LS1BadBird

Greetings! I have a Cannondale Topstone and am thinking about getting a second wheel set, primarily because the rear gravel tire is very loud on my trainer and want something with a slick I could swap on or off. I've been riding a few years, but know nothing about buying wheels. Can anybody point me in the direction of a nice affordable replacement? Thank you!

bbbean 

If you just want something for the trainer, buy the cheapest rear wheel you can find and put an old road tire on it. If you're buying a wheelset, look for something that has capabilities your current wheelset doesn't.

shoota 

You need a rear wheel that is: 142x12mm Thru Axle, Shimano/Sram freehub, and not broken. Put out a wtb ad on the various forums/Facebook pages and someone will have one. Or check ebay.

evan the cdn

I was in a similar position and decided to buy a dedicated trainer tire instead (ie. Vittoria Zaffiro Pro Home Trainer 700). It takes a little more time than just swapping a wheel but changing a tire isn't a bad skill to practice twice a year.
Edit: But yes, Shoota's advice on what to buy if you want to get another wheel is good.

chadtrent

Which model Topstone do you have? I believe the carbon model uses a rear wheel with a special dish.

msu2001la

If you just want a trainer wheel, I'd go ultra-cheap, but if you use this as an excuse to buy a nice second wheelset... it's fun to play around on prowheelbuilder.com to get an idea of what is out there and what things cost. You might want to consider a 650b set to have something different than the stock wheels?

As the poster above mentioned, the carbon Toptstone model has an asymmetric frame that requires a special rear wheel dish, so off-the shelf wheelsets won't fit properly. The good news is that most LBS's can re-dish a wheel for you for minimal cost.

msu2001la

Another option here might be to just upgrade to a direct-drive trainer instead of a second wheel / wheelset.

Apparently I like to find reasons to buy new stuff.