Originally Posted by
Sy Reene
So this conversation really has me wondering. I was perhaps considering the currently fashionable gravel bike as a 'do it all' solution. It would be Di2 with disc brakes, and I'd get a second wheelset setup for road riding (ie. lighter wheels with 25mm tires), while the original or 'gravel' wheelset would likely whatever comes with the complete bike (but typically ~35mm tires on the stock wheels). Am I hearing that more likely than not, wheels swaps are going to be a hassle?
Yeah, you're hearing that, but you're hearing that from people that either haven't experienced it themselves or from people that are talking about a context in which a lot of variables aren't under their control (racing, neutral support). The reality is that you buy a second set of wheels and, if the rotors don't line up perfectly, you buy and install a set of shims to move one rotor outwards to match the other rotor (you can't shim a rotor inwards). Other than waiting on some shims to arrive, this is a one-time, 10 minute operation. Wheels swaps after that will be painless.
As it happens, I have two 'do it all' bikes, each with a dedicated wheelset and a 'nice' wheelset that can float between the two. All of the rotors are in agreement, and I haven't had to shim any of them (and this is with one bike being QR, the other TA, which necessitates a hub endcap swap). Fair disclosure is that both bikes are hydro, which self-adjusts to a small extent.