Different front and rear wheels?

pak-man

I've been looking to upgrade wheels and decided to wait until the New Year. Another question has crossed my mind in the meantime.

What's the general view on front and rear wheels and mixing them, either brand or quality?

I can see that it might not be too wise to mix brands but what about quality? If one wheel is a significantly better wheel than the other, will this be a problem? And if one is significantly better, to maximise the benefit should it be the front or rear? By way of example, say a Shimano R500 and Dura-Ace 9000, or Fulcrum Racing 7 and Racing 1.

thanks

ugo.santalucia

Ride what you like, there is no drawback

pak-man

Thanks Ugo. But is there much benefit (and should it be front or rear - or doesn't that matter either)?

buckles

It doesn't matter either way.

cycleclinic

It depends how much of a tart you are. Personally I am a bike tart and everything has to match. However being a bike tart is expensive so do what ever you want so long as they are round.

pak-man

Thanks all for your replies.

So there is no problem doing it and it makes no difference whether you upgrade the front or the rear, guess the key question then, which I don't think has been covered, is whether there is any benefit to doing it? Current position is a R500 wheelset. If I replace one with a Dura-Ace wheel, does the performance improve (significantly enough to warrant doing it) or does the performance of the better wheel get pulled down to the lowest level, in which case I may as well stick with the R500 wheelset?

thanks

ugo.santalucia

PAK-MAN wrote:

Thanks all for your replies.

So there is no problem doing it and it makes no difference whether you upgrade the front or the rear, guess the key question then, which I don't think has been covered, is whether there is any benefit to doing it? Current position is a R500 wheelset. If I replace one with a Dura-Ace wheel, does the performance improve (significantly enough to warrant doing it) or does the performance of the better wheel get pulled down to the lowest level, in which case I may as well stick with the R500 wheelset?

thanks

If you don't have the money to buy 2 DA wheels, don't bother... either wait until you do have the money or get something cheaper... they are not exactly value for money anyway and for 300 pounds you can get a pretty jolly good set of wheels to upgrade your dull R 500 for spring

alihisgreat

PAK-MAN wrote:

I've been looking to upgrade wheels and decided to wait until the New Year. Another question has crossed my mind in the meantime.

What's the general view on front and rear wheels and mixing them, either brand or quality?

I can see that it might not be too wise to mix brands but what about quality? If one wheel is a significantly better wheel than the other, will this be a problem? And if one is significantly better, to maximise the benefit should it be the front or rear? By way of example, say a Shimano R500 and Dura-Ace 9000, or Fulcrum Racing 7 and Racing 1.

thanks

It will look stupid if you mix and match different wheels.

I would only use two different wheels if it was for different rim depth eg.



but ideally you'd still want the decals to match.

pak-man

Cheers all, back to plan A then.

Moonbiker

My wheels are mismatched mavics & I have different colour tyres on each wheel, and my groupset is campy shimano suntour miche & tektro mix.

Probably breaking all the velomati rules that exist. :roll:

ADIHEAD

You can normally buy a factory pair much cheaper than buying each individually. I'd only go individual if one's damaged and you can't afford the pair. I suspect after Christmas you'll see further discounts on factory sets. If you go handbuilt, then I'd guess the builder would do one at a time for you, same price, unless he gets a pair of hubs in cheaper than individuals? Again, no point in getting something nice to ride in this weather anyway so might as well wait and get a pair;)

dennisn

Many years ago people used to ride with really light front rims and heavier rears. They also might run a lighter tire up front and a bit more robust one in the rear. No big deal.

Tjgoodhew

I was thinking the same around tyres.

I ruined a rear Fortezza tricomp that was black and white and after much advice on here got a GP4000s to replace it.

So i now have a black and white fortezza on the front and a black GP4000s on the back. Im guessing in regards to performance it will make no difference at all.

However my need for things to match may end in the front tyre being replaced sooner rather than later.