rain dogs
06-03-2020, 03:28 PM
The switch being: swapping wheelsets between gravel/all road bikes.
Quick backstory: Wife and I bought matchy matchy Niner gravel bikes (different colors). We have 3 wheelsets - 700x32 slick, 700x35 light knobs, 650bx45 slick for now. All have the same 11/34 cassette.
Wife has been riding the 650bx45 for a while now and I finally got around to putting some spacers behind the discs of the lighter wheelset to make a "road" option. And this past weekend we finally swapped em and saw how the biggest change for each of us felt.
Takeaways:
1. Totally sold on the one versatile frame, multi-wheelsets.
2. The swap took no effort... nothing, 5 minutes tops... if that (once the initial one-time set, rotors were spaced etc.) no brake.rub, no ghost shifting, nothing. worked perfect.
3. The handling change is really noticeable for the first half hour then not. The whole "a bike is designed for 1 size 700 OR 650B" is totally overblown. Maybe if you went from 700x25 to 650B x 2,1 or something.
4. There is NO WAY that 650B or much wider tires roll faster than or even close to 700c (irrespective of what the wider/lower gurus say). Not even close. I was suddenly pedaling non-stop like I was on a fixed gear and all I heard all day long behind me was bzzzzzzzzzzzz.... pedal pedal... bzzzzzzzzz. It would be mentally heavy to do a big brevet on the 650B if my wife was behind me buzzing away the whole time reminding me how much more I'm working than if I had chosen 700c x 32. Every descent she just rolled on past me unless I pedaled. Same 55 psi btw
5. Opens my mind to options for when we go bikepacking and me being her "team car".... I can just roll with the less suitable wheel option for the given the terrain and profile - give her the best wheelset option for the riding we'd do that day.
It's super nerdy, but it's pretty cool. Previous most similar bikes we had were a couple of CAAD's.... max tires 25c. Switching wheelsets was never a thought. Why would you? This is pretty cool/nerdy for us/her. One day she could be riding 700x30 road.... the next day 650bx45 singletrack, and we don't even have to be home to make the change. :cool: I'm just gonna have to be working to keep up now!
Quick backstory: Wife and I bought matchy matchy Niner gravel bikes (different colors). We have 3 wheelsets - 700x32 slick, 700x35 light knobs, 650bx45 slick for now. All have the same 11/34 cassette.
Wife has been riding the 650bx45 for a while now and I finally got around to putting some spacers behind the discs of the lighter wheelset to make a "road" option. And this past weekend we finally swapped em and saw how the biggest change for each of us felt.
Takeaways:
1. Totally sold on the one versatile frame, multi-wheelsets.
2. The swap took no effort... nothing, 5 minutes tops... if that (once the initial one-time set, rotors were spaced etc.) no brake.rub, no ghost shifting, nothing. worked perfect.
3. The handling change is really noticeable for the first half hour then not. The whole "a bike is designed for 1 size 700 OR 650B" is totally overblown. Maybe if you went from 700x25 to 650B x 2,1 or something.
4. There is NO WAY that 650B or much wider tires roll faster than or even close to 700c (irrespective of what the wider/lower gurus say). Not even close. I was suddenly pedaling non-stop like I was on a fixed gear and all I heard all day long behind me was bzzzzzzzzzzzz.... pedal pedal... bzzzzzzzzz. It would be mentally heavy to do a big brevet on the 650B if my wife was behind me buzzing away the whole time reminding me how much more I'm working than if I had chosen 700c x 32. Every descent she just rolled on past me unless I pedaled. Same 55 psi btw
5. Opens my mind to options for when we go bikepacking and me being her "team car".... I can just roll with the less suitable wheel option for the given the terrain and profile - give her the best wheelset option for the riding we'd do that day.
It's super nerdy, but it's pretty cool. Previous most similar bikes we had were a couple of CAAD's.... max tires 25c. Switching wheelsets was never a thought. Why would you? This is pretty cool/nerdy for us/her. One day she could be riding 700x30 road.... the next day 650bx45 singletrack, and we don't even have to be home to make the change. :cool: I'm just gonna have to be working to keep up now!