Need to buy a McKenzie sportline bicycle wheel

[Deleted User]

I have spent several hours over the past few days to find a back wheel for a McKenzie sportline bicycle.

This was a gift passed to me as my bike has been stolen. But the back wheel wasn't included and the person who gave it to me hasn't been able to find a spare part anywhere.

I can't find anything either. Does anyone have any suggestions? I need this bicycle for work.

Also, I don't know what size wheel I will need. Can anyone tell me how I measure the bicycle so I know what size I need should a miracle happen and I find somewhere to make a purchase.

I am so hoping that someone can offer some help, I'm totally lost and it's a bit frustrating!

[Deleted User]

It looks like the bicycle came from Germany. I may have to get the spare part from there. So, how do I know what wheel to get?

The only labels on the bicycle I can read say McKenzie sportline / Hi Ten High Precision / Top Gun 012DH USA DIN PAT. There is one other label which is too worn to read (on the crossbar)

Not sure if any of that information is of any help to source this wheel

Lugh_Chronain

It's actually very easy to measure your bike frame.

1) Identify the top of the seat tube, where the seat clamp holds the seat post.
2) Identify the centre of the bottom bracket (it's the axle that holds the crank arms together).
3) Measure the distance between the two points (C-T) - this is the length of the seat tube.

Note: Centre to Top (C-T) - This is the length of the seat tube, measured from the centre of bottom bracket to top of the seat tube.








Might be easier if you also google this, I also recommend searching YouTube as well.

Does it have to be a specific wheel as well? I'm wondering if it's worth taking the bike to a bike shop, they might be able to recommend type and size, and not forgetting type of tyre as well.. Don't feel obliged to make any purchases if you do consider this.

Another good place to make enquires might be worth considering is BikeRadar.

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/

[Deleted User]

Thank you so much. I hadn't even thought of YouTube! And I'll ask on the forum you suggested as the bike shops here aren't able to help - they just shrug their shoulders and say nothing other than that they can't help!

Happy New Year!

molerat

The front wheel should give a clue to the size, they will generally be the same. You then need to know how many gears - the rear shifter should show that.
Any bike shop should be able to sort it out, just don't ask for a wheel to fit a specific bike !

edit: googling images seems to show that it is a pretty bog standard bike.

[Deleted User]

Thanks Molerat, I can't see a bike that looks the same as mine on Google images... I'll look again in the morning. Thanks for your help, I appreciate it. Need to get this sorted to get to work!

Lugh_Chronain

I was thinking the exact same as Molerat with regards to the wheel size after logging off last night.

Shouldn't the size of the tyre give an indicator of the size of the wheel? e.g. 700C = 26inch? You'll find this info on the wall of the tyre (sides of the tyre). Though Molerat may actually correct me on this. And of course you'll need to know the width as well.

And while I'm on the subject of tyres, make sure you also inflate your tyres to the correct PSI (pounds per square inch pressure of the tyre) once you've got the wheel sorted. This should help prevent your wheel from getting buckled, should also help prevent punctures as well though won’t stop them altogether. Unfortunately punctures are sometimes unavoidable. I tend to inflate mine to the minimum, just over 80 psi, some tyres are 85 psi, depending on the type of tyre. The min and max PSI should also be mentioned on the wall of the tyre. Pumping to the correct psi is also meant to reduce drag as well which makes sense when you think about it.

Might also be worth investing in a decent track pump as well as these also include a built in pressure gauge. You could probably pick one up for about £20, it’s also possible to get one off ebay for around £10 as well if you’re lucky.

I'm only mentioning this as the amount of people I've seen with low or little pressure is surprising though of to be fare this is mainly due to a lack of knowledge and experience of bikes.

[Deleted User]

Well I'm certainly in the camp of lack of knowledge, so I really appreciate your help.

[Deleted User]

Progress :j

I've looked on Google images and there are different styles of McKenzie silverline bikes. Mine is a mountain bike and the seat tube doesn't connect to the bottom bracket, there's a gap between the two. I can't see anything on the frame that identifies the specific brand, but it's a second hand bike so it may have worn off. It looks a bit like a MTB Mckenzie HILL 200 on Google images.

Does that mean the back wheel is the same size as the front?

The front wheel is a ETRTO-559-19 (with 02 after that in a circle)
Other numbers on the wheel are 26 x 1.95 which I guess is the size and width
It also says inflate to 40-66psi 1280-450KPa
Then it has 0-1208-25 which I can't work out what that means.

There are three chain wheels at the front, but there's nothing on the back other than the frame to put the wheel on... so I'm guessing I now need to buy a gear sprocket too?

On the left handlebar the gears list 3 options and the right has numbers 1-6. But I don't really know how that works or what sprocket is required.

I'm beginning to think it might be cheaper to buy a new "standard" bike, but I really want to see this through to the end so I don't offend the lovely person that gifted this bike to me.

I'm having to order online as no shop in the vicinity can help me out, or I may be able to get parts when back in the UK next week. I would like to take as much information as possible as I'm not going to be taking this bike back with me.

If any of you lovely people can help me further, I would really appreciate it. I'm quite delighted at the progress made already and it would be great to see this through to completion.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!