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I got a gravel bike in January that can take either 650b or 700c wheels. It came with 650b wheels with WTB Byways on. When I ordered it I had in mind that I'd get a set of 700c wheels with faster tyres on for road, and keep the 650bs with knobblier tyres on for off road stuff. (The Byways are obviously not all that knobbly - they were a compromise while I had the one set of wheels still, plus where I live there's a lot of road miles to get to bridleways.)
Anyway, I got a set of 700c wheels in the Spring, and they're still on there. But swapping the cassette and rotors over and adjusting the calipers made me wonder how people regularly rotate wheels in practice?
Do you swap the cassette and rotors each time, or do you have a second set for each wheel? If you have 2 cassettes, how do you get on with the same chain if one has done a lot more miles than the other?
I have a direct drive trainer for Zwift with a second cassette on it, and I definitely notice it runs a bit rough if the bike hasn't been on there for a while.
I have three wheelsets for my Amazon.
I use the same cassette each has their own rotors.
Since I started using the 650x47 Rutlands, the set with 700x40C Nanos has been effectively retired.
The third set has 700x28 GP4Seasons at the moment, ostensibly for road touring/winter road duties though will likely have some studded Marathon Winters fitted by the end of the year.
The 650 wheels and the winter wheels both have dynamo front hubs.
FWIW, I found that swapping wheels while using BB7s was a complete pain as they needed careful setting up each time. With Shimano Hydros now fitted it's a much simpler/quicker job.
I've two wheel sets for the MTB and two for the gravel. They all have their own cassette and rotors so I don't have to swap them about. Sorting the caliper alignment takes a few mins and that's it. I don't worry about chain wear and just check regularly - all of the cassettes are of the predominately steel machined type.
The gravel bike tends to get it's road wheel for a month or two and then gravel wheels for a month or two. The MTB is a fat bike so the second set are 29+ and get less use than the fat set - mainly on uplift days. But when I put them on again they stay on for a few weeks, before swapping back to bigg tyres.
I run two sets of wheels on an mtb. I use rotor shims so I can avoid adjusting the caliper each time I switch.
Syntace do rotor shims so you shouldn't ever have to fiddle about with centring rotors.
I used to have a cassette on each wheel and never noticed a problem with wear but was frequently swapping, so wear was even I suppose.
What @ac282 said. Buy another set of discs and shim them to the same position.
Or just make sure you have the same hubs and rotors.
2 sets of wheels here too ( seems it’s more common than I thought!!). I have a cassette and rotors on each and I swap them about all the time. Probably should try and get a shim for one of the the fronts as I have to realign the calliper - aligning it takes seconds now though and I do it by eye.
Quite a few sets of wheels, I’ve never even thought about it. Each has their own cassette and rotor. Never had to align them either, just pop them on the bike and away I go.
Tbh though I’m a bit lazy, I’ve never topped up the sealant either and some of my wheels are sat not moving for 6 months.
I’ve had three sets of wheels for my gt grade 650b and 700cc wheelsets for gravel and a light road wheelset for winter road riding. I have two cassettes one on the road wheels and I swap between the gravel wheels I do find the gears and brakes need a tweak each time.
On my new bike I’m having the wheels built im planning to get the 650b gravel and road wheels built on the same hubs hopefully that will minimise the faff.
I have three sets of wheels on my CX bike all with different hubs and with their own rotors and cassettes. They were built/ fitted by my LBS and I can change them seamlessly. Just pop them in and off I go!
My wife does the 700c/650b swap with no problems so far (2 cassettes). But early days. It'll be a while before she wears out anything. Disk brakes and gears seem fine with a direct swap (bolt through axles, identical hubs and disks though the cassettes are marginally different sizes).
I have a gravel bike that runs 700c x 45 in summer and 700c x 32 with a full guard in the winter. Different wheelsets, each with dedicated casette (different gearing) and rotors).
Use it as my winter road bike. So only rarely swap over.
Interesting, thanks all. Seems like cassette + rotors for each wheel is the way forward. Although probably unavailable for 12 months or something at the moment...
Update in case anyone is interested! I've put a second cassette on my other pair of wheels. Rotors are centrelock so swapping them only takes a couple of minutes, but the front brake calliper does need realigning each time - the rear seems fine. Less than 10 mins the lot I think, so I'm happy with that for the frequency I'm doing it.
I've got 7 sets of 27.5 (in the family), all the same rotors (except 1) shimmed to save adjusting brakes and all 11 sp cassettes. (Only 2 fit my only boost fork and need the conversion kit fitting) - kid doesn't need 203/180 but means I can swap wheels over. His mum wouldn't realise if I stuck 26" wheels on...
I don't pay over a tenner for a chain ... Last set were 12xPC1110 at £8.99 each though I'm running out. I Change them often rather than wreck the rest of the drivechain.
Half of these are just rebuilt wheels TBH... I have one with XC tyres from a rim the kid wrecked, put a £25 DT Swiss rim on and fast rolling tyre of local pottering/gravel etc. paired with a front wheel I smashed the rear ages ago.
Some "faster rolling" sets are actually worn down grippy tyres...
At any point 5 sets are on bikes in the family. " sets are floating.
My HT gets used for loads... I could remove the wheels from the XC but I'd need to swap rotors so I just keep a 203/180 fast rolling... my "best wheels" got a bit more grip for winter but I usually take them off if I'm riding bike park anyway as I can't afford to replace them. The "alternate" wheels are a £100 set with DH casing and tyre inserts... a bit heavy but better than breaking a wheel (or less costly)
Anyway... It's a 2 min job to swap wheels (other then the boost one) always have the right tyres .. and generally lighter wheels with faster rolling tyres.
I have two wheelsets for the gravel bike. They each have thier own cassette and rotors. They're centerlock rotors, so I just sanded down the mating faces with wet+dry on a granite worktop so they all lined up nicely. Didn't take long at all
but the front brake calliper does need realigning each time
Get some shims, I used to have to realign mine each time. Not any more..👍😎
Every time I’ve had 2 sets of wheels for a bike I end up just using the best or favourite set and the other set get sold
Update in case anyone is interested! I’ve put a second cassette on my other pair of wheels. Rotors are centrelock so swapping them only takes a couple of minutes, but the front brake calliper does need realigning each time – the rear seems fine. Less than 10 mins the lot I think, so I’m happy with that for the frequency I’m doing it.
I did this thread a few months back and bought some shims from xcracer or someone as a result. Blummin expensive but seemed to do the job on one end.
Where you based?
https://cyclocrossracer.co.uk/products/centre-lock-shims-pack-of-four
Both sets are identical hubs. Both have their own rotors and cassettes.
I have three sets of wheels on my CX bike all with different hubs
Sharing hubs would be a labour of love....