Schwinn 26-inch S-7 rims - too far gone?

[coasterbrakejunkie1969]

Bought decrepit ‘65 Typhoon that spent enough time stored outside that it’s no good for anything else but a restomod. I wanted a bike that would cause me no guilt for not keeping it original. The S-7 rims are rusted through the inner wall, but the outer wall is intact and they must be structurally compromised, but they seem sound. My question to the CABE’s panel of experts, should I feel okay throwing these 57-year-old rims in the scrap heap or do they have any use or possibility of repair? I think not, but they’re not making any more, so I figured I’d ask first. See the pics:

View attachment 1794950

View attachment 1794951

Too far gone, find some new ones. No

Okay, but they’re retired from cycling, right?

Where does one find generic wheels that take a Shchwinn proprietary ISO 571 tire or are you recommending going another wheel size? I’m interested in that option, but would have to have spoke sizes available since I want the hubs to continue in service after I rebuild them.

He is suggesting a new set of wheels all together, not Schwinn S-7 wheels. There are a few versions of the Schwinn S-7 tires for sale on the bay and here. I would stick to a set of S-7 wheels and would prefer them in chrome. That is my opinion.

 

[TequilaMockingbird]

Just closing out the thread. These were manufactured when Lyndon Johnson was President. R.I.P. rims.

 

[buickmike]

Let us see the bike.

 

[Thee]

Just closing out the thread. These were manufactured when Lyndon Johnson was President. R.I.P. rims.

View attachment 1795411

Looks like they’ve been rusting since Lincoln

 

[TequilaMockingbird]

Let us see the bike.

I started another thread for that: https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/1965-schwinn-typhoon-restomod.222176/

 

[GTs58]

This is what Slime will do to your steel rims.

 

[Bryan Akens]

One good choice is finding an 80s Murray Cruiser with chrome square shoulder wheels .....They look simialar to the S7s and will bolt right on the bike....with 1.75 tires of course....I would just run those the way they are and keep the old wheels for reference and in case You resell the bike.....

 

[TequilaMockingbird]

One good choice is finding an 80s Murray Cruiser with chrome square shoulder wheels .....They look simialar to the S7s and will bolt right on the bike....with 1.75 tires of course....I would just run those the way they are and keep the old wheels for reference and in case You resell the bike.....

They went out with last week’s trash. I would have had to epoxy in some fender washers to hold a few spoke nipples so there was no running them the way they are. Good tip on the Murray wheels. Thanks.

 

[SirMike1983]

Trashing them was the right decision - too far gone. If they're not going to take spoke tension and the bead seat is rusted and irregular, it's better to replace. The rest of it also looked pretty bad. Find a decent set of S7s and build wheels with the old hubs if your hubs are still good.

 

[TequilaMockingbird]

Trashing them was the right decision - too far gone. If they're not going to take spoke tension and the bead seat is rusted and irregular, it's better to replace. The rest of it also looked pretty bad. Find a decent set of S7s and build wheels with the old hubs if your hubs are still good.

Thanks, Mike. I’m rebuilding the hubs with new bearings and I found a couple of rims with unsalvageable chrome (trust me, I tried) that I’m gonna paint. Spokes are on order.