cheap road wheel setup for hardrock mtb
 

My brother got a Specialized Hard Rock with disc brakes for trail riding. He has been switching out for road tires when he wants to ride on the road. Switching tires back and forth is a pain! I think it would be worth having a road wheelset and trail wheelset, leaving the tires intact on their respective wheels.

Can I get a cheap, light wheelset for this bike and how expensive would it be to put disc brake rotors on there? Or is this the wrong way to go entirely?

Hey RJBIII, welcome from another Floridian. I'm down in Sarasota. Where do you and your bro ride?

Anyways, it can be done, but it won't be cheap. Figure $100 for a wheelset (Deore level hubs), then another $40 for slick tires/tubes/rim strips, the you'll need a new cassette (another $30-40), plus two new rotors (another $60-$80).

For that much money, I'd just get a pair of semi-slick tires. Or, just spend the time swapping tires. You'll get pretty quick doing it!

L8R

Hi. :) We have only ridden around Wilderness Park some so far. Hmm, that cost may be prohibitive since the bike was only about $600.

Where do you ride most? I like swampclub.org, do you know of any other resource for trail info in FL?

In Tampa, the closest riding are the trails off of Fletcher and I-75, Backwoods and Trout Creek. I ride a lot (almost every Sun.) at Alafia River State Park just south of the Lithia area in Brandon. If I have more time, I head over to Mulberry and hit Carter Road Park. I haven't been to the TOE in a long time, but need to go back as I've been told this is THE place for riding stunts, elevated trails, & drops. For more information check out www.ridgeriders.net If you don't mind traveling, if you head up to the Ocala area, there are a couple of nice trail networks up there. Santos Trails are probably the best for a wide variety of trails. Razorback in Reddick is a very technical cross country (XC) trail network. On the way there, if you stop at the Grand Canyon in ???? (can't remember the name of the town-where all the MXers go, right off the interstate). It's a smaller trail, but fast and fun!

Most of the trails are listed on www.swampclub.org, www.ridgeriders.net, www.clubmtb.com, www.omba.org, www.northportrails.org

Send me a private message (PM) when you're planning on going riding, and I'll try to hook up with you guys.

BTW, you should really consider going Swampclub, they're a well organized group (300 members +) and have weekly rides, night rides, work days, and parties (Christmas, er, Holiday Party is this Sunday!). It's a great place to meet new people. You guys should consider going to the Holiday Party on Sun., just introduce yourselves and meet other mtn bikers. (It's only $5 for non-members) Annual memberships are only $20.

It may be a little while before we go riding again with holiday business and all. Flatwoods and Trout Creek are part of Wilderness Park which I have nowhere near fully explored.

This map is great:
http://home1.gte.net/hoak/wta/map.htm

Just leave the road tires on all the time. Knobbys are quite overrated in general. Especially since your description, "trail riding", doesn't sound terribly demanding as far as the off-road riding goes.

just get a spare wheelset. yeah it will cost a bit new but if you shop wisely (deals on used parts) you'll be alright.