Thanks - did you have to swop the wheels and the chain in your experiment with 28mm tyres? Sounds like a lot of work!
Let's see how the parts end up coming along in terms of delivery before I decide to take on the spare wheels. I was thinking about it as the long wait for Hunt Wheels (i hope its worth the wait) and just getting a PG 1130 11-42 cassette but it sounds like swopping spare wheels seems to a bit of a hassle and i cannot interchange the wheels easily for road duties which was what I was hoping.
In the end I decide to wait for the Hunt 650b wheels as i heard many good reviews... seems like a good set of gravel wheels.
Originally Posted by
pinholecam
I can't recall what headset I used, just asked my LBS (Bike Stop) to install a budget one for me w/o emphasizing on it.
It should not affect the number of spacers used since that is more likely a decision by each rider on how upright he/she wants the bike to be.
It can't be too long either if its carbon due to breakage concerns (there's actually a recommended length, but you have to google for it as I can't recall the number)
Problem with the swap in wheel that you propose will be that your chain length will need to be changed and you'd then need to keep 2 chain lengths (and swap together w/ the wheels);
ie. Since one is 10-42t and the other is 11-30t.
As for 28mm tires, they would bring back more of a road bike feel in that the cushy feeling of low pressure tires will largely go away. I never used mine long enough to have a good impression on improved speed.
In fact, I did not feel that it was worth the hassle swapping every few weeks.
YMMV of course as I am really very busy as a parent and would like to spend as little time as possible fiddling with the bike stuff. (so a single guy who likes dabbling in bikes, will certainly have a different opinion from me)
Hunts look good, and have had many good reviews, its been in my radar for a while.