2nd set of rims for Hardrock and Rockhopper
 

DW and I are using our bikes (17" Hardrock and 15" Rockhopper) for dual type riding. During the week, we ride about 6 miles daily on paved paths throughout our niegorhood for fitness. On the weekends we ride offroad which can vary from hardpack/gravel trails to soft sand, slight mud and gradually some singletrack.

The tires currently on both bikes are aggressive knobby intended for off-road riding. They've become pretty annoying on our weekday paved rides so I got my hands on 2 sets of Kendra K841 Hybrid type tires which have much less rolling resistance. Having to change out 4 sets of tires every weekend is not looking too attractive so I'd like some advice/help with inexpensive sets of wheels for both bikes for the Kendra tires so I can just swap out the wheels when changing our ride type.

What do I need to look for in choosing the wheels? Any ideas on where to look? Ebay?

Any help appreciated.

Bike specs (they're still OEM main parts on these bikes):
17" Hardrock - 2000 Specialized Hardrock A1 Comp FS - BikePedia

15" Rockhopper - 2001 Specialized Rockhopper A1 FS - BikePedia

New wheels are inexpensive ($90-120 per set, even before frequent 20% off sales) and you'll also need cassettes ($15-20 ea) and tubes ($5 ea) giving you a budget of about $115-$150 per bike. You need 26er rims that are compatible with rim brakes. You might consider higher cassettes, you won't need such low gears with slicks unless you are touring with a load or towing trailers or going up steep hills.

You might have a hiccup with the rear shifting - the shifting adjusted for one set might not line up right with the other set.

For myself, I would rather have, and do have, two bikes. See what this link yields, it will show you similar quality and vintage hybrids:
https://miami.craigslist.org/search/...C%28trek+7*%29

Thanks for the useful info Darth.

Unfortunately, I don't have the space for a 2nd pair of bikes. It crossed my mind but 4 bikes in our condo won't work. I'd love to have more bikes but I bet my wife would freak, she couldn't understand why I have more than one camera (I have 4 or 5) so I'll probably go the separate wheels route.
I wondered about the shifting issue myself. Thought maybe using similar cassettes would avoid that. We have no hills, all pretty flat. I don't have much knowledge with cassettes. I imagine I should keep the same cassette speed as the originals, 9 speed on the Rockhopper and 8 on the Hardrock for shiftier compatibility. Keeping same gear ratios would help avoid shifting issue too? Lots to choose from.

I took a quick look through ebay and found these for $43. What do you think? 26'' Bike Front Rear Rim Wheel Set w Hub Strip Reflector Mountain Bike | eBay
They might be total crap. Probably go with your wheel picks which look much nicer than the stock wheels.

I think those are for cruisers. You need a cassette rear hub (with splines, not threads for the cogs) and they will come with quick-release skewers rather than nutted axles. Here's another inexpensive source Rims, Wheels & Parts - Wheels - wheel sets - 26" - Niagara Cycle

If you want to put the cassettes on yourself you'll also need a 3/8 ratchet wrench and one of these http://www.amazon.com/PARK-Cassette-.../dp/B00147DOI8 If you then want to take the cassettes off again you'll also need a chain whip

Thanks for pointing out the specialty tool. The Kendras I got are 26x1.95. How will this impact my rim choices? Don't wan't total slicks since the bike path can occasionally get rough and sometimes riding into the grass briefly is necessary. I'd be happy the the Vuelta Zerolites you linked earlier. Not sure what leeway I have with rim/tire width.

I really appreciate your help Darth.

All the stuff you are looking at so far is compatible, it's all normal 26" mountain bike parts. Your tires will be fine on those rims, and fine for what you want to do.

Excellent.
I figure this cassette for the Rock Hopper Amazon.com : SRAM PG950 11-32T 9-Speed Cassette : Bike Cassettes And Freewheels : Sports & Outdoors

and this for the Hardrock http://www.amazon.com/SRAM-PG850-11-...Speed+Cassette


Thx a bunch.

I ordered 2 sets of the Vuelta Zerolites, 4 tubes and rim strips. Tomorrow I'll order the cassettes and tool. Boy is this getting expensive. LOL. I am having lots of fun with learning the mechanical work of the bikes though.

Thx

Got all the parts (2 sets of Vuelta wheelsets, Kendra K841 tires, SRAM cassettes) and assembled them yesterday. Took the bikes out for a spin today and they worked great. Much smoother ride with the tires. The wheel swap is pretty painless and much better than dealing with tire swapping. No adjustment needed to the derailleurs for either bike. Only thing I noticed is a slight, rough feel from the drive-train when pedaling. I wonder if it might be a result of older chain on newer cassette.

Anyways, Thanks for all your assistance Darth Lefty. I'm a happy camper.

I just saw this. Good job!