Spare Wheels

ConsciousPilot
ConsciousPilot Posts: 117
edited December 2008 in Workshop
Last week I went out in the snowy conditions on my cross bike but had 28c slick tyres on. Too lazy to change back to the original 38c cross tyre. However after failing to climb a couple of icy hills made me think I should invest in a spare set of wheels (easier than changing tyres). My question would be should I just buy another set of cheapo wheels or if I spend a bit more will better quality wheels give better performance in any noticeable way. My cross bike is now relegated to a winter bike and occasional off-road use.
2 Wheels or not 2 wheels..That is not in question.

Comments

  • andrewgturnbull
    andrewgturnbull Posts: 3,861
    ConsciousPilot wrote:
    Last week I went out in the snowy conditions on my cross bike but had 28c slick tyres on. Too lazy to change back to the original 38c cross tyre. However after failing to climb a couple of icy hills made me think I should invest in a spare set of wheels (easier than changing tyres). My question would be should I just buy another set of cheapo wheels or if I spend a bit more will better quality wheels give better performance in any noticeable way. My cross bike is now relegated to a winter bike and occasional off-road use.

    Hi there.

    If you're going to ride them off road I wouldn't go for cheap wheels... Having said if you go for handbuilts then you needn't spend too much. For about £150 you could build (or have built) a set of Open Pro's on Ultegra hubs - which is what I use off road.

    Cheers, Andy
    http://www.andyturnbull.co.uk
    http://www.stirlingtri.co.uk
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    You could put the cross tyres back on the wheels and get a cheap set for the slicks. It depends on how much you want to spend and what riding you do on the bike. You do need the stonger wheels for cross.
    My Fleet.
  • fortyone
    fortyone Posts: 166
    Blimey, there's loads on here lacking ordinary gumption!
  • andrew_s
    andrew_s Posts: 2,511
    Bear in mind that chains and cassettes wear together, so if you aren't changing chains based on measured stretch you could find that swapping wheels will give you slipping gears.
    Then it's a case of transferring the cassette onto the new wheel (or keeping a chain for each wheel and swapping chains).
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    Never had any trouble with using different wheels. Just don't let the chain go too far.
    My Fleet.
  • andy_wrx
    andy_wrx Posts: 3,396
    Exactly.

    This bit about chains & cassettes wearing together and both needing to be changed together assumes that you leave the chain on your bike for 10 years and allow it to stretch hugely

    If you replace the chain regularly enough (say, less than 0.75% - 1% using a chain-checker or plain-old ruler), you can put a new chain on a used cassette and it'll work fine without slippage because the cassette hasn't been worn-out by a worn-out chain !

    Besides, even if you didn't, if you swap your wheels regularly enough, both cassettes will wear the same...

Categories