Monument Man

looking at buying a new set of wheels for my cross bike. Something somewhat lighter than what I've currently got, and use the new wheels for road tires and my old Bontrager wheels for my cross tires.

I've got Shimano Sora 8 speed cassette in the rear. Bike and all components are 2003.

or if anybody has any suggestions for wheels I can pick up (used on ebay is how I would like to procure these). The Bontrager Race Lites sell for $399 list, that's about the price limit, and I need the ability to find a good deal on used ones. These Bontragers are pretty much standard stuff now on lots of Treks and Lemonds so you can find them on ebay.

thewalrus

I think Sora cassettes are the same total body width as Tiagra or 105 9-speed cassettes, but I could be wrong... The Sora just has slightly wider spacing between cogs.

Dchiefransom

Unless the wheels are built for an 8 speed, then they won't fit exactly. What they do in these cases is to put a spacer on the hub to position the cassette properly. I have some Shimano 550 wheels on a 7 speed bike. They put in the right spacer, and away I went.

Monument Man

ok cool so where would I pick up a spacer and how would I know what size? This is an exact science or is this kind of a fly by the seat of yoru pants kind of thing.

Can i install the spacer myself? i would assume so?

my58vw

Those are nice wheels... light and fairly strong...

Serpico

at $399.00 you also have options for handbuilt wheels

check out oddsandendos.com

Bikeophile

If you are running 8speed, you can run 9speed with no issues. Its not expensive to grab a 105 or even Ultegra 9speed cassette.

I might even have some NOS lying around. PM me if you want.
Cheers
Rob

sydney

nonsense ....shimano 8/9 hubs are 8/9 cassette compatible, no spacres required. You need a 4.5mm spacer when using a 7 speed cassette on a 8/9 hub.

sydney

You don't need a spacer. Just stick the 8 speed cassete on and ride away. You might need a derailer adjustment due to sight variations in dimensions.

Grasschopper

Like Sydney said the Sora 8 will be fine with no spacer. And like Ziggurt said look around at places like oddsandendos.com for a hand built wheel that weighs less (~1500g) for less money (including shipping), that is new rather than used. What I am saying here is you can do better for your money.

Retro Grouch 

Seldom have I seen such a simple question draw so much misinformation!

8-speed and 9-speed cassettes are exactly the same width so your Sora cassette will fit the Race Lite wheels with no modifications.

Simply installing a 9-speed cassette won't give you a 9-speed bike. You need to buy 9-speed shifters which are one of the more expensive components to replace.

vrkelley

Agreed These are great all around wheels. I liked my Rolf Vector's better.

Monument Man

thanks for all the info guys.

I wasn't planning on buying the race lite wheels for $399 rather I would pick them up in the $200 range used. I'll also check oddsandendos.com.

vrkelley

I bought my Bontrager Race Lites on E-bay and got a pretty good deal on nearly new wheels.

On the used rims it's good to verify that the wheels are true and beware of sets that are not pictured with a close-up shot. Is the picture in the ad from the Bontrager web-site or is that the actual set you're getting?

You can ask about the number of miles on *each* wheel. Also watch for wearing where the brake pad normally contacts the rim and ask about the condition of the rim tape.

Grasschopper

Just be careful. When you posted this I did an eBay search and the one set of Race Lites close to finishing still had a day left. High bid was $240 PLUS $40 to ship (so figure $280 as oddsandendos.com prices include shipping) and this set was used. In that case even if that was the ending price I would spend $20 more and get brand new wheels.