Different Wheel types?

Hey guys...

How would hybrid wheels differ from road wheels other than being fatter?
If I was going to be riding around really rough parts of the city a
lot, would hybrid wheels help. Or is it simply a quality thing?

Thanks!
--
Paul M. Hobson
Georgia Institute of Technology
http://www.underthecouch.org
..:you may want to fix my email
address before you send anything:.

Paul Hobson wrote:

How would hybrid wheels differ from road wheels other than being fatter?
If I was going to be riding around really rough parts of the city a
lot, would hybrid wheels help. Or is it simply a quality thing?

Not all "hybrid wheels" are fatter - you can still mount a pretty
beefy tire. In general, heavier rims CAN be stronger than lighter
rims, but not always. If you're riding a road bike, you might have
trouble getting fat tires to clear the brakes anyway.

I ride plain ol' road wheels (with Mavic Open Pro rims) on my 'cross
bike, whether I'm riding on or off-road, and they hold up fine. And I
can assure you that riding a 'cross bike in South Mountain Park is
subjecting the wheel to more than your "really rough parts of the
city" would. Just make sure you have a well-built wheel, mount the
tires, and go ride.

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

Paul Hobson wrote:

How would hybrid wheels differ from road wheels other than being fatter?

The rims are generally wider, and so are the rear hubs. Most hybrids
use "mountain" hubs, with 135 mm spacing.

They also typically have more spokes (usually 32) than the trendy
minimalist wheels seen on most newer "road" bikes.

If I was going to be riding around really rough parts of the city a
lot, would hybrid wheels help. Or is it simply a quality thing?

This is more of a tire issue than a wheel issue. The wider the tire,
the less likely it is that you will suffer damage from road hazards.

However, don't get suckered into going with knobby tires, as are
featured for stylistic reasons on so many hybrids. The knobs only slow
you doan and create an annoying buzzing as they roll.

Sheldon "Wide And Smooth" Brown
+----------------------------------------------------------+
| Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get. |
| --Robert A. Heinlein |
+----------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

Mark Hickey wrote:
Paul Hobson wrote:


How would hybrid wheels differ from road wheels other than being fatter?
If I was going to be riding around really rough parts of the city a
lot, would hybrid wheels help. Or is it simply a quality thing?


Not all "hybrid wheels" are fatter - you can still mount a pretty
beefy tire. In general, heavier rims CAN be stronger than lighter
rims, but not always. If you're riding a road bike, you might have
trouble getting fat tires to clear the brakes anyway.

I ride plain ol' road wheels (with Mavic Open Pro rims) on my 'cross
bike, whether I'm riding on or off-road, and they hold up fine. And I
can assure you that riding a 'cross bike in South Mountain Park is
subjecting the wheel to more than your "really rough parts of the
city" would. Just make sure you have a well-built wheel, mount the
tires, and go ride.


Sweet. Thats what I thought. Thanks so much!

\\paul

--
Paul M. Hobson
Georgia Institute of Technology
http://www.underthecouch.org
..:you may want to fix my email
address before you send anything:.

Sheldon Brown wrote:
Paul Hobson wrote:

How would hybrid wheels differ from road wheels other than being fatter?


The rims are generally wider, and so are the rear hubs. Most hybrids
use "mountain" hubs, with 135 mm spacing.

They also typically have more spokes (usually 32) than the trendy
minimalist wheels seen on most newer "road" bikes.

If I was going to be riding around really rough parts of the city a
lot, would hybrid wheels help. Or is it simply a quality thing?


This is more of a tire issue than a wheel issue. The wider the tire,
the less likely it is that you will suffer damage from road hazards.

However, don't get suckered into going with knobby tires, as are
featured for stylistic reasons on so many hybrids. The knobs only slow
you doan and create an annoying buzzing as they roll.

Sheldon, thanks so much to the response. I'm actually looking to
convert an old frame to a fixie and the rims are in rough shape, hubs
are crappy and the spokes are brittle. I found a cheap set of Shimano
"hybrid" wheels with the correst spacing that I need (130 mm). Since I
wanted fatter tires to combat Atlanta rough roads, they just seemed to
good to be true.

If I got a fixed hub with the correct number of holes, it should be a
pretty smooth process to convert the bike, right?

Thanks again!

\\paul


Sheldon "Wide And Smooth" Brown
+----------------------------------------------------------+
| Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get. |
| --Robert A. Heinlein |
+----------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com



--
Paul M. Hobson
Georgia Institute of Technology
http://www.underthecouch.org
..:you may want to fix my email
address before you send anything:.

Paul Hobson wrote:
Sheldon Brown wrote:

Paul Hobson wrote:

How would hybrid wheels differ from road wheels other than being fatter?



The rims are generally wider, and so are the rear hubs. Most hybrids
use "mountain" hubs, with 135 mm spacing.

They also typically have more spokes (usually 32) than the trendy
minimalist wheels seen on most newer "road" bikes.

If I was going to be riding around really rough parts of the city a
lot, would hybrid wheels help. Or is it simply a quality thing?



This is more of a tire issue than a wheel issue. The wider the tire,
the less likely it is that you will suffer damage from road hazards.

However, don't get suckered into going with knobby tires, as are
featured for stylistic reasons on so many hybrids. The knobs only
slow you doan and create an annoying buzzing as they roll.


Sheldon, thanks so much to the response. I'm actually looking to
convert an old frame to a fixie and the rims are in rough shape, hubs
are crappy and the spokes are brittle. I found a cheap set of Shimano
"hybrid" wheels with the correst spacing that I need (130 mm). Since I
wanted fatter tires to combat Atlanta rough roads, they just seemed to
good to be true.

If I got a fixed hub with the correct number of holes, it should be a
pretty smooth process to convert the bike, right?

Thanks again!

\\paul

Oh, I and was of course, planning on getting said hub from you. ;-)


--
Paul M. Hobson
Georgia Institute of Technology
http://www.underthecouch.org
..:you may want to fix my email
address before you send anything:.

Paul Hobson wrote:

I'm actually looking to
convert an old frame to a fixie and the rims are in rough shape, hubs
are crappy and the spokes are brittle. I found a cheap set of Shimano
"hybrid" wheels with the correst spacing that I need (130 mm). Since I
wanted fatter tires to combat Atlanta rough roads, they just seemed to
good to be true.

If I got a fixed hub with the correct number of holes, it should be a
pretty smooth process to convert the bike, right?

Wellllll...maybe not.

The spokes are probably not going to be the correct length. The spokes
on the right will be shorter than those on the left, and the flange
sizes of the hubs will most likely be different.

If you're determined to do this on the cheap, recycling as much as
possible, I'd re-arrange the spokes, using the spokes currently on the
left as "trailing" spokes for both flanges, and the spokes currently on
the right as "leading" spokes for both flanges. This will give you
symmetry, and should pretty much make up for the flange size difference,
assuming the fixed hub has larger flanges.

Then there's the matter of the rim. I generally advise against re-using
rims unless you're a highly experienced wheelbuilder, because if the rim
is not as flat and round as a new rim, it is liable to be very much more
difficult to get the wheel true and round.

See: http://sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuilding

Sheldon "Fixed Is Fun" Brown
+--------------------------------------------------+
| Whoever you vote for, the government gets in. |
| John Jones--Oysterband |
+--------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com