How to shop for new wheels

[peter]

If I want to swap the wheels, what specifications do I need to look out for? The current wheels are Shimano WH-R550 with 28 tyres.

I'm hoping to get wheels that can take 35 tyres, it seems there is enough clearance. The rear wheel has a 10-speed cassette if that matters.

[trailgumby]

Photos not displaying. Permissions?

[g-boaf]

If I want to swap the wheels, what specifications do I need to look out for? The current wheels are Shimano WH-R550 with 28 tyres.

I'm hoping to get wheels that can take 35 tyres, it seems there is enough clearance. The rear wheel has a 10-speed cassette if that matters.

Probably the sharing settings on the images aren't right. How come the need for up to 35 tyres?

[peter]

Sorry guys, hopefully fixed now (tested working in incognito mode). It's really weird, the photos are already in a publicly shared folder, but the links to the photos sometimes don't work unless I right click then open in new tab and use the link from the address bar of the new tab. It appears to be a deliberate effort to prevent hot linking.

Anyway, the main reason I want to change to wider tyres is to improve comfort and traction (in term grip and safety). I set out to look for a new bike with wider tyres, but quickly realised that anything with 105 running gears start at $2,500 (I'm already running on 105, so don't want to buy a new bike with inferior components).

Considering there's really nothing wrong with my current bike, except I want wider tyres, maybe it's more sensible to just change the wheels. Also I wanted a stronger wheel, I feel the 16/20 spokes setup is on the weak side for a 90kg rider, and they are a bit out of round and require tuning.

The frame appears to have enough clearance to accommodate wider wheels, I have to investigate amount of adjustment available on the V-brakes (Deore XT).

I am already feeling the challenge finding a set of suitable wheels, it seems anything that can take 35 tyres are disc wheels.

[P!N20]

How come the need for up to 35 tyres?

Gravel. On trend.

[Duck!]

Going on the clearances in those pics, I'd suggest 32mm is mote likely your maximum tyre size; you should have a minimum of 4mm all around the tyre.

Plenty of non-disc "hybrid" wheels that will do the job.

[peter]

Plenty of non-disc "hybrid" wheels that will do the job.

It’s good to know options are out there. Somehow I can’t find any suitable ones from Chain Reaction, probably due to my lack of understanding in terminologies.

[SheikYerbouti]

Wide tyres? Get wide rims. Many C17s (17mm internal width between the beads) are the minimum you should get for 28mm+ tyre width, and 19mm would be better. But these will obviously have wider outer edges which may affect fitting, require caliper adjustment, etc

[peter]

Took some measurement last night, the fork has a 50mm space, the downtube and chainstay both have 46mm of space. 35 tyres should be fine, I get that it may not be exactly 35mm, so slight uncertainty but have to try it out.

Now just need to find the wheels.

[peter]

So Chain Reaction has the Fulcrum Racing 3 reasonably priced, but I'm not quite sure the spec is right:

http://www.fulcrumwheels.com/en/wheels/ ... s/racing-3

Rim width is only 22.5mm (17mm inner), how can it fit tyres of up to 50mm?! If it is in indeed correct, then 32 or 35 is well within the spec. If that's the case, I think the R550 is already compatible.

[eeksll]

have you found this on your internet wanderings?

http://engineerstalk.mavic.com/en/the-r ... rim-width/

"section 4 safety" lists the rim width/tyre size combos.

[peter]

Thanks for that link, I will remove the tyre tonight to measure the rim width just to be sure.

[peter]

Took the rear wheel off to fix the cassette, also took the tyre off to change the rotational direction to match the front, this provides the opportunity to the weight the wheel (just for fun) and to measure the rim width. Turns out the R550 has an inner width of 15mm, 21mm overall.

May go ahead ordering the Fulcrum Race 3 (17mm).

[peter]

No go, just realised that any tyres wider than 28 won't clear the front brake pads, will need to remove the pads or deflate the wheel.

Gee! Nearly pull the trigger on a set of Fulcrum Race 3s with Conti Gatorskin 32s.

[A_P]

http://cdn.velonews.com/wp-content/uplo ... 10/CX4.jpg
cant do this?

[peter]

The clearance is 30mm between the brake pads with cable relaxed, that’s the maximum they can go.

Thinking about it that may not be an issue, because usually there are two reasons to remove the front wheel. 1) to repair, in such case the tyre is already deflated, 2) for transport, just take a track pump along.

[peter]

Got a pair of C17 clincher wheels, Campagnolo Zonda specifically, so far very happy. Running 32c tyres, Conti 4 Seasons, probably the right width to avoid clearance issues.

Have since ridden close to 1,000km, very comfy. I would like to think that this is the right choice over buying a new bike, considering my current bike is already setup the way I like and now with upgraded wheelset.

[hamishm]

I have 28mm GP4000sII tyres on my 15mm internal width rims (Mavic Open Pro) with zero issues. The DT Swiss reference chart says this is fine. https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&sour ... uCvd50JkJ1

So you don't need to go extra wide to run 20-30mm tyres.

[BadDave]

Hey there all!!

After some advice. I own a 2011 SL3 Tarmac Pro and am looking to buy some carbon clinchers. This type of frame was made before wide wheels became popular. Recently tried some Campy Bora 50's which fitted nicely but are way out of budget zone. I am looking at some wheels with a brake track width of 25.5mm. Does anyone out there have that model frame and what width of wheel can they get in there??