Beginner advice needed for cx. 10s This cycling thing is confusing, help please.

[blueschill]

Hey guys I have posted before but from last time I fell ill again and haven't managed to get on my bike yet.
I'm ex-military and after my cancer I got a bone disease and have had two hip replacements done so when they are all healed I want to start cycling for fitness more than anything.
I have been ill for so long I am very unfit!

I bought an Apollo 21" men's hybrid cx. 10s a couple of years ago for very cheap, I checked it the other day and somehow in storage the wheels have buckled and a spoke has snapped.
So first thing is getting some new wheels!

I haven't got a lot of money so getting a different bike or frame or brand new wheel is kinda out as I can only really spend around 40-50 quid max!
I know that'll be a stretch.

But my question is what do I buy!! I don't know what will fit and what won't, I know they are 700c wheels but am confused by things like the rear hub!
The bike I have came standard witha shimano 7 and 3 setup = 21 speed

I'm looking at wheels like these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380698375258?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

What's confusing me is how do I know that they will fit the width of the back and front slots, plus often wheels are advertised saying the hub will fit 5/6/7 or 7/8/9 cassettes.
The shimano cassette I have is 7 speed but if I bought a wheel that only took say 8/9/10 could I put an 8 cog cassette on my bike and would it still work normally?

I'm confused guys could you tell me what I'm looking for exactly please?

I can sail round the world fight pirates and save lives but I can't work out a frigin' bike for the life of me!!! Ha ha ha

Cheers.

Bob.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Hi Bob.

The first thing to check is the distance between the dropouts at the rear (The dropout is the bit of the frame that the wheel slots into. Drop the wheel out and measure the internal distance from one side of the frame to the other. This will tell you what width axle will fit in your frame (as measured over the lock nuts either side of the hub). Most manufacturers seem to be standardizing on 135mm now.

Your existing front wheel is likely to be the standard 100mm, but you can drop it out and measure between the forks to be sure.

The other thing to take into account is the type of hub. The sort you are likely to currently have is threaded for a screw on freewheel (the 5/6/7 speed type mentioned). The other type is the more modern freehub (the 8/9/10 speed type), where the freewheel is built into the hub and takes a cassette. Sheldon Brown explains the differences in more detail here.

If the dropouts are 135mm at the rear you could fit a wheel with either type hub. If you want to get the freehub type wheel you can fit a 7 speed cassette but will need a spacer for it to fit on the 8 speed hub.

I hope that makes some kind of sense and is of use.

 

[blueschill]

Hello Phil,

Thank you very much that's exactly what I needed to know!!
And with the Sheldon brown article it's all become clear now ha ha ha

Hopefully I'll get my bike fixed up soon and get on the road!
I can't wait to be able to exercise again, I know my bike isn't anywhere near what most cyclists use but for now it will provide me with the exercise I need and the stepping stone to a better, lighter, faster ride.

Gotta start somewhere!

Again cheers for that.
Bob

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Hello Phil,

Thank you very much that's exactly what I needed to know!!
And with the Sheldon brown article it's all become clear now ha ha ha

Hopefully I'll get my bike fixed up soon and get on the road!
I can't wait to be able to exercise again, I know my bike isn't anywhere near what most cyclists use but for now it will provide me with the exercise I need and the stepping stone to a better, lighter, faster ride.

Gotta start somewhere!

Again cheers for that.
Bob

Don't worry what others have, I ride a cheap Viking (mind you it has had quite a bit spent in relative terms, on it, like you I have limited means), and I approach people riding bikes 10x the cost, (though there are always others quicker), cycling is not so much about what you ride, but that you ride.

 

[blueschill]

So I finally got some wheels, I was looking at cheaper wheels that were around 40-50 quid but they all come without inner tubes, tires, and cassette.
So i figured by the time bout ght extra bits it would add up to £85+

So these are the ones I have bought
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231064937731?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

[adds21]

If you're really on a budget, it might be worth trying to replace the missing spoke, and truing the wheels yourself? It's not as difficult as you'd think, and a useful skill to have. All you'd need would be a spoke key, and a spoke or two. Probably wouldn't cost you much more than a tenner.

There are a *lot* of guides on the 'net about how to do build/fix wheels. Googling "Sheldon Brown wheel truing" would be a good start.