Would you rather have two specific bikes for road and gravel, or one bike with two wheelsets? Let us know in the comments!👇

The video ends just as I wanted it begins : when these minor issues in alignment appear. There is some fine tuning to do and some very thin washers we can use. I thought we would talk about this as I saw the title.

One of my bikes has two wheel sets. It wasn’t mentioned in this video, but I’ve learnt that it is good practice to check and adjust (if required) the rear derailleur and cassette alignment when switching between sets. The slightly different profiles between wheels can affect shifting performance if not adjusted for. Even if you’re using the same cassette!

I thought you might explain how to use spacers to fine-adjust rotor spacing... Even with the exact same make of wheels there will often (usually?) be spacing differences and you will have set up the brakes each time (I'd rather have two bikes). But spacer is the only way to make them plug and play

Perfect time to publish such a video as many riders are probably considering purchasing a winter wheelset! Living in Finland winter means studded tyres, corrosive salt and bearing-killing slush. I'm considering mounting spike tires on the stock average WTB wheels I got with my Cannondale Topstone and buying a nicer alloy wheelset (DT Swiss GR1600) to use it from April to November. Or in those perfect winter days when the temperature is way below zero and it snows so grippier gravel tyres are enough to have good traction.

Already did it this year. Stock ones are commuting wheels and the Zipp 303 are weekend wheels. Literally 2 bikes. Works awesome. Especially when stock of new bikes is low.

🚨🚨Great Tip🚨🚨: Use 0.1mm disc brake and cassette shims to line up the fitment between different wheel types/brands, then you won’t have to adjust mech or calliper when swapping. Maximum adjustment should always be less than 1mm to ensure proper engagement with the splines is maintained: if you need more than this there may be something wrong with your hub. The spacers are cheap and easy to install. Works best with wide clearance disc brake bikes: I use one bike for gravel commuting and chainganging on the same day, only one quick swap required 😎

I had the misalignment error on the rotors.... set of 0.2mm shims off eBay. Job done 👍🏻

It would have been helpful to explain how to install shims if the rotors are slightly rubbing on the calliper

Thanks for sharing these tips, Alex. I'm using two wheelsets on my gravel bike since I bought it and it is almost like having 2 bikes. 👌

FYI for anyone running into disc rotor alignment issues: November Bicycles sell shims for center lock rotors. Was a lifesaver for my two wheelset setup.

Alex thanks good video. As a Phantom Phixer I learned a long time ago to always use the proper torque values, because the last thing you want is something coming undone while the plane is going mach2.

Got myself a second dt swiss E1800 wheelset. Now I’ve got one with road tires. And one with gravel tires. And with these dt swiss hubs, you can pull of the cassette with (yes with) the freehub and swap them between the wheels. So now I can change the cassettes in seconds without any tools. Easy swapping 👍🏻

I m working on this and the video came up. Spot on. Thanks. DT Swiss 32mm alloy rim for commuting in crosswind home every evening. DT Swiss 50/62mm carbon for group and weekend rides without strong crosswind in the morning. But, my new tyres lost by Auspost. Major delay again.

I have accumulated 5 sets of rim brake wheel sets of different makes. All of it works perfect on my shifters. I only flick the brake adjustment levers when I change to another wheel set.

I have 4 bikes 2 of them have 2 sets of wheels the road bike and cyclocross bike. This suits my needs.

for me it's not that easy... beside the brakes I need to adjust also the rear derailleur as the cassette is different. I have 12-25 on road set and 11-32 on gravel set. Even with the same 12-25 casstette on smart trainer (12-25) some small adjustment is always need to get the proper smooth shifting.

When I had an accident sometime in September 2021, the front wheel of my bike was badly damaged that I had to make an emergency wheelset replacement from 27x1 1/4 to 700x25c because the local bike shops in the area where I had the accident doesn't have 27x1 1/4. Good thing my bike has a classic frame that can accommodate 700c. Haven't replaced it since then and still works like a charm with a 38c tire 😂

Great advice especially about sticking to same brands I use campy shamals and bora's for this very reason.... The hub spacing I have found can sometimes also throw the gears out slightly aswel 👍

Single easiest thing I've done is to use wheels with the same hubs. I built two sets of wheels up, but used the same hubs, so when I swap them, I don't have to deal with the darn rotors rubbing/not being centered. After that, it's cake.

I run double wheelsets on both my CX and XC bikes. For the cyclocross on race season I've got mud and general cx-tires. Outside that gravel tires on one and the other road or studded tires depending on season. The XC is more straght forward. XC/studded on one wheelset and other trail-tires

you make setting up a tubeless tire look so easy!

for us normal folks: why would you buy 2 sets of the same wheels? the idea is to have different wheels for crosswinds, climbing, and offroad.

Disagree with the comment about using same cassette. As mentioned for the wheels, the target of having 2 sets of wheels will be to ride different terrain. It could be one set for the flat and one for the climbs. Or like many who turned to gravel, one set for the road and one for off-road. Anyway in both cases above, the results would be more or less the same. One set with big cassette for spinning easy on gradients, and one with smaller cassette to have closer ratio. That’s what I run on my gravel: 12-36 off-road and 11-28 on the road. Note that this works fine because running 2x crank GRX600. As for the setup, there is absolutely no issues just have the chain length adjusted for the biggest cassette and job done. No specific modifications necessary when switching to the small cassette.🎉

Just asked this a few weeks ago in the AskGCN comment section, and there is a full video about it. You are the best. Thanks.

At last something that is very practical and useful. 😊

I had the same issue with rotor rub across different wheel sets so a set of shim washers got the alignment bang on.

I use the correct spacer to match my bike's rear mech setup to my Kickr trainer's cassette. Much easier than adjusting the rear mech every time you go from the rear wheel to the trainer.

I have two sets of wheels, one set for everyday riding and one set fitted with spiked winter tyres.

Why do you put grease on your hub ? I always thought it was a bad idea.

I got a pair of matching new unused secondhand set of wheels, identical to what is on my bike. I installed a different cassette 11-32 instead of the 11-34 on my bike - both 105. I can switch wheels without any need for adjustment.

Realigning rotors takes all of 5 minutes if you know what you are doing. I swap between 29x3” and 27.5x4.5” wheelsets for winter snow trips, and pretty sure I spend more time topping up sealant and infltingthe Fat tires than I spend faffing with the rotors and cassette alignment. Summer tires are 10-51t, and winter ones are 11-50t (much cheaper HG hub) and I have had zero issues swapping even though SRAM and Shimano are rather different in their cog size progression.

I switch my cross wheels (knobbly) for fast commuting wheels (tubeless slicks) on my cross bike. Easier than changing tyres. The rim brakes do need adjusting each time though. I’d prefer to switch bikes but don’t have room for another (already have 3)! My adult son was rather attached to his old 26”MTB and had no room in the shed for another. We bought some 650b cross wheels and fitted 35mm slicks for commuting. Same diameter as 26” with 2.4” knobbly, this kept trail identical, steering less affected. We did have some issues with disc brake rub though. We had to shim the dropouts beneath one axle, not ideal.

If you're having a mix-match between road/gravel, make sure your chain and derailleur are compatible between the two setups.

OMG! This is the 2nd time you've gave crap advice on disc rotors for different wheelsets. Yes, same hubs would help. True. But, they also make spacers for 6 bolt and center lock rotors. Using the spacers and a little trial and error, you can get the rotors set so you can just swap out wheels without problems. I've done it on two bikes. My brother has done it.

@gcntech Dear Alex/Ollie; Pads for carbon Vs. alloy rim brake wheels...do I need to change the pads every time I swap wheels as well? Never had carbon hoops before, and the used road bike I upgraded to has them. Intended to be a fair weather ride, but I plan to get a pair of cheap alloy wheels as well for iffy weather.

I purchased a packet of paper-thin metal shims and tinkered with them until my brake disk alignment was perfectly identical. Now I swap out the wheels without even thinking about it. Idea: please make a video with a similarly effective work-around that allows the easy transfer from road wheels with a modest gear range cassette to gravel with a wider range cassette, specifically without needing to add/subtract links in the chain. Are there modifications to the rear derailleur that will accommodate easy wheel swaps?

I wish you had made a more detailed video. Sometimes if the hubs are different, one might need to use spacers on the rotors to align them well.

What I did: laser cut some shims that is at 0.1mm increments, and adjust the position of the rotor and cassette accordingly to which wheelset that doesn't function well: rubbing rotor, mis-shift, noises. And voila you get 2 pair of wheels with shims, and zero adjustment between wheel swap

The brand of wheels don’t matter so much as the model hub installed on the wheelset. You can have 2 totally different wheels and all should be dandy if you are running the same hubs.

Rotors can be shimmed to eliminate positional differences between manufactures

I've had an issue with those External "BB Tool" type center lock rings being so close to the fork leg on gravel bikes they cause an issue when the bike is loaded, might be something to look out for.

Why would you have two wheel sets if they are exactly the same? I thought the object was to have different wheel sets for different riding conditions. Makes little sense to me.

Well done Alex!

Just a question, It's just weird that I've made a new wheelset that are both using 10-speed cassette. the main problem that I have, is that upon inserting the new wheelset the shifting starts to have a problem. I don't know if all the 10-speed cassettes are configured differently. I used 11-36T configuration in both wheelset.

Have they not heard of disc shims?

Are those Pirelli Gravel RCs? Please do a review!

what's the point of having two identical wheelset? if the hubs are different on the two wheelsets, then you are screwed? you will have to re-adjust disc brake clipper?

Two?....I don't use them all anymore, but I used to use five or six wheelsets. Everyday clincher, fast clincher, TT clincher, Crit Tub, and road race Tub....Oh year, then a pit Tub wheelset for if you flat, or crash in a crit, and need replacement wheels to continue. They were all Shimano, or Mavic. In the last 20 years, I'd either use a 12-23, or 12-25 in back, depending on the course, but back in the 80's and 90's, I'd do everything with a 21.

hey, so I have encountered a bit of an issue. my grvel tires are made for a 6 screws for the rotor, while the new road ones have a centre lock position, am I screwed? I mean, from a technical perspective, despite the fact the rotors won´t be the same, they would still be 160mm and I would still use the 9sp cassette I had originally on. what could go wrong? (apart from the need to adjust)

Dear Alex, I was expecting you would explain how to set up two set of wheels with one having a cassette for flat, like 11-25, and the other one for hills like 11-32. Is that even possible? Does derailleur need adjusting when you switching between them?

I need some help and don’t know where to find the right answers online. If somebody can help that would be great. I have a Giant Escape 2 Disc 2021 and want to upgrade the drivetrain to a 1x system. Currently it has a Shimano Altus 2x8 setup with Shimano CS-HG31 11-34T cassette and 30/46 chain ring 175mm. Currently I only use gear 5 and upwards on the bigger front cog so bottom end range doesn’t matter to me as my work commute is flat. What could I upgrade to? I’d like to keep things under £500. Any suggestions?

#askgcntech Hello GCN Tech-Team, is it possible to switch between wheelsets with a 11-30 & 11-32 casette without adjusting the RD or chain? Right now I have a 11-30 on my bike and 11-28 on the turbo - here changing works without any troubles...

Wouldn’t it make more sense to shim you discs and possibly cassette to make sure they sit exactly the same on both wheels due tolerances in manufacturing and assembly?

Who knew tubeless set up was so easy?!? 🎉🎉 What’s everybody whining about!? Lol

Wishing this video were twice as long with some more detail on the process and the things that could go wrong.

1:06 Never bought a set of bontrager wheels then. You do get rimtape, although more like a band, but not installed.

I just did this with my bike over the weekend! And thanks to Alex's endless pestering I have gone fully tubeless with both sets. One question - The wheels shipped with a bottom bracket rotor lockring, while the rotors shipped with the cassette lockring - any preference between the two? Is it better to use the one that matches the wheels or the rotors?

I'd be interested in: two wheelset on a budget. One for the road, One for more gravel/tour oriented. Key word: on a budget. Bike from shop under 1000k in total, wheelsets according to this price range - non through axle. Shimano Sora, maximum 105 Groupset and what should be budget friendly with them What are the compatible parts, what needs to be checked together etc

What about if the wheels you are buying are centre lock only, but your existing ones are 6 bolt. Is there any disadvantage in using a centre lock adaptor? - Does it move the brake disc further out, does it introduce a potential weakness etc? My current brakes are Sram - any issue with using Shimano discs of the same diameter?

Em, I’d recommend people a 2x gravel bike and two wheel sets However, I am not people so there are a undisclosed number of bikes in my garage for variations on the theme

1:53 Is this harissa paste? 😄The wheel's gonna be blazing fast! 🔥

Need some advice: I just did this to have a lighter road set of wheels on my cervelo aspero. Got some hunts for disk brakes with correct thru axles sizes. Put on exact same cassette and disks and all seems fine if i leave the axle a turn from finger tight. But this leaves a little play in the wheel. If i tighten the thru axle as so zero play the wheel doesnt turn properly. Its not the callipers as I can see gaps either side of the pads and i checked. It seems the tightening of the thru axle is stopping the wheel turning but not with the original wheels. (New wheels are hunt wheels). Any ideas?

I'd love to do this, alternating between 43 mm and 32 mm tyres, but my bike shop says that the manufacturer of my gravel bike (Giant) doesn't release to the aftermarket the same wheel sets or hubs they used on the new bike. The options they give me are expensive and after setup involve adjusting the rear derailleur settings and disk brakes with each exchange. Makes me wonder if giving up tubeless systems and taking 10 minutes to change tyres when I want (3 or 4 times a year) isn't perhaps the best solution: fastest, cheapest and least fuss.

Here's a question. I'm thinking of selling my giant gravel bike and keeping my giant 27.5 mountain bike BUT I was thinking I'd keep some versatility by having a set of 29" wheels around with smaller slick tires on them to use when I"m doing occasional road riding. What are your thoughts? My 27.5 have 2.6" knobby tires and I'm thinking a pair of 29" with much smaller slicks would have almost the same circumference. What are your thoughts? PS: I rarely use my gravel bike anyway.

I want a cassette system that is super fast to move from wheel to wheel - tool-less would be even better. That way, I’m not riding cogs that have worn at a different rate than the chain and chainring(s).

700C and sprints should interchange.

Does anyone remember Sprint Wheels holders on the front dropouts?

Don't you have to be afraid that your chain will wear faster if you change the wheelset (and thus the casette)? Because casette and chain wear together and a new casette will not have the same wear as the chain

One bike with three wheel sets because tubeless setup sucks! Dry off-road and road training fat slick, knobby mud, and raceday skinnies. Mud tires go on the raceday wheels for cross season.

For 6 bolt rotors, there are shims 1/10th of a mm thick to equal out the differences in rotor position between different wheelsets. Does something like that exist for center lock?

Yes, but does Alex know about AlexRims? It's a company in Taichung, Taiwan.😅🤣😂

Can’t you just use six-bolt discs paired with shims? Faff somewhat the first time, the future swaps would be easy?

how chose tire sdeed grip roling resistance cheap expensive

Does it matter that the new cassette or rotor will have different wear compared to the existing chain or brake pads?

It wasn't anymore helpful than to set up the first pair of wheelset. I really was hoping that this video was as it says in the title how to use two different wheelset on one bike and that you had the knowledge of how easy it is with DT Swiss 350 hub where you transfere the cassette from one wheel to another within 15 second. Drag off, push on, done. One bike to rule'em all need different tires for different surface. Changing tire with tubeless is always a mess. It's far more convenient with two wheelset than two bikes with different riding style. Cheaper too.

why are Reynolds so cheap? comp cyclist has major discounts on them

How about explaining installing 2 different cassettes with spacers?

you also need to setup a budget, cause man those wheels can be costly.

How To Set Up Two Different Bikes With One Set of Wheels | Maintenance Monday Magic

Too simplified.