Newbie free wheel problem

[chrisbrown81]

Hi all, excuse my newbie question but I'm hoping someone can help. I come from mountain bikes originally but have been recently been given a low end Carrera Virtuoso road bike for free. All it needed was a new rear wheel. The old one was not supplied either. Now I've bought a new rear wheel, and the virtuoso had a 8 speed screw on block. The new wheel also requires a screw on block (I was just trying to keep costs down as I don't know how much I'll use it) but the one I bought is too big, maybe an MTB one.....what size do I require? Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[lpretro1]

If it is a road bike then you need a 700c wheel. The axle width is different - usually 130 on a road bike and 135 on an mtb. MTBs have wheel sizes of 26", 27.5" and 29er (same as 700c but wider section). I'd be surprised if it has a screw on freewheel rather than a cassette though?

 

[chrisbrown81]

It's 100% a screw on one and a 700cc sizing. The majority of road bike screw on freewheels I've found are all 7 speed but this bike had 8. The one I bought was much too wide though.

 

[cyberknight]

Can you not send the wheel back and get a wheel compatible with cassettes as it liable to be cheaper and easier to source parts in the long run ?

Which virtuoso is it , blue + black ? mine had an 8 speed cassette and if i remember rightly the rear derailleur could handle up to a 26 maximum size sprocket .
Although this might work as i know you can generally push it a little bit past the max assuming you get a new chain too as the old one will not sync right with the new freewheel.
http://www.woollyhatshop.com/Casset...Speed-Screw-on-Freewheel-13/28/prod_6856.html

 

[the snail]

I'd go for a wheel that takes a cassette - it's a more robust design, much less likely to break an axle. An 8 speed freewheel hub would be quite weak I would think?