Need a good online source for bicycle wheels
 

My local dealer quoted me a pretty disgusting price for a new rear wheel for my bike and i have to believe there is a better way.

The bike is a Specialized Crossroads which is just for when we go camping or whatever. I got something in the spokes while riding and tore a few out and bent the wheel badly. I had it straightened as much as possible last year but it's never going to be right again.

The wheel says X-Rims Z1000 & ETRTO 622X19 700C and the hub says Shimano FH-RM30. I want to replace the whole wheel ready to mount if possible but will consider all options. Thanks guys.

How much did he tell you?

I was down this road last summer. Make sure you understand the terms: "cassette", "freewheel", "Schrader", and "Presta". In my case the bike was old enough to still be using a freewheel. Here's what I ordered from Niagara in July:

1 x Alex X101 Alloy Freewheel 7/8S QR 700C 36H Silver/Silver (50124) = $30.58
1 x Park FR Series Freewheel Removal Tools FR-1 For Shimano FW (52556) = $6.78
2 x Inline Boxed Tube 700 x 38/42C , Schrader (standard) Valve (51337) = $6.98
1 x Alex X101 36H Alloy QR 700C Silver/Silver Wheel Front (50128) = $27.18
2 x Cheng Shin C1437 Comfort Tire 700 x 38C Wire BSW (50624) = $9.98

I had been told that the rims would be drilled for Schrader valves, but after I got them I found out that they were drilled for Presta valves, so Niagara sent me the Presta tubes N/C, which was what the bike had originally anyway.

Good luck

I don't remember exactly as it was last year but I remember being really shocked as the bike itself isn't very costy.

Also be aware of number of gears the freewheel or cassette has and then try online at Bike Nashbar or Performance Cycle. These are the biggest warehouse type places, they have closeouts all the time. A crossbike doesn't need anything high end. Call them on the phone and ask!


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There are tons of places to get wheels online, and fairly cheap. I would definitely avoid a dealer in this regard unless they're dramatically marked down - which they sometimes can be.

1) Find out what sort of wheel you have. If it takes freewheel gears or a cassette, because one or the other may not work with your shifting mechanisms.

2) Go to roadbikereview.com, look in the classifieds, and see what they have. Or, do a Google search with your wheel's name and model in the search field, and see who's selling it.

3) Bicycle wheels are stupid expensive, particularly when a pair of moderately good road wheels can sometimes be more expensive than a set of Fuchs.

For decent stuff I'd had good success with Nashbar and Performance. It's a great time to upgrade to a lighter wheelset, great bang for the buck.

Cambria bike has some very good deals occasionally. Just bought a set of Eastons that were about 25% less than what I see USED ones going for on fee-bay.

I bought a set off E-bay and they were 1/2 the cost of a store. They were perfect.

I also bought my bike off E-bay. Huge savings. Bike works great.

Send us some Pix. Take a decent picture of the wheel on the bike, maybe a couple of close ups, one of the hub so we can see how it mounts to the dropouts, (nuts or a skewer) Take a shot from the back of bike, close up of the gear cluster, then, take the wheel off, remove the tire and measure the cross section of the rim. Armed with good information, there are plenty of riders on this forum who can guide you to exactly what you need, with a painless replacement process. Remember, if you don't replace it with something pretty close to what you have now, you could be worse off than just letting the bike shop sell you a new part. However, this is not rocket science, even though there are many options, bike parts are still fairly standard, at least when comparing apples to apples.

BTW, expect about anywhere from 60 to 100 bucks or so to have the shop re-lace a new rim onto your existing hub. . . . did they quote you a price or did they just want to sell you a whole new wheel. Shop around locally - you might find a price you like!

http://wheelworld.com/

http://www.universalcycles.com/

http://www.speedgoat.com/

http://www.cambriabike.com/

http://www.pricepoint.com/

just let me know if you need more...

Thanks guys, I may have a line on one but if not I have other options now. Thanks

what did they quote you???

a basic wheel these days could be @$40-50 in that size, if you can swap over your old cogs and tires. otherwise expect to spend up $100 to get some thing decent. more can be easily spent but not for your needs.

remember if you go mail order you have to take care of the labor to swap parts over yourself and any shipping and taxes.