2nd Wheelset for Commuting?

[autom8ed]

After buying a full suspension bike, i'm ready to ditch my roadie and use the more comfy setup of my Felt for paved streets as well. Looking to buy a 2nd wheelset for easy setup change. Does anybody have any suggestions as how to best go about this? Obviously the wheels need to be fully built with disc rotors and rear cassette intact. Should I go to a wheelbuilder for this or can I get what I need at my LBS or Rei?

What kind of tires should I look for to get the max speed out of my full susp. mtn bike setup?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[alfeng]

After buying a full suspension bike, i'm ready to ditch my roadie and use the more comfy setup of my Felt for paved streets as well. Looking to buy a 2nd wheelset for easy setup change. Does anybody have any suggestions as how to best go about this? Obviously the wheels need to be fully built with disc rotors and rear cassette intact. Should I go to a wheelbuilder for this or can I get what I need at my LBS or Rei?

What kind of tires should I look for to get the max speed out of my full susp. mtn bike setup?

If your current rims are 559-17 (the most common size, I think), then get a pair of 'city slicks' & new tubes ...

Try them for a few rides before you buy a second set of wheels BECAUSE I don't think that you will find your full suspension bike to be as great as you think it will be for most street riding because of the added weight of the bike's suspension ...

Having said that, where you buy the wheels depends on how much you want to spend.

I would think that the MTB wheels you use for your street riding don't have to have the best hubs or rims unless you plan to do most of your riding with the bike on roadways.

Some say that 'fat' tires benefit from being mounted on wider rims ...

So, if your bike's wheels have 559-17 rims & nothing-special hubs, then you can consider having the new set laced with wider rims & better hubs & use the current set for riding on the road.

 

[autom8ed]

Hi Alfeng,

Thanks for reply. The rims are Mavic XC 117. Its a 26" wheel. not sure if its a 559-17. They are the original wheels from a Felt Virtue 3. So you think I should keep these wheels for street use and have a wider set built for my single tracking?

I guess I'm at the point where I don't care about my speed and just want the exercise with greater comfort. And I'm tired of taking care of 2 bikes so I was thinking of simplifying. The suspension bits lock out at both ends for road work so I thought I could give the road tires a try without loosing too much speed.

I'll try the city slicks tires you mention, but the current rims are a tubeless setup. Do I still need the tubes for the road slicks?

Bryan

If your current rims are 559-17 (the most common size, I think), then get a pair of 'city slicks' & new tubes ...

Try them for a few rides before you buy a second set of wheels BECAUSE I don't think that you will find your full suspension bike to be as great as you think it will be for most street riding because of the added weight of the bike's suspension ...

Having said that, where you buy the wheels depends on how much you want to spend.

I would think that the MTB wheels you use for your street riding don't have to have the best hubs or rims unless you plan to do most of your riding with the bike on roadways.

Some say that 'fat' tires benefit from being mounted on wider rims ...

So, if your bike's wheels have 559-17 rims & nothing-special hubs, then you can consider having the new set laced with wider rims & better hubs & use the current set for riding on the road.

 

[alfeng]

The rims are Mavic XC 117. Its a 26" wheel. not sure if its a 559-17. They are the original wheels from a Felt Virtue 3. So you think I should keep these wheels for street use and have a wider set built for my single tracking?

Your MAVIC XC 117 are 559-17 (the last two digits in MAVIC's designation is often the bead-to-bead width ... if you look at the label near the word 'MAVIC' you'll probably see the numbers 559-17 which is the rim size).

I don't know how much wider the rims have to be be a noticeable-or-real improvement over tubeless 559-17 rims & tubeless tires ...

Supposedly, the cross section of the same tire on a wider rim allows for a better contact patch at a comparably low PSI ...

So, in theory, a 559-19 tubeless rim & tire will be better than a 559-17 tubeless rim & the same tire, but a 559-17 tubeless rim with a tubeless tire may be better than a 559-19 with a the same tire + tube ...

I guess that the advantage really depends on how low a pressure you like to run your tires ...

Although the theory of a wider rim makes sense to me, I don't have any tubeless setups ...

You need to try to get "a second opinion" on rim width & tire pressure, etc. before you buy the second wheelset.

I guess I'm at the point where I don't care about my speed and just want the exercise with greater comfort. And I'm tired of taking care of 2 bikes so I was thinking of simplifying. The suspension bits lock out at both ends for road work so I thought I could give the road tires a try without loosing too much speed.

Okay, that makes sense ... but, try a few rides on your MTB before you abandon your road bike.

I'll try the city slicks tires you mention, but the current rims are a tubeless setup. Do I still need the tubes for the road slicks?

Yes, you will need tubes for the 'slicks' because the tires, themselves, are not designed to be tubeless.