new to discs -- mutiple wheels and rotors?

[teleguy57]

Getting ready for my Alliance allroad coming in late winter/early spring, and I plan to have two different wheelsets for fast road rides and mixed pavement rides. If I have the same brand of rotors on both sets, can I bed them in with the same pads and not have to worry about changing pads or rotors when I swap wheels?

How about if I would have two different brands of rotors? Thanks!

[Spdntrxi]

just one bike.. you keep the same pads and just keep one set of rotors. I only use centerlock to make swapping rotors quick and easy.

I have 3 bikes and 3 sets of rotors dedicated for each bike. I find this lessens the chance of me having to adjust the calipers when I switch.

[Gummee]

If you can help it, keep the same brand of hubs between your wheelsets.

Right now, I switching between 2 sets of wheels on my gravel bike and the rotors are slightly off between them. Not a huge deal, but it is an issue

M

[Spdntrxi]

If you can help it, keep the same brand of hubs between your wheelsets.

Right now, I switching between 2 sets of wheels on my gravel bike and the rotors are slightly off between them. Not a huge deal, but it is an issue

M

my industry9, vs my DT240s and HED all line up fine. My Easton 650b,,have easton X5 hubs and I need to adjust for those. 3 out of 4 is not bad.

[dddd]

Bike rotors shouldn't be allowed to ever wear far enough to cause significant surface profile mis-match.
So unless the pads have actually developed step-wear at the edge of the rotor, no problems should result from swapping similar rotors. between bikes.
Such step-wear would normally be the result of caliper radial positioning error.

That said, you might notice a very slight re-bedding process occurring with each change of wheels/rotors, due to surface wear having developed.

[R3awak3n]

I have 2 sets of rotors, 2 sets of wheels, 1 set of pads. They all properly bedded and I just do a quick wheel stop and braking bliss is achieved on both wheelsets

[Spdntrxi]

I have 2 sets of rotors, 2 sets of wheels, 1 set of pads. They all properly bedded and I just do a quick wheel stop and braking bliss is achieved on both wheelsets

5.5 sets of wheels.. 2 sets of rotor.. 160/160 160/140. I dont want to buy all those rotors for my wheel sets.:help:

[R3awak3n]

5.5 sets of wheels.. 2 sets of rotor.. 160/160 160/140. I dont want to buy all those rotors for my wheel sets.:help:

haha yeah, if I had that many wheels I would only have 2 rotors too... nice rotors are not cheap.

[teleguy57]

Thanks, all. One disc bike, so no need to deal with different sizes. Going in strategy will be to swap rotors as needed. Likely I'll have different hubsets for the two pairs of wheels so I'll have to see how well they align with each other.

But still very willing to hear additional points-of-view. That's one of the things that makes this place great.

[R3awak3n]

there are spacers available for both 6 bolt and centerlock. I have them on centerlock, they kinda work. Not perfect but workable.

[Andy sti]

Swapping rotors sounds like a pain, don't do that. Two rotors only cost $70-100. It won't change your disc centering concern either.

Just put the same size rotors on both sets of wheels. The pads will be fine. Disc pads last a long time and swapping wheels will not make a difference.

Because of 2 different hubs the disc may not line up perfectly in the caliper but there is a good chance it will. If it doesn't you can just center it for each ride, shim it with special made shims, or try to center the caliper somewhere in between to work with both wheelsets.

You're over thinking this.

[Davist]

I have 2 wheelsets, same brand hubs (not same model) 2 sets rotors, very little difference, swap away!

[Mark McM]

just one bike.. you keep the same pads and just keep one set of rotors. I only use centerlock to make swapping rotors quick and easy.

I have 3 bikes and 3 sets of rotors dedicated for each bike. I find this lessens the chance of me having to adjust the calipers when I switch.

Holy moly! And I thought wheel changes with disc brakes were only a little slower than rim brakes due to the through axles! You mean you have to swap rotors, too? How do pro road racers handle this?

I don't always have a lot of time for a ride on any given day. Once in a while I'll grab a bike for a ride, only to find that a tire is flat (maybe it had a slow leak since the last time I rode it). On those odd occasions, it takes less than a minute to swap to another rim brake wheel, and my riding time is not curtailed that day (I can fix the flat in the evening when I get back). If I followed the above advice, then if I used disc brakes I might have to curtail my ride that day.

[bigbill]

I have two sets of wheels for my Coconino Dirt Roadster, one has WI XMR 6 bolt and the other has Boyd CLD. I shimmed the rear Boyd .025 to not have to adjust the caliper when I swap wheels. I obviously don't swap rotors.

[Jaybee]

Swapping rotors sounds like a pain, don't do that. Two rotors only cost $70-100. It won't change your disc centering concern either.

Just put the same size rotors on both sets of wheels. The pads will be fine. Disc pads last a long time and swapping wheels will not make a difference.

Because of 2 different hubs the disc may not line up perfectly in the caliper but there is a good chance it will. If it doesn't you can just center it for each ride, shim it with special made shims, or try to center the caliper somewhere in between to work with both wheelsets.

You're over thinking this.

This is where I am on this as well. I've got 3 bikes that spend at least 25% of their time on a second wheelset (gravel 650b/700c, FS trail bike 29er/27.5+, fattie 27.5 fat/29+) and every wheel has it's own rotor. The 29+ wheelset required a shim, all of the others fit fine with no rubbing.

No way I'd spend time swapping rotors every time I swap wheels. Check the tire pressure, a quick spin through the gears on the stand, buckle the helmet and go. If it takes 30 minutes to get out the door, chances are that I might find something else to do.

[vqdriver]

this is a case by case deal.
you can use the same rotors on the same hubs to minimize the chance of any problems, but irl, using the same hub is more important than using the same rotor. obviously they need to be the same size.

minor differences can lead to rubbing or brake noise, but that's also why you don't want to screw with your calipers all the time either.
again, every person on here can give you a different answer and we could all be wrong. just need to try it with your particular setup.

the one thing i'd avoid is using the same rotors on bikes with different brake pads. going from organic to sintered and back and forth will almost certainly lead to tons of brake noise.

[teleguy57]

You're over thinking this.

Of course I am! Isn't that why we have the forum? And it would be inconsistent of me not to overthink this along with every other choice on the new bike:)

[bigbill]

Of course I am! Isn't that why we have the forum? And it would be inconsistent of me not to overthink this along with every other choice on the new bike:)

What else is there to do? Can you even see pavement this time of year? I took my severance from KC and moved to new job in AZ.

[Spdntrxi]

Swapping rotors especially center lock is cake .. I can do it faster then toeing in brake pads

[teleguy57]

What else is there to do? Can you even see pavement this time of year? I took my severance from KC and moved to new job in AZ.
Sure, pavement is white and soft with some shiny slippery spots on it. And where it's not soft it's still white from road chemicals and still has slippery spots. Have not idea why people would ever call it blacktop....

On the positive side of things, we seem to be going out of the either "snow's melted off the trails" or "-20F temps make skiing really slow" cycle and are getting good snow every few days and decent temps. Had an amazing time at the biathlon course and range yesterday. Program director is already planning run/shoot or mtn bike/shoot events for the snowless time of year.

Been following your riding/new bike reportings here and across the hall. Bet you don't miss the trips to WI this time of year!

[IFRider]

I have two sets of wheels for my Coconino Dirt Roadster, one has WI XMR 6 bolt and the other has Boyd CLD. I shimmed the rear Boyd .025 to not have to adjust the caliper when I swap wheels. I obviously don't swap rotors.

I run 2.5 set on my IF Deluxe. 2.5=DT Swiss 240s with one thru axle front and one QR front. The second set is a Mavic CrossMax QR F/R. Key was using shims to get all wheels with 6 bolts aligned. Works I swap shock/rigid fork a couple of times a year which is simple as some extra locktight on the caliper mount.

[adub]

Life is too short for wheel swaps, set them up on their own bikes. :)

[Mark McM]

Swapping rotors especially center lock is cake .. I can do it faster then toeing in brake pads

You re-toe your brake pads when you swap rim brake wheels?

[teleguy57]

Life is too short for wheel swaps, set them up on their own bikes. :)

POTD :hello: