Any pointers for buying a new bike rim?

[Octa]

Originally Posted by PanTerra

Sarcasm? More benefit of the doubt than anything else. I just didn't know the direction you were going and was offering advice on both, either a rim or a wheel. I did discern a little conflict in your request, so I covered all bases and didn't want to assume either way. Probably the cheap was to go is to buy used, if $50 is more than you want to spend but that is a good price for a replacement wheel (new). As I wrote earlier, I just picked up a complete mtb wheelset for $35 used. Check Craigslist. For that price they are probably Sun rims (which are ok) and I would have no idea about the hub. Since you are getting a whole wheel, you don't need to worry about getting the same rim as your other wheel. Your old QR skewer will work fine if you don't get one with the new wheel.

Oh okay, sorry about that. And thanks, I didn't know I could re-use the QR skewer, I thought it was built into the wheel.

Originally Posted by ovcatto

Well I guess it all depends on what you ride and how you ride it.

Amazon has a 700x25 wheel for $23.78 that might serve you just fine for casual recreational riding or basic fitness. I have no idea what the "quality" of these wheels or the components that they use to build them, but when you consider that are millions of old cheapo bikes with even cheaper components that serve their owners on roads far worse than any us will ever have to contend these rims might be just fine. But on the other hand, if you are a hard charger riding in criteriums, time trials or who might from time to time find themselves flying down a road at 50+ mph I would make damn sure that I bought the best wheels that I could afford.

Thanks. I looked at those earlier and I'm considering them. The bike shops around me cater to the enthusiasts crowd and kind of look down on on people riding cheaper bikes. Some of the wheels I looked at cost more than my bike and I couldn't find any in my price range. I may check out one of the bike shops near me since they make wheels that come with a lifetime warranty and free truings.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by Octa

Oh okay, sorry about that. And thanks, I didn't know I could re-use the QR skewer, I thought it was built into the wheel.



Thanks. I looked at those earlier and I'm considering them. The bike shops around me cater to the enthusiasts crowd and kind of look down on on people riding cheaper bikes. Some of the wheels I looked at cost more than my bike and I couldn't find any in my price range. I may check out one of the bike shops near me since they make wheels that come with a lifetime warranty and free truings.

I give bikes to a non-profit that sends the bikes down to Mexico for kids that have never had one. That said, if I need parts I get them on Craigslist for cheap. People give away beater bikes all the time and many parts are standard across the years. Rims, brakes, etc. often take forever to upgrade technology.