UKH

Hi,

I want to get a second wheelset for a gravel bike (specifically this one: https://www.cannondale.com/en-eu/bikes/road/gravel/topstone-alloy/topstone-...), so that for road rides the wheelset with chunky gravel tyres can be easily swapped out for wheels with thinner road tyres.

I've found this wheelset https://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-rs171-disc-wheelset which seems to fit the bill except it says that you can only fit 140mm rotors - they need to be 160mm to be compatible with the bike as it's currently setup - but I have no idea why you can't fit 160mm rotors? As far as I'm aware the mounting method is the same regardless of the diameter of the rotor. Is there someone with more bike knowledge than me that can convince me that fitting 160mm rotors would be fine or alternatively that shimano are correct and I shouldn't?

Alternative suggestions and responses telling me that I'm asking the wrong question all welcome

In reply to Fellover:

Not sure why those particular ones will only take 140mm.

Understandably you don't want to spend a lot of money on a second wheelset but there are alternatives.

Some Mavic Askium wheelsets are on flea bay.

Used but the seller has upgraded to flashier wheels so selling the original Mavic Askiums. Good value and would be a better wheelset than the Shimano ones. (I have no connection with any of the items by the way)

Not uncommon for people to sell the original wheels and upgrade.

In reply to Fellover:

Just noticed that the two Mavic wheelsets I referred to are both 6 bolt disc fitting. but adaptors are available for 6 bolt to centrelock and vice versa,

This morning there are more wheelsets available. Specialized, Maddux and more. Again some are from new bikes as owners have bought carbon wheels.

Maddux set seem to be available for £65 buy it now/

Worth considering dependent on your budget.

In reply to Prof. Outdoors:

Having used a set, I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole!

In reply to Fellover:

As it's a disk brake bike, ideally you want another set with the same hubs (and, possibly, rotors), or you'll be adjusting the calipers every time you change wheels.

I've got 2 sets for my mountain bike on the same hubs, but with Mavic/DT Swiss rims and they swap easily.

In reply to LastBoyScout:

Good point. Certainly would be much easier if the hubs were the same brand.

I also have Topstone bike but my new main set of wheels have Hope hubs/rims. I have retained the original wheelset and they do not  line up exactly. I have however managed to shim the disc on the original now secondary set. Hope make rotor spacers and disck shims which are availble from CRC/Wiggle.

Similar priniciple would apply for cassette/wheel alignment. Bit of a faff but once set up the wheels slot straight in without any need to adjust the caliper, gear indexing or end stops.

Same brand would make it easier but I suspect the OP original wheelset use WTB rims on Formula hubs.

In reply to Fellover:

You could google a local wheel builder, they will be able to tailor a set to your exact requirements, and it means spending "local" rather than money disappearing into another massive online company. One not often mentioned issue is that with Shimano, Mavic etc they often use proprietary spokes / hub attachments etc which means if anything breaks you will have a hard time getting spares, so the wheels will end in the bin, wheel builders will use standardised components that can be repaired.

yep agree being tied into bespoke (groan!) kit is a pain.

I replaced the Maddux wheelset on my cannondale CX (they were poor in terms of durability), with some from Hunt, which may or may not fit your budget.

https://www.huntbikewheels.com/

In reply to Fellover:

I looked at the dealer manual for the shimano wheels and there in no mention of not using other size rotors.

I can only assume that this is juts marketing, as 140mm rotors used to be the odd size on bikes. Road use of rotors has xhnaged that. 

Personally I'd but shimano wheels over mavic any day now.

In reply to Prof. Outdoors:

Yes, I should have said cassette spacing, too, but I've not had any issues swapping between wheelsets with different hubs on my road bike with Shimano rear mech.

In any case, most variation is easier to compensate for with a tweak to the cable adjuster.

Shims is a good idea.

In reply to Prof. Outdoors:

Thanks - I've had a look, but most seemed to be quick release and I need 12mm thru axle, will keep an eye open though.

In reply to LastBoyScout:

Ah yeah, that's a good point, not being a 'bike person' I naively assumed that the hub width/fitting would be standardised in some way that put the rotors in the same place.... 

In reply to Prof. Outdoors:

Is this a bad thing? I presume it is? Thanks for the tip on shims.

In reply to Dave B:

Thanks, I had a look at the dealer manual as well and couldn't see anything, but thought I might be being a bit dim somehow.

In reply to Richard Horn:

Yes, spending local would be preferable, but I think that getting custom built wheels will probably be out of budget.

In reply to Fellover:

Whatever you go for, here's a +1 for DT Swiss (always reliable) and a -1 for Mavic (especially if ones with stupid proprietary spokes—or "smart" ones, for that matter).

In reply to Fellover:

Most fork manufacturers, and some wheel manufacturers will give a maximum disc brake size; its there for warranty purposes, but unless you weigh a LOT and are really pushing things to the limit, you will be fine.  There will always be some people who've 'heard' of horror stories, but in reality, the number of people who've actually snapped a decent fork or ripped their spokes due to a too-large rotor must be countable on one hand.  Obviously, perhaps avoid trying to stick a 203mm on a 140mm though!  Basically; I wouldn't worry.

My xc mtb is posted for 160mm all round and stated that 180/160mm is the max.  However, I've been riding 203mm/180 for a year now with no problems (other than having once gone over the handlebars into a tree, because I grabbed a handful soon after fitting them).

In reply to Fellover:

The shimano wheels you found came on my new bike, with 160 rotors so should be fine. They aren't tubeless compatible but if you're using them on road that's no issue.

Having ridden them, they are heavy but despite that actually ride quite well. As others mention you may have to re-adjust the caliper when you swap but its normally only an issue at the rear and in reality takes 5 mins (2 bolts to.undo then re-tighten).

I do the same on my cross bike, swapping regularly between 2 different wheelsets. Much easier than faffing with tyres.

In reply to crayefish:

Great thanks, that's reassuring to know.

In reply to spragglerocks:

Thanks - useful info.

Yeah that's what I'm hoping

Thanks to everyone on the thread, you've convinced me that it'll be ok/a good idea - I'll come back and complain if it doesn't work...

In reply to Fellover:

Buy these:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/194934414022391/permalink/1697047617144389/...

Better than the shimano and cheaper and might have same hubs as your existing wheels.

I have a Specialized Diverge and run 2 pairs of wheels - although the 'better' wheels are the road wheels with carbon rims. All road/gravel wheels have nominally the same disc spacing - you don't need to have 2 identical hubs to be able to swap them over. Sometimes you may need to re-centre the brake calliper (undo 2 screws, pull the brake lever to centre the calliper and re-tighten screws) or if that's too much, you can get shims for 6 bolt disc hubs. 140mm to 160mm wouldn't be a problem - it's usually the design of frame/fork that dictates the disc size, not the wheel. I'd also look for a wheel that is tubeless compatible - who doesn't want fewer punctures and lower rolling resistance?

In reply to spragglerocks:

This was a great tip - thank you! I'm collecting them tomorrow morning

In reply to dovebiker:

Thanks for the info on spacing and rotor compatibility, nice to know that it should work out fine. Happily the wheels spragglerocks linked above are tubeless ready so that's a nice bonus.

In reply to dovebiker:good advice on the shims front. Superstar components do them now https://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/disc-rotor-spacers-6-bolt.htm I got a set of their wheels but struggled with the swap out due to the brakes. shims sorted it too an easy job.