Emerson

Hi there,

Pictures of my new Crosscheck are coming soon-patience bike porn lovers.

In the meantime...

I had thought I might pick up a second set of wheels-cheap but strong to slap some fat tires on for non-technical but loose surface trails. The Pasela's are a bit slippery when things get loose. I mentioned this to a guy at the bike shop and he said it was a bad idea--something about things wearing at the same rate. He said I should just swap tires when I want to--seems a pain to me.

I seem to recall hearing people here speak of the two wheelset practice pretty frequently.

Is this indeed a bad idea for some reason? Any recommendations for an inexpensive 700c wheelset that would be good for tackling easy trails on.

Thanks.

cgchambers

I think that the second wheelset problem is not with the wheels, but the chain and the rear cassette. The chain and the rear cassette tend to wear together, and having another set of wheels with a new rear cassette supposedly messes with the wear rates? I don't know much about it, hope this helps though. Just for the record, I have 2 sets of wheels. I use one with a set of studs and one with my normal tires. I have not had any issues, though I have not used the stud set much.

unkchunk

I vote bad idea. I tried it years ago and it didn't work for me. With the rear wheel, in time you'll have chain stretch and skipping issues. It could work for just the front.

But the reluctance to change a tire tells me you're uncomfortable with changing tires. You can get flats just for that. Tires can smell fear. The moment you're not physically and mentally able to change a tire at a moments notice, they will go flat. If they haven't yet, they are waiting for a more inconvenient time. They are like that. You can't be free unless you are prepared and willing to change a tire.

At a time when you are watching TV or someting like that, just practice changing the tire on your front wheel. Wash it first, then deflate tire, tire off rim, tube off, back on and reinflate... repeat two or three times. After a while you will realize that it's not that difficult and takes less than 5 minutes. You can't be really free to ride anywhere if you're reluctant to change a tire. And if you're willing to change a tire at a moments notice, then there is no reason for two wheel sets.

Wheels4

I also have two sets of wheels... one for slicks when commuting and one for knobbies when riding single track. I tried changing out the tires awhile ago... and it was a pain in the bootie. as for the wear... I guess it would depend on what kind of mileage you are putting on one drive train compared to the other(second set). anyways... if nothing else, you could get the second set and trade the tires between the two wheelsets every so-often. doing it every once in awhile sure beats doing it every week.

whatever you decide... good luck!

rykoala

I can't afford a second rear wheel ($100 for a fixed gear wheel) so I use a spare front wheel for my studded tire. So I swap fronts, then change the tire on the back. Cuts it down to only having to change one tire which is much better than doing both.

Caspar_s

So I guess if you don't want to change the tire, you wouldn't just change the cassette from one wheel to the other?

Say you want one light commute wheelset and one heavy duty touring wheelset (ie. not just a tire change) or like the OP said a cheap set for heavy duty offroad where you don't want to damage your normal rims.

slagjumper

I've considered this. But I have so many bikes it really does not make sense.

I think that if you distributed the mileage evenly across the rear wheels you would get better small gear wear on the rear cog and better chain life. If you did go the 2 wheel route, you might want to change the chain at least every 2000 - 2500 miles.

Bekologist

I would just change the chain as well if I was using two separate cassettes on two wheels and was worried about it. Chains are cheap. But I've never noticed much of an issue swapping wheelsets.

metal_cowboy

I use two sets of wheels on my commuter bike. One set has Rivendell Ruffy Tuffy 700x32 tires and the other has Panaracer Pasela Tourguard 700x42 tires. I change between the two frequently and have had no problems with chain/cassette wear.

It should be noted that I use bar end shifters and do not have to worry about finicky STI shifters which could be adversely affected by chain/cassette wear.

Emerson

What is your purpose in those tire choices--paselas and the Riv's, they seem similar in tread?

oboeguy

Forget all this nonsense about wear and tire swapping -- swapping the cassette between two rear wheels is a joke. Get a chain whip and a lockring tool for maybe $15 total and you're good to go (well, assuming you have an adjustable wrench at hand, but that's cheap too). It's really, really easy to do, believe me.

ghettocruiser

I vote good idea.

The cog wear concern is just odd. I doubt you'll ever see any effect, and you should replace the chain often enough to avoid wearing out the cogs and chainrings and needing $$$ replacements. Search for this for details.

The less steps there are in the process the more likely you are to do it when you need to, so look for rims (assuming you're using rim brakes) the same width as your stock set to avoid brake adjustments. Last year I switched wheels for studs and slicks. This year I had enough storage for more bikes.

bokes

I agree with ghettocrusier. so cog 6 is getting major wear, but cog 9 isn't - what, change each cog seperately? come on. i have 3 wheelsets for my cross bike, 700x23 for road riding, 700x32 for commuting, and 700x45 for offroading. works great. i change the chain whenever it fails the .75 test. no shifting problems. just get the derailleur spacing in the hubs 'in sync' so you don't have to adjust the derailleur cable every wheel change.
i would like to get disc brakes tho so i don't have to adjust the brake cable for the fatter rims that are needed for the 700x45.

gear

I did this for five years. I had a MBT (in the old days when they were without shocks) that I switched wheels for my commute. The difference in wear can be a problem so I tried to use both sets of wheels for an even amount of time. The real problem I eventually ran into was that I had one bike that I was using for two purposes and it wasn't especially good for either purpose. I finally purchased two very spacific bikes and was real happy with the results. By the way the old MBT ended up being a great urban bike, I use it when I go into cities.

paule

+1, but keep in mind that if the wheels are not the same set, you will have to re-adjust your brakes as well. This of course is not hard but it can add to the inertia that sometimes accompanies bike maintenance when all you really want to do is ride your bicycle.

max-a-mill

yeah i would say it is a good idea if you can get the same wheels for both sets.

that way you'll have the same tolerances and never have to adjust your derailleurs or brakes when switching back and forth. you could even have differently geared cassettes for he different uses!

if you wanted to get REAL tricky you could even say build two identical wheelsets, one with 32 spokes for lighter duty and one with 36 for heavy duty use...

i don't do it, but i don't see how it would be a problem so longh as you keep on top of your chain wear...

kesroberts

It's a fine idea. Just change your chain often enough and the cog wear issues won't be a problem at all. I have a Park chain "stretch" guage that cost maybe $10 that tells me when the chain is worn and needs to be changed.

LóFarkas

I vote for going ahead and swapping chains together with wheels. You'll definitely be using one wheelset more than the other, so the cogs of the everyday wheelset will wear quicker. Worn cogs wear the chain down to their level quickly, so you'd be shortening the life of your chains somewhat. Not that big a deal, but it's easy to prevent.
Just buy Sram chains and use the powerlinks. It takes about 1 minute to swap the chain, and that includes putting on a rubber glove to keep your hand clean and routing the chain through the pulleys etc. It'd even encourage you to clean the chains more regularly as there will always be a dirty chain lying around, bugging you.

borderline

I have a cross bike too and just got a new front wheel after a couple of years with only one set. Usually during the week I would commute with my road tires but on the weekend I would put the knobby cross tires on. I am fairly quick at changing them (10 min a tire) but there is no denying it is a pain in the butt. My wife is always commenting, "your changing your tires AGAIN?".

I find the best solution is to leave the slick road tire on the back most of the time (except for really technical offroad stuff) and swap out the front with a knobby when on gravel. Traction in the front is more important anyway when on light gravel. Now that I have a second front wheel, it is really easy. I don't need to adjust the brakes either.. BTW, my rear wheel is a slick 32 width which actually measures around 28. You wouldn't want a really skinny rear wheel if you are going offroad.

Also if you just get the front and then you don't have to worry about the drivetrain problems and it costs less..

thebulls

Been doing this for about 5 years. If you're keeping chains and cogs on long enough that differential wear is an issue, then you're probably trashing your chainrings. Better to replace the chain often enough that you don't wear either the chainrings or cogs by very much. I ramped up mileage this year, to 7000 miles, and didn't ramp up the chain replacement rate fast enough; trashed the crankset--though it lasted a total of 15000 miles, and maybe that's not too bad???

As to rim size, I have two sets of Mavic Open Pro rims, but even then the rim size isn't identical. I also have a wheel "pair" with a Sun CR-18 and Mavic A719 (I smashed the other CR-18 on a pothole). The easy way to adjust is to have an in-line cable adjuster (INCA) that gives about a centimeter of range. Or put in two of them, if that's not enough. It's a simple matter to screw the INCA to whichever extreme matches the wheelset.

The hubs on my commuters are mountain bike hubs; the other two sets have 105's. I haven't noticed significant derailleur adjustment issues switching back and forth. I think this is because the distance from the casette to the dropout is the same regardless of whether it is mountain or road--so the distance from the derailleur to the casette is also constant. I guess there must be a difference in chainline, but it doesn't seem to affect shifting.

CPcyclist

I have three wheelsets right now. I have not had any problems. Keep the chain clean to minimize ware and watch the chain stretch you should be OK.

outofthesaddle

I have lots of wheels (8-10 sets) that I move between several bikes (road and cyclo-cross, training and race bikes). I routinely swap cassettes around on these wheelsets. I've been doing it for several years and if I'm creating any issues, they haven't surfaced yet. I clean/lube the chains periodically - always on the bike. Once I install a chain I don't like to remove it. This system has worked well for me.

pinkrobe

I can't believe I forgot to post on this earlier!

I love having multiple wheelsets. It's so nice to have a TdF moment: "Oy! A flat - I'll have to use the Dura-Ace set with 12-21 to get to work..."

As other posters have noted, multiple bikes is just as good, if not better than multiple wheelsets. It's like in Pulp Fiction, where Butch is looking for a weapon to rescue Marcellus with. He picks up one after the other, then settles on the totally sweet ninja sword... It's nice to be able to pick the right tool for the job.

Portis

I have two matching wheelsets that i swap regularly. There are no chain/wear issues. The real issue is that you will probably have shifting issues if the wheels are identical. That is why i have matching sets. In the winter the spare set hangs in the garage with studs, ready to roll at a moments notice.

In the summer I mount them up with 1.4 slicks, which i stick on when i want to go fast.

GGDub

I have three with two cassettes to go between em all. I've never had a problem switching cassettes out and getting skipping. If you do it regularly they will wear at the same rate and voila no problem.