-hand Clements Falcon. It's a road bike, but I also ride on "dirt track" along canal paths, etc.

I'm not into racing or any of the competitive riding elements of cycling but just enjoy being out and about on a bicycle, getting some fresh air and a little exercise.

Is there any advantage in replacing the wheels? The current (original) set are a bit the worse for wear, a little out of true (I need to set the breaks a little wider at rest to accommodate the wheel passage) but still go round! Tyres are Marathons, as a decent compromise between performance and puncture resistance.

I read somewhere that old wheels can crack and suffer catastrophic failure, but should I worry?

Any suggestions as to what to replace them with (brand, model?) appreciated, or whether keep them and not worry.

For context, I reckon the bike is worth maybe £100 - £150 on a good day, but would cost me £1,200 - £1,500 to replace with something I liked.

TIA
VRD

See here for general info on changing to 700c wheels

https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?t=44074

I'd go with some like Shimano R500s, solid and reliable.

John

redsturgeon wrote:See here for general info on changing to 700c wheels

https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?t=44074

I'd go with some like Shimano R500s, solid and reliable.

John

Thanks for that. I'm hoping to just do a straight replacement, rather than a conversion: not against a conversion, but don't want to then have to faff with the breaks. Also, the rear fork is quite narrow, so the wider hub & cassette is going to be a problem unless I'm very lucky!

VRD

A 32 year old road bike is likely to have more than just wheel problems, especially if ridden along canal bikes and such.

I had a couple of old bikes, one of which the seat post sheared and another the handlebars snapped in two. Both times I came out unscathed thankfully.

Unless you want to make the investment in a new bike I'd stick with it personally.

GrandOiseau wrote:I had a couple of old bikes, one of which the seat post sheared and another the handlebars snapped in two. Both times I came out unscathed thankfully.

Great to see a thread that isn't about that corrupt racket known as "sport"!

I had a bike whose handlebars sheared right off under me. It was only about five or six years old! Fortunately no more damage to me than a couple of grazes.

Are there any signs you're aware of one should look out for?

GrandOiseau wrote:A 32 year old road bike is likely to have more than just wheel problems, especially if ridden along canal bikes and such.

I had a couple of old bikes, one of which the seat post sheared and another the handlebars snapped in two. Both times I came out unscathed thankfully.

Unless you want to make the investment in a new bike I'd stick with it personally.

I think the frame is OK (LBS has serviced it, replaced the bottom bracket and given it a thumbs up. I've changed the saddle and post in the last five years (nice new Brooks saddle).

It's a Reynolds 531 steel tube construction, so fairly robust by modern standards (vs Aluminium or carbon fibre).

I was hoping a fellow lemon might have some recommendations on replacement 27" wheels to make the ride a bit slicker: the current wheels are OK, but a bit bashed over the years!

UncleEbenezer wrote:

GrandOiseau wrote:I had a couple of old bikes, one of which the seat post sheared and another the handlebars snapped in two. Both times I came out unscathed thankfully.

Great to see a thread that isn't about that corrupt racket known as "sport"!

I had a bike whose handlebars sheared right off under me. It was only about five or six years old! Fortunately no more damage to me than a couple of grazes.

Are there any signs you're aware of one should look out for?

Unfortunately not. Sorry. Bikes are like cars - things just fail occasionally. In my case the bike was owned by my FiL for a number of years. And he's an hefty chap. So it could be that he overstressed them over time. But I am taking a punt with that theory.

vrdiver wrote:

GrandOiseau wrote:A 32 year old road bike is likely to have more than just wheel problems, especially if ridden along canal bikes and such.

I had a couple of old bikes, one of which the seat post sheared and another the handlebars snapped in two. Both times I came out unscathed thankfully.

Unless you want to make the investment in a new bike I'd stick with it personally.

I think the frame is OK (LBS has serviced it, replaced the bottom bracket and given it a thumbs up. I've changed the saddle and post in the last five years (nice new Brooks saddle).

It's a Reynolds 531 steel tube construction, so fairly robust by modern standards (vs Aluminium or carbon fibre).

I was hoping a fellow lemon might have some recommendations on replacement 27" wheels to make the ride a bit slicker: the current wheels are OK, but a bit bashed over the years!

Ah OK, if the LBS has had it then and you've done the maintenance definitely worth sticking with. I'd suggest two options 1) take it back to the LBS and aske their advice or 2) go on to the forum at BikeRadar which is much bike specific and very busy. TBH, I'd be inclined to go the first option. I don't think it would be straightforward to get the correct type, sizing, fitting all good for someone like yourself. I could be doing you a disservice of course

I would be tempted to splash out on a new bike. The sales are now starting, so some bargains around. For instance by Boardman Team Hybrid (700C 35mm tyres) bought 2 years ago is now about £600 in Halfords. Weighs only 10.4 kg. Despite my somewhat excessive weight (95 kg) the Mavic wheels are in perfect order.

vrdiver wrote:Is there any advantage in replacing the wheels? The current (original) set are a bit the worse for wear, a little out of true (I need to set the breaks a little wider at rest to accommodate the wheel passage) but still go round! Tyres are Marathons, as a decent compromise between performance and puncture resistance.

I read somewhere that old wheels can crack and suffer catastrophic failure, but should I worry?

Any suggestions as to what to replace them with (brand, model?) appreciated, or whether keep them and not worry.

Typically, the advantage of replacing the wheels would be to get modern rims which are lighter, more robust and brake better.

I looked into 27 x 1 1/4" inch wheels recently as my partner has a 10 speed Reynolds 531 mixte-framed Dawes Galaxy tourer which she is thinking of converting to single-speed - and, like you, I don't really fancy replacing the brakes (which would not reach low enough to work with 700c wheels).

It's pretty hard to buy a new 27 x 1 1/4" wheelset but you could get a pair built easily enough using something like these :

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/rims-tape/a ... r-36-hole/

If you replace the hubs and the freewheel / cassette as well as the rim and spokes I would guess you'd be looking at a total cost of £150+ and you may well feel that it's not worth it. But I like steel frames and I personally think that giving one a new lease of life in this way is perfectly justifiable. I had a pair of (700c) wheels made for my single-speed daily commuter in 2012 and they have been ridden thousands of miles since without going even slightly out of true despite being used on tow-paths and the pot-holed roads of inner London through that whole time. The builder in question was http://yogarup.com/wheels/index.php

Chris

GrandOiseau wrote:Ah OK, if the LBS has had it then and you've done the maintenance definitely worth sticking with. I'd suggest two options 1) take it back to the LBS and aske their advice or 2) go on to the forum at BikeRadar which is much bike specific and very busy. TBH, I'd be inclined to go the first option. I don't think it would be straightforward to get the correct type, sizing, fitting all good for someone like yourself. I could be doing you a disservice of course

Got me nailed to a tee! No disservice at all

Smautf wrote:like you, I don't really fancy replacing the brakes (which would not reach low enough to work with 700c wheels).

If you replace the hubs and the freewheel / cassette as well as the rim and spokes I would guess you'd be looking at a total cost of £150+ ...<snip>... I personally think that giving one a new lease of life in this way is perfectly justifiable. I had a pair of (700c) wheels made for my single-speed daily commuter in 2012 and they have been ridden thousands of miles since without going even slightly out of true despite being used on tow-paths and the pot-holed roads of inner London through that whole time. The builder in question was http://yogarup.com/wheels/index.php

Thanks for that. It gives me something to compare with when I talk to my LBS. He's good (IMHO) and doesn't pressure sell at all, but I wanted a view of something "sensible" bearing in mind that whilst I like the bike it's worth only about 10% of its potential replacement (£1500 - £1800 from Evans as a ball park for what I want, e.g a Pashley Pathfinder) so was debating whether to spend more on it than it's worth

Mind you, the Brooks saddle added 50% to the value of the bike, at least until I sat on it

VRD

vrdiver wrote:Thanks for that. It gives me something to compare with when I talk to my LBS. He's good (IMHO) and doesn't pressure sell at all, but I wanted a view of something "sensible" bearing in mind that whilst I like the bike it's worth only about 10% of its potential replacement (£1500 - £1800 from Evans as a ball park for what I want, e.g a Pashley Pathfinder) so was debating whether to spend more on it than it's worth

Mind you, the Brooks saddle added 50% to the value of the bike, at least until I sat on it

VRD

You might possibly be surprised about what it’s worth - there is an Ernie Clements Falcon up on eBay right now with Buy It Now price of £750.

Chris