UKC

Does anyone have any suggestions on where to buy a non-stupidly expensive front wheel with a disc fitting hub for my CX bike? Went for a lovely ride today with my visiting friend, he rode my CX bike while I rode my road bike. Unfortunately when nearly back home he rode into a ditch and did a good 360 with the bike still attached to him. (We're not sure why this happened really, probably to do with just having got off a plane after 30 hrs and 15,000 kms of travelling with a one year old baby!) Damage: one rather bent front wheel and possibly a broken collar bone although he managed to ride the last 5 kms back with both in the best spirit of Rule# 5. He wants to buy me a replacement wheel because he feels really bad about it, but I feel bad that he fell off whilst out riding with me! I'm sure the wheels that came with my bottom of the range Boardman CX bike weren't super fancy to begin with, but neither Wiggle, Chain Reaction nor Merlin do disc ready 700c wheels without getting into silly money.

I saw on Amazon some shop selling Shimano Deore ones for about 50 quid, which they claimed fit both 29er and 700c tyres. Is that really true?

In reply to TobyA:

Its the same size. The only difference is rim width. Obviously a road 700c is narrow , like between 13 and 17 mm internal, whilst /9er is bigger. Hence the term monster cross where you take a cross frame and stuff as large a 29er tyre into the frame as you can manage. See Vassago fistcuff for reference. Jack of all, master of none... Just up my street...

In reply to TobyA:

If you like a challenge you could buy a new rim and rebuild the wheel yourself or otherwise get someone else to build one on your current hub.

In reply to mike kann:

Cheers Mike. The place I found via Amazon did say 29er or 700c if the tyre were 28s or wider. I think I have 35s on mine anyway so that wouldn't be a problem. Do you know how they measure rim width? Outside to outside? Or across the inside? I can get the calipers out and measure what width my current wheels are.

In reply to TobyA: The rim will usually have the size marked on it somewhere - probably 622 and a smaller number (622 means 700c - confusingly). If it doesn't, try looking up the model on the manufacturer's web site.

Sheldon Brown says that ISO/ETRTO rim sizing is measured between the inner faces of the rim: http://sheldonbrown.com/tyre-sizing.html The tyre width does not have to be the *same* as the rim width, but the rim width does determine the maximum width of tyre that should ideally be fitted. That Sheldon Brown article, plus a bit pf reaseach on the rim and tyre manufacturer's web sites should tell you what you need.

Out of interest, can you share the link to the wheel you were looking at, since I might soon find myself in the market for something similar?

In reply to Martin W:

What he said. There is a recomended ratio for rim width to tyre diameter. Detailed on sheldon...

In reply to Martin W:

Something like this Martin.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pro-Build-Disc-Wheel-Black/dp/B00AOLRFXK/ref=sr_1_4...

"Raleigh Pro-Build Wheels 700C disc wheel. Built using black components, this 700C commuting wheel adds performance as well as stealthy looks Black 36 hole Mavic A119 rim, Black Shimano M475 6 bolt disc hub all laced together using black spokes. Ideal for commuters who want a bit of extra stopping power of disc brakes."

But if you search in Amazon under "700c disc wheel" or similar lots seem to come up.

In reply to TobyA: Ah right, that was the one I found on Amazon as well. A lot of the other hits I got seemed to be 26" wheels for some reason - probably because there are vastly more disc wheels for MTBs than road bikes. I might need to spend more time weeding out the false positives.

FWIW my current non-disc wheels are 622x15 which are technically too narrow, or at least marginal, for the 700Cx35 tyres I've got on at the moment - but they haven't popped off yet. I'm actually pondering putting a disc brake on the front, which would mean a new fork as well. But if I get a wider rim up front then maybe I ought to get a matching one for the rear - which means spending even more money. And it would likely end up adding significant weight as well. Hmm…maybe just live with the cantis for a bit longer yet. At least I've got them pretty well set up now.

In reply to TobyA:

If its any help, I'm looking at Hope wheels with the pro evo 2 hubs and stans alpha 400 which you can run tubless so you lose weight on the tubes and save on punctures...

In reply to TobyA:

If you are willing to deal with the pain in theory you can order new boardman spec wheels from Halfords.
I say pain and theory since its supposed to be somewhat hit and miss whether you find someone who actually knows they can do this and manages to order it.

In reply to TobyA:

I was about to recommend Parker International but discovered they have stopped operating mail order other than via ebay.

Best bet is probably to find a bike shop and ask how much they would charge to build a wheel around your hub if it's undamaged.

In reply to Oujmik:

Thanks all. In the end I found that a new Norwegian chain of mega sports shops, XXL, that have just opened here in Finland do their own spec wheels, and have a 29"/28"/700c (yes - it is that complicated! But basically 622 size) wheel using a Deore six bolt disc hub which I needed (rather than center-lock) for €80. So my friend who crashed the bike kindly bought me one of those. Maybe a I could have got something a bit better or a bit cheaper in the UK but then it would be weeks waiting for delivery etc. As it is, the bike is now ready to ride again. I weighed the old wheel and the new one, and I've gained about 20 grams of weight with the new one, but hey - it's all good training.

The old wheel will now be a challenging practice rig for me to see if I can learn how to true it!

In reply to TobyA:

Get a new rim, tape it alongside the old one and transfer the spokes over one by one. It's easy and fun and you'll improve your wheel tweaking skills.

In reply to Rigid Raider:

Interesting idea - I see the logic. I've always thought wheel building was a dark art with lots of talk of dishing, spoke patterns and tension etc! But I guess if you are going like for like you should end up with a pretty good copy?

In reply to TobyA:

I run some cheap shimano 29r wheels on mine.
Just have a look on chainreactioncycles

In reply to Mikkel:

Yeah, my new one says 29XC or something like that on it! I'm wondering how much narrower tyres the rims could take. I may well be commuting on it this autumn, currently have 35 Marathon plus on them, but could maybe go for 32s or even 28s...

In reply to TobyA:

I had 28 gatorskins on mine.

In reply to Mikkel:

Good to know. I suspect 28s feel pretty nice and fast compared to 35s or the like.