Change my rims or buy a new bike?

[junkie_ball]

So when I moved to drop bars the end of last year i opted for a cycle cross bike as i was concerned about riding on cycle tracks with the skinny wheels having 1, never been on a bike with drops & 2, never ridden anything with skinny tires.

I have been bitten by the cycling bug badly now and am contemplating getting a full road bike or changing my rims for some road ones currently my wheels are 700x35c (Full bike spec below). Which would be better? I was chatting to a cyclist tonight who opted for a road bike as opposed to a cyclocross and he also has a specialized road bike but all the running gear is identical to my cyclocross bike down to gearing ratios. This made me wonder whether if changing the rims would be as good as changing the whole bike.

Current Bike Spec http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/archive/2013/tricross/tricrosssportdisccompact#specs

 

[jack smith]

The tricross is fine for the roads but you might struggle finding a cheapish pair of disk wheels if your trying to do it cheaper than a new bike, you cna pick up a used specialized road bike for similar maybe less than a decent pair of disk wheels

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Check the rim size but you should be able to go down to 25mm tyres at least. I run 28mm tyres on my Tricross. Does he have the Allez by any chance as I also have one of those and it has the same gearing as my Tricross.

The Allez is much easier to ride, but I have kitted out the Tricross with mudguards and a rear rack topped with a rack bag, which makes it a lot heavier than the Allez.

Personally I would change the tyres first as it is a lot cheaper than getting a new bike

 

[uclown2002]

New bike. End of......

 

[junkie_ball]

Does he have the Allez by any chance as I also have one of those and it has the same gearing as my Tricross.

Not sure which model he had to be honest. I'm just worried if i splash the cash on new rims it still won't do the job and I will then still end up looking or wanting a new bike.

 

[vickster]

N+1, keep the tricross for winter

 

[junkie_ball]

N+1, keep the tricross for winter

Wouldn't that be great and very tempting. Maybe I should keep the tri cross for winter and sale the specialized hard rock i have as hasn't seen the light of day since i've got the tri cross. Oh I knew I shouldn't have started this thread as i would get tempted to spend lots of money!

 

[jowwy]

Just put diff tyres on - new rims are not needed.

Put some 28mm conti 4 seasons and jobs a good one

 

[vickster]

Wouldn't that be great and very tempting. Maybe I should keep the tri cross for winter and sale the specialized hard rock i have as hasn't seen the light of day since i've got the tri cross. Oh I knew I shouldn't have started this thread as i would get tempted to spend lots of money!

Yep, but go for a different brand...dare to be different

 

[junkie_ball]

Just put diff tyres on - new rims are not needed.

Put some 28mm conti 4 seasons and jobs a good one

How do you know what tyres would fit my rims? I assumed as I had 700x32c (not 35c as i originally said) I could only fit 32c onto the rims? If this is not the case what would be the thinnest widths i could fit? This could be a cheap upgrade to see what difference full road tyres would be like without the massive outlay?

Yep, but go for a different brand...dare to be different

Have been tempted by a few Giants in the passed but always have gone for specialized as the frames seem to feel more comfortable to me.

 

[palinurus]

How do you know what tyres would fit my rims? I assumed as I had 700x32c (not 35c as i originally said) I could only fit 32c onto the rims? .

You can fit a narrower tyre. The wheels on my 'cross bike were once used on one of my road bikes- I used 23 & 25 mm tyres, then 32s when I swapped them to the 'cross bike. I've even run a 38 (snow tyre) on the same wheels.

Rims do vary somewhat in width, but can accommodate a range of tyre widths- there's a handy table here:

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Tech/Implications_of_Rim_Width_2803.html

 

[jowwy]

How do you know what tyres would fit my rims? I assumed as I had 700x32c (not 35c as i originally said) I could only fit 32c onto the rims? If this is not the case what would be the thinnest widths i could fit? This could be a cheap upgrade to see what difference full road tyres would be like without the massive outlay?



Have been tempted by a few Giants in the passed but always have gone for specialized as the frames seem to feel more comfortable to me.

You could fit as low as a 25mm tyre comfortably, but a 28 would be good for speed and comfort

If going 25's then gp4000s would be my choice

 

[bigmig]

depending on what cx bike you have, generally the rims are road rims fitted with wider tyres. So it should be straight forward to get 25mm tryes on there. I went the CX route also rather than straight road bike mainly due to them being sturdier ( I am still losing weight) and because the geometry is somewhat more relaxed and I find it more comfortable on longer rides. I am getting 25mm tyres to change out the conti cx tyres I am currently running and the geeser in my LBS said they will fit no problem, he said I could go down to a 23mm if I wanted to. So I guess it all depends on the rims you currently have

 

[junkie_ball]

Thanks for all the advise top quality as usual think i may pay my LBS a visit at the weekend and see what road tyres they say they can fit. Will give that a go first before spending big money on a new bike.

 

[fossyant]

It will take a 28mm road tyre easily - just do it ! Then swap over if you fancy getting muddy again.