RossRoss

Hello,
I just bought a new bike from Costco because the repairs for the old one will cost close to the price of the new bike but I want to use the wheels from my old bike because they are relatively new and I already have mounted a nicer puncture free tires on them. My problem with this is removing the cassette from the rear wheel of the new bike and installing it on the wheel from old bike. Both bikes are the same format using 700C tires but I don't know if there are other compatibility things to consider and if I will be able to do this.

This is the description of my old wheel that I want to use on the new bike:
Alex DM-18 700C 36H Freewheel QR Rear Wheel
A strong, double-walled rim for more aggressive mountain riders.
Concave aluminum sidewalls are rigid and strong
Formula FM-31-RQR freewheel hub
Rim brake compatible
700C or 29'er size
Stainless steel spokes with 36-hole design
Tech specs
Weight 1.2kg (Silver)
Size 700C
Tire type Clincher
Retention device Quick-release
Brake compatibility Rim brakes
Rear hub width 135mm (Silver)
Hub (rear) Formula FM-31-RQR
Rim ERD 609
Spoke count 36


And this is the rear wheel description from the new bike Northrock SC7 - 700 X 40C Wheel
Rear hub: 36H alloy with quick-release
Spokes: stainless-steel
Rims: alloy lightweight
Tires: Kenda dual-terrain, 700x40c

I called a local bike shop and they said they can do it if the wheels are compatible for $45 Canadian. I have never done this myself but I watched YouTube videos and it doesn't seem very complicated. From Amazon Canada I can buy the set of the required tools for $24 Canadian.

I wonder if changing the cassette and doing it myself is a good or bad idea and I will greatly appreciate your advice

Koyote

Do the bikes use the same brand of drivetrain, with the same number of speeds in back? For example, are both bikes 11 speed, Shimano systems? If so, swapping the cassette is easy. You just need the appropriate lockring tool and a crescent wrench.

And obviously, this question belongs in the bike mechanics subforum. Not in general cycling.

Maelochs

yes the tools needed to change a cassette are cheap and the job is simple and straightforward.

You need to make sure that you actually have a cassette, though.

A lot of cheaper bikes, particular 6- and 7-speeds, have a freewheel and cluster, not a freehub and cassette.

Wit a freewheel, the actual free-spinning versus driving machinery is part of the gear cluster ... with a freehub and a cassette, the freewheel mechanism is in the hub, and the cassette (the stack of cogs) slips over the hub.

You can pull a freewheel/cluster off with different tools, but you cannot swap a cluster for a cassette ...

The old hub is a freehub as per your description. If the new hub is also .... you can do it in about two minutes. All you really need is a locknut tool .... you can use any old chain as a chainwhip to hold the cassette, and a wrench ( I use a crescent wrench but if you have one that fits the locknut tool, use that of course.)

A couple things .... the cogs can go on upside down but they shouldn't .... number side up , I believe (that's how I do it and it has never failed.) and also pay attention to where the spacers go .... But even if you stack everything in perfect order and then knock over (done that) you will figure it out.

icemilkcoffee 

Problem. This is a freewheel hub. Not a cassette hub.
Also, if all you want is transferring the puncture free tires to the new bike, then just swap the tires. Why do you want to swap wheels?

Maelochs

Whooops .... I read "freewheel hub" as freehub. Totally my mistake.
The Alex wheels might be stronger or lighter, but the tires should fit either.

Also, if Both are freehub wheels, you can swap the clusters. You just need whichever of the many freewheel locknut tools each one needs.

dedhed

yes there are other compatibility things you need to understand.
You may not need to change the freewheel/cassette

Important things
Rear wheel hub spacing 130mm, 135, 126?
Rear speeds 7,8, 9?
shifters & derailleurs Shimano, SRAM, other?
Brake type disc, V-brake, cantilever?


This bike is 7 speed Shimano, what's the old one?
​​​​​​https://www.northrockbikes.com/sc7/

bboy314

Assuming you are able to swap the cassette (or freewheel), make sure to adjust the derailleur, especially limit screws to the new setup.

VegasTriker

As said previously, if one rear wheel is a freewheel and the other a freehub with cassette, you can't do what you want to do and simply change the two. If so, buying a set of tools is a waste of money. The bike shop would tell you right off when you brought in the wheels that switching the two is or is not possible. You only need to look at both wheels yourself to see the difference at the lockring. The cassette has a flat plate making up the smallest gear while the freewheel is indented at this same place. Look at the pictures shown here to see the difference. Of course, once the freewheel or cassette is off the wheel there is no question as to which is which.

Shimano Tourney 7 speed Freewheel https://www.ebay.com/itm/224922749090? Shimano Tourney 7 speed cassette https://www.ebay.com/itm/385081675834


Why not simply exchange tires and tubes from one to the other? That's a lot easier. It seems like $45 just to switch a cassette is highway robbery. It takes less than 5 minutes and any bike shop will have the tools to do it. Maybe this bike shop is being mean because you bought the bike from Cosco rather than from them.


One more suggestion is to learn how to tell a quality bike from a mediocre bike so that you might be able to acquire a much better bike at similar cost in the future by looking for a higher quality used bike. You don't say how long your previous bike lasted before the repairs to it were so expensive that it made more sense to buy a new bike rather than fix up the old one. This is an entry level bike specifically made for Cosco by Pacific Cycle. It sells for $400 in the US. It comes in "one size fits all - medium" . Better bikes come in multiple frame sizes so you can get one that actually fits. Anyone who has owned and ridden a really good quality bike will tell you there is a world of difference between that and a throw away bike.

dedhed

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html

​​​​​​

bboy314

The shop may be quoting labor to swap both wheels, cassette, and adjust brakes and shifting (what I’d quote for someone to swap wheels), in which case it’d be pretty reasonable. Swapping a cassette from one wheel to another is much simpler than swapping/installing wheels on a bike.

70sSanO

From what I can tell both hubs take a freewheel not a cassette.

The old hub Formula FM-31-R is for a freewheel. I think the QR is for quick release.

The new hub has to be a freewheel because the rear gearing is 14-28.

If the dropout width is the same, it should be fairly easy, but it probably isn’t a perfect drop in. This is assuming both are 7 speed which is a good chance since both use freewheels.

There is a good chance you will need to adjust the rear derailleur and the brakes.

My advice is to ride the new bike as is and set the old wheels aside to make the change down the road. When the current tires need to be replaced you can decide if you want to make the change then.

And you may like the new wheels equally as the old ones.

John

RossRoss

Thank you all for your input. As 70sSanO suggested that's what I'm going to do and I'll do it at a bike shop with all needed tune up. I don't dislike the new bike wheels, I just wanted to keep using the old wheels because they are fine and there is still a lot of life in them and keep the new wheels nice and shiny for replacement down the road. I can do that with the front wheel because it fits without a problem and for the rear wheel I'll just use the tire from the old bike because I think those tires are better - they are puncture free and relatively new. They are Schwalbe Marathon Plus Wire 700 x 38c and I'm very happy with them. The original tires of my old bike got flat very often from broken glass on the roads and with Schwalbe I never got a flat tire and they feel more stable in situations like crossing rails of street cars - my old tires used to get stuck sometimes in the rails and once I even fell. I don't know how good the tires from the new bike are, they look good but it doesn't say puncture free they are Kenda dual-terrain, 700x40c. Interestingly they are 40 but look a lot narrower than the 38 Schwalbe.

As always your input is greatly appreciated