Orange G3 wheels and bits questions...

f2mke

Hi - I have an Orange G3 (2008) as per http://www.ukmountainbiker.com/view/Bikes/Orange/Orange_G3/ but with upgraded RockShox Recon forks.

I want to get a second set of wheels to be able to quickly switch between road and off-road use. I'm thinking about a set of custom Superstars (http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=314)...

My questions are:
1) What ratio is the SRAM PG950 cassette on the G3?
2) What length QR skewers front and rear would I need?
3) Will Avid Elixir 160/160 disc rotors work with Avid Juicy 3 brakes?
4) Should I consider anything else?

Thank you for any advice!

mike1-2

1)Not sure, but probably an 11-26
2)They're standard
3)Yes
4)Gears and brakes may need to be adjusted when you swap the wheels, depends on how different the hub measurements are between the two sets of wheels. Also, chain and cassette wear is something to consider, if you're doing mega miles on the 'road' wheels and minimal on the off road wheels, you may find that the cassette wear is uneven and one set of wheels won't mesh properly. But generally if you're doing similar amounts of riding on both sets you'll be OK. Or just replace the chain once a month like I do.

supersonic

1) Best thing to do is look at the cassette that you have and count the teeth on the large and small sprockets. Only way to be sure.

2) Standard quick release skewers for 9mm diameter qr front hubs, and 10mm rear. Usually about 135mm front and 170mm rear lengths. No set lengths for these though.

3) Yes, if the rotors on your old set are the same size. You may need rotor shims to stop them rubbing when you swap so they are spaced the same on each wheelset.

4) Swapping tyres can be the better option, as you may have to adjust gears anyway, plus odd chain wear patterns.

f2mke

Thanks for the speedy advice so far

supersonic

Best forum there is, this one ;-)

mike1-2

Like supersonic said, it may be worth considering just changing the tyres. I currently run two sets of wheels on my bike, a set of 700's for road riding and commuting and normal 26's for MTB. I did a LOT of research to make sure that the hubs I bought would be the same on each bike to save a lot of faffing about when swapping them over. Luckily, I found some that we very similar, and just require me to adjust my front brake when I swap over. (It's a post mount so doesn't take a minute)
Obviously a simple solution is to get 2 sets of matching hubs built up into wheels to avoid all this hassle. At the time I couldn't justify a second set of Pro 2's though

nicklouse

supersonic wrote:

2) Standard quick release skewers for 9mm diameter qr front hubs, and 10mm rear. Usually about 135mm front and 170mm rear lengths. No set lengths for these though.

Cough Cough the Axles 9 and 10mm the Qr Skewers are about 4mm (may be 5mm).

supersonic

I meant axles lol, though I suppose the wording doesn't look like that! Needs a comma ;-)

f2mke

I guess I could save myself a whole lot of money by just getting some decent slicks / semi-slicks..? The temptation is the very keenly priced and well rated Superstar custom wheels - orange rims and hubs with white spokes - and the justification for these being tarmac friendly tyres for my work commute. Oh and my laziness for tyre changes ;-)

mike1-2

In my experience it saves a lot of hassle. I just chuck my unused wheels in a wheel bag and leave them in the shed, and swap them round before I go for whatever ride I want to do. And other times they're invaluable. For example this Sunday I'm doing the London to Brighton bike ride, so I'm doing the 54 miles on road down there on my road wheels, then meeting my missus who will take the car down with my MTB wheels down, so after I'm finished I'm going to swap the wheels over and ride the 37 miles back home off road. Very convinient.