Disc-Compatible wheels?

steveurch

CX newbie here! I bought myself a Trek Crossrip for general winter use and a bit of off-roading. For ease of swapping around, I want to get a set of spare wheels with knobblies on for when I'm doing only off-road work. The bike has Avid BB5 discs currently.

Any suggestions on a good, low-price (sub-£250) wheelset? Will 29er wheels fit, as there seems to be a much wider choice of disc-compatible wheels here than in the 700c range?

Thanks in advance!

ugo.santalucia

29er will fit the frame, but you might not find the tyres you want will fit. Some might, some will not... it's a trial and error.
Kinesis crosslight are probably your best bet if you want something 700c off the peg, otherwise get them built for you... likely to cost the same give or take

steveurch

Thanks for the reply, I was looking at the Cross Lights, they look good, but at £275 plus disc rotors, a bit more than I wanted to splash out. Are 29ers a different size from 700c's? I already have two sets of tyres (road tyres and off-road tyres), the off-roaders being 700x32.

ugo.santalucia

steveurch wrote:

Thanks for the reply, I was looking at the Cross Lights, they look good, but at £275 plus disc rotors, a bit more than I wanted to splash out. Are 29ers a different size from 700c's? I already have two sets of tyres (road tyres and off-road tyres), the off-roaders being 700x32.

Technically they are 622, like the 700C, but in practice they have a different profile which makes fitting a tyre sometimes almost impossible. They are designed to take big MTB tyres and as such they don't take small road tyres very well.

tgotb

What you really want is an MTB hub and a road rim; although there are a few out there (I bought a second-hand set of Alex Rims which promptly fell apart and had to be rebuilt) you'll get much more choice if you look at custom-built wheels. Drop Ugo a PM and ask for a quote; his wheels have a pretty good reputation on the commuter forum, and he'll give you sensible recommendations on components.

veronese68

I got a pair of Novatec hubs and Open Pro CD rims built up by Ugo. I think that will come in on budget for you. Excellent wheels, very pleased with them. One advantage is that if some twonk drives into your back wheel on a roundabout you can have the rim replaced .

tgotb

+1 for Novatec hubs. Good quality, and excellent value for money. If you go down that route and purchase them yourself, include BDop and Bike24 in your price comparison; last time I bought, it was cheapest to get the front hubs from BDop and the rears from Bike24 (despite two sets of postage...)

steveurch

This is why I love the Bike Radar Forum! Thanks for all the replies guys, I really appreciate your help.

Steve.