Second set of wheels or just tires?
 

I have the Giany Anyroad Comax.

Now, I haven't hit any trails lately because it requires me to put it in my car and go off driving for 20minutes to hit them. Unfortunately, in my mind I thought I would have the time when I purchased the bike months ago, but naturally I was wrong.

So my question is, should I purchase a second set of tires or wheels -with tires naturally.

Either way, any recommendations for road tires for this bike, someone suggested gatorskins one suggested was 25 the other was 28mm - that I read from another thread.


Not sure which way to go.

Thanks for any input.

Why? want to ride Sew-Up tires? or what.. race cyclocross ?

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us...x/22190/84009/

trails ? its not a mountain bike ..

continental tires are good. So are a Lot of other brands .

Why would you need new wheels?

I don't really see an advantage to going down in size in a 25 mm road tire as ride quality might suffer. As for smooth tread, you have lots of options. I have been using the Panaracer Ribmo 32 mm size for years now. Not the lightest tire, but Good, hard wearing tire, decent ride quality over a variety of surfaces (though mostly pavement) and only a couple of flats in 4 years of riding. My wife uses the Panaracer Urban Max 28 mm. Also a decent tire.

But the truth is, there are lots of decent options. Continental makes some good tires. Schwalbe is known for their flat protection and durability, but they are fairly heavy. A friend of mine just put Specialized Armadillo Elite 28 mm size on her road bike, and plans to use them for a mix of road riding and light trails. I will see how she likes them as I was thinking going forward that if I wanted to switch from my Panaracer, I would like a tire that rides reasonably well, isn't too heavy, and can handle different surfaces.

If I had a bike like a Comax, I'd probably want 2 sets of wheels for it. One pair with a wider tire that has a bit of tread and the other pair with probably a 25mm road tire on it. Then I could quickly swap wheels based on where I wanted to ride that day.

Get the cheaper set of wheels for where you ride the least.

And it's always good to have a spare set of wheels riding on trails. You never know when you're going to break something. Much easier to grab a wheel out of your garage while you figure out what to do.

Agree with android

With just one good all-around bike, being able to swap wheels to get a different set of tires is very useful and quick. Swapping tires around is a PITA, but a lot less money.

As well as the wheel, you need a cassette, so factor that in. If getting a second set of wheels, use the lest durable wheels for road use.

I'd go with 28mm tire size. Unless doing fast club rides where a 25 saves you some weight, the 28 is a nice compromise for speed. vs. comfort

Having a second set of wheels is a nice option, especially on a CX or gravel bike. One set could have knobbies and a wider range cassette for off road adventures and the other a tighter cassette with slicks for paved rides. Just takes a few seconds to swap wheels and it's like having a second bike.

I've never been able to work two sets of wheels without having to adjust my disc brake calipers. So I'd vote for tires and eventually a second bike. :D

Yeah, a second wheel set, for sure. I can pretty much guarantee that if you just buy tires, you'll never swap them back and forth, and anyway as has been noted, there are many other benefits to having a second wheel set.

I run BB7 discs on my commuter, and switch between Velocity and WTB wheel sets seasonally with only minor turning of the fixed pad adjuster. No biggie.

Tire swaps get old quick, a second wheels like andrOid recommended is the way to go. Obviously it's an investment but if at some point you are doing a lot of both types of ridding it will pay off in no time.

You can shim the rotors on one set of wheels to match the other.

I have two sets for my CX bike but it came with a set of Stan's Iron Cross wheels that have a 45psi limit which really limits road riding so I kind of had to go with a second set. I went with continental grand prix 4000 s IIs in 28s. The roads around here suck so I like the extra cushion plus I can still hit some single track or gravel if I want to to break up a road ride without getting beat to death.

My biggest problem with wheel swaps is I need to shim my center lock rotors a hair to avoid having to fiddle with the brakes every time. So far I haven't found anything to shim a center lock so I may just have to head to a hardware store.

As for tire reccos, I've found the tubeless, 30c Schwalbe S-One to be a fantastic performer both on dirt and paved roads. It rolls fast and communicates well, feels lively, and the micro-dot tread pattern offers a nice bit of grip on gravel climbs without dragging on pavement. On my 18mm internal width rims, the 30c width feels stable when corning and planted over rough stuff, but is still reactive and precise for rewarding fast road work. I think it does give up some high end speed to a 23c, but feels about the same (effort-wise) up until around 18mph or so for me. They're really nice tires for pavement and hardpack in my experience.

Of course, this opinion dissents quite a bit, but the tires that come on the Anyroad are fine for road riding, and only really suffer in cornering ability.

You must be the judge of that--just how far do you want to lean the bike over? Enough that the knobs will walk on the road (N.B. in the neighborhood of 35 degrees from vertical)? Then, it would be a good idea to replace the tires.

What kind of trails are you riding? Cinder and crushed gravel is not incredibly demanding of tread on tires, and a large (32mm+) slick will do fine. Short of riding on single-track, gravel roads were ostensibly built for dual-track vehicles, so they don't exactly turn sharp enough to require side knobs on tires.

My first thought simply wouldn't be 'new wheels', it would be tires. An excuse to buy new wheels? Well, you'll need extra rotors, another cassette, and tires/tubes/rimstrips. Not a bad thing to have, mind you, but how far down the rabbit hole do you want to go?

Well, it's quite a personal thing actually whether to have another set of wheels or not. I have two whole bikes for single speed use only. The other one has winter settings - the other one summer settings (wide wheels - narrow wheels, mud covers - without mud covers, easier - heavier gear; and so on). For storage they need space though.

Quick release wheels are the best choice in that case You need/want another set of wheels. They are quickly changed when needed. And changing just the tire is sometimes very painful job, I have broken some inside tubes during the change process.

The main issue is the money, that is not going to be cheap if You want to get a good second set of wheels and tires. And yes, You need another cassette, similar to the other one in the sake of the chain. The second issue is do You really need the second set. You have to ask yourself is it only an excuse to buy another set of wheels or are You going to use the new set just a few times. How much You drive? Are You really sure about that that You need a second set? Storage? For a few rides a second set is unnecessary. And ofcourse You need probably to adjust the breaks unless the other set is identical in any way.

I ride a lot, over a thousand km per bike and I ride a couple of road bikes too, evenly. The road bikes have 23mm and 25mm wide tires with Presta valves, and those are not for dirt road use. If You have that narrow tires You have to stay on the asphalt all the time, even if You have puncture protected tires like I have. Even then the inner tube breaks sometimes. And driving soft dirt road with narrow tires is horrible. But on hard road You can do it with moto GP style when turning: the inner leg's knee almost touching the road surface if You dare.

That said I use myself completely different bikes for the dirt road than for the road. It's much easier that way. I decide my routes beforehand and keep that plan and not change it during the ride.

did tire swaps Summer/winter-studs overnight as the forecast suggested,

then I Got another above 0C bike, so the Black Ice bike stays parked but ever-ready.

I go for more wheelsets and less bikes. My road bike has two wheelsets, a fast/light set for sunny days and a heavier/wider tyred wheelset for slow days and crummy wheather.

I have three sets of wheels for my Soma Saga. A loaded touring/commuting wheelset with SunRingle 27mm Helix rims and 40mm Schwalbe Almotions tyres. The second set is my Gravel Grinding/Fast riding wheelset with SunRingle 25mm Helix rims and 32mm Panaracer Paselas. The third set is an old MTB wheelset I replaced the hubs with Shimanos and I have 35mm Kenda Klondikes for winter riding when it's icy.

I'd just go with one set of tires. Get the widest tires your bike will accept. I use Schwalbe Marathon Mondials . Expensive but they seem to last forever .