Mix and match wheels?
04-06-15, 12:51 AM
#1
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Mix and match wheels?
Has anyone mix and matched completely different wheels? I.e. a training, 30mm aluminum clincher in the front with a deep-dish (i.e. 50mm) carbon clincher in the rear?
How does this work out?
How does this work out?
04-06-15, 06:34 AM
#2
Senior Member
As long as you understand the quirks of the wheels at either end of the bike it's fine. Bikes don't have left-right issues, like a car (where you don't want to mix tires/rims left/right), and having different front and rear wheels doesn't affect the bike other than any wind the wheels may catch or if the brakes work a bit differently.
Taller wheels up front catch more wind. They make the bike want to steer more, i.e. you have to be more careful when riding in a group.
Taller wheels in the rear tend to stabilize the bike, i.e. it wants to go in a straight line. They give you less a benefit in a direct headwind. I think (no proof) that they offer some decent benefit in cross-tailwinds.
I can't find a picture of me with a TriSpoke/HED3 up front and a spoked wheel in the back, but that's how I rode/raced for a year or three.
Taller wheels up front catch more wind. They make the bike want to steer more, i.e. you have to be more careful when riding in a group.
Taller wheels in the rear tend to stabilize the bike, i.e. it wants to go in a straight line. They give you less a benefit in a direct headwind. I think (no proof) that they offer some decent benefit in cross-tailwinds.
I can't find a picture of me with a TriSpoke/HED3 up front and a spoked wheel in the back, but that's how I rode/raced for a year or three.
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04-06-15, 10:28 AM
#4
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The higher quality wheel will get resentful of the lower quality wheel, resulting in harmonic distortion.
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04-06-15, 10:50 AM
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It makes a difference when the wind picks up. If you go deep, prepare to fight the bike any time there is wind. It can definitely make a boring ride quite interesting.
04-06-15, 01:27 PM
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The rims are even different colors 
