2 wheel sets or 2 bikes

[Thegreatthor]

So, I’ve a Giant Revolt Advanced pro. I had it built from a frameset after an accident.

it’s built as an adventure/tourer type bike with Hunt 4 season 2heels and some 38mm Pirelli Cinturato’s h’s

its nice and it’s not slow. But for long road rides - I.e audax rides, 200 km upwards those big tyres do feel a bit inefficien.

so, I’m wondering about second wheel set, I’d probably got for another set of hunt 4 season so I could swap wheels without faffing with indexing, caliper alignment etc. Then I’d run 32mm slick tyres.

OR

would I be better just to get TCR or Emonda.

basically, how much quicker, easier is a proper climbing road bike (I love long rides with lots of climbs)😂😂😂

 

[Sharky]

Two bikes are better than one, then you have no faffing about changing wheels. Having one bike for each discipline or a summer /winter bike is a good idea, then your good bike stays good and the winter bike can be worked hard.

But if you don't have the budget, a 2nd pair of wheels is also a very good idea.

Not sure if I could manage with just two bikes though!

 

[StuAff]

So, I’ve a Giant Revolt Advanced pro. I had it built from a frameset after an accident.

it’s built as an adventure/tourer type bike with Hunt 4 season 2heels and some 38mm Pirelli Cinturato’s h’s

its nice and it’s not slow. But for long road rides - I.e audax rides, 200 km upwards those big tyres do feel a bit inefficien.

so, I’m wondering about second wheel set, I’d probably got for another set of hunt 4 season so I could swap wheels without faffing with indexing, caliper alignment etc. Then I’d run 32mm slick tyres.

OR

would I be better just to get TCR or Emonda.

basically, how much quicker, easier is a proper climbing road bike (I love long rides with lots of climbs)😂😂😂

Jamie Williams reviewed these for road.cc, and stated (my bold): "The only times I've felt slightly less confident on the tyres is on fast road descents; there's a noticeable transition between the centre tread and shoulder which can be offputting when turning at speed – although it's by no means limited to these tyres. This does, however, give an indication of just how well they roll along – I felt little difference between the Pirellis and a set of 33mm slick tyres". You have 'a proper climbing road bike' already. What you gain in certain respects with going to skinnier tyres, and possibly rim brakes, you lose in others. Yes, those marginal gains will mount up over the course of even a shorter ride, let alone a 200 or more, but a fatter tyre will bring advantages of its own. You'll be fresher and more comfortable if you're not getting beaten up by lousy road surfaces. If you're not riding gravel, you don't need gravel tyres- well, not the ones that are aimed at more serious off-roading- but the more general purpose ones won't necessarily be slower. My Litespeed T5 Gravel had Marathon Supremes (now sadly rarer than the proverb of your choice), a fast road/touring tyre. On my Tripster ATR, I'm now running G-One Allrounds, just like the name suggests intended for everything from tarmac to light trails. Both 35mm. Similar weights, the Allrounds have small knobbles rather than being slick. Difference in speed: tiny to completely non-existent.

 

[Jameshow]

The tcr / emonda will be quicker esp in the lightest frameset but further down the hierarchy I doubt there is much in it tbh.

It comes down to budget tbh. Done some long fast rides on my CX bike with just a change of wheels.

 

[DogmaStu]

OP, your bike isn't far off from my gravel bike, which has 42mm tyres.

I tried the two wheel option, fitting a set of deep aero wheels with 28mm tyres to it. This meant matching the cassette too so as to avoid adjusting each time.

As a gravel bike, it excels but while the 42mm tyres are fine on the road and soak up the many imperfections on pot-holed UK roads, it does ask for more watts than it did with the 28mm tyres (the aero wheelset was also lighter) and so for the same watts on the 28's it was ultimately faster.

The two wheelset solution is a viable one. It does work.

However, if the Emonda is the SLR and 6.7kg, then it will require even fewer watts to haul up the climbs.

Pure 'climbing' bikes work when they are genuinely lightweight and have shallow, light wheels. A 6kg bike will feel feathery to a 60-75kg (for example) rider. Light, shallow wheels will accelerate very quickly. Still, even so, it's marginal gains vs 8kg and so may not be worth it depending upon the individual's performance goals.