2nd wheel set - swap cassette & rotors?

one piece crank

one piece crank

Well-Known Member
Curious if those with multiple wheel sets swap the cassette and rotors between wheels, or have the wheel sets 100% ready to go?

With my 11spd fat bike I had both sets complete. Now that I’m converting my summer wheels to 12spd, I think I’ll just swap rotors cassette. Seems like two different wear mitigation strategies.
 
one piece crank said:
Curious if those with multiple wheel sets swap the cassette and rotors between wheels, or have the wheel sets 100% ready to go?

With my 11spd fat bike I had both sets complete. Now that I’m converting my summer wheels to 12spd, I think I’ll just swap rotors cassette. Seems like two different wear mitigation strategies.
Click to expand...
2 complete sets. Easy, not even a caliper adjustment.
 
Rotors stay on. On my fatbike the cassettes stay on also (different range on each). On MTB I swap the cassettes, but in reality I have my favorite wheelsets and rarely use the second/spare wheelset. On road bike I swap wheels summer/winter and swap the cassette.
 
rotors and cassettes stay on. If the hubs are identical, and the rotors are the same size and thickness, then the rotor-to-caliper clearance is identical. If the cassettes are the same number of speeds, then no issue with derailleur adjustment either.
 
i have multiple sets with multiple different brands of hubs (i9/dt swiss/onyx/hunt) and rotors(hope and shimano) i never have to adjust anything regardless of the 4 bikes they go on. same cassette brands slx/xt and indexing is always perfect too. all my bikes have metallic brake pads, not sure if there is such thing as resin and metallic material contamination.
 
Last edited:
Just realized I already have one take-off rotor, so I only have to buy one. I’ll get shims too and see if I can match the smacking on both wheel sets. @shrpshtr325 that is a great tip!

Next seasonal wheel swap I’ll grab a 2nd cassette.
 
Not sure if your asking only about MTB. I guess I got lucky with my gravel bike it has T/A with handles so makes it easy to swap wheel sets. 2021 Checkpoint ALR5.

2 different brands with different brand rotors but with the same kind of cassette and I have never had any issues between wheel swaps.
 
Two complete wheel sets. Stans hubs on one, DT Swiss on the other. No issues at all.
 
I have one cassette for three different wheel sets because I’m cheap and it takes less than 5 min to do. Rotors can suck it though. Too tedious and too likely to contaminate them if I’m rushing.
 
For my dual suspension, I have two 27.5 wheelsets and a 29er wheelset--all with rotors and cassettes, and they swap with no adjustments.
For my hardtail, I have three wheelsets all with rotors and cassettes: mountain tires, cyclocross tires, and road slicks. Two of those swap with no adjustments. The third has brake rub.
For my road bike I have two wheelsets, each with rotors and cassettes. As with one set from the hardtail, these calipers need a slight adjustment when swapping wheels.
I am less likely to swap wheels that require caliper adjustments.
 
Only spare wheel I use regularly is my trainer wheel that I swap on my gravel bike for indoor rides. I got a spare cassette and it came with a rotor, one thru axle swap (for one with attachment points for my trainer) and that's it. The less hassle it is the more likely I'll actually swap it and use my trainer lol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom