Replacement wheels for triban rc520

[rivers]

If @MrPorridge doesn't got for this, I may just. Having the same issues with my RC520.

Such a great bike otherwise, but the wheels (and especially tyres) really let it down.

Just let me know :-)

 

[S1mb0b]

There’s a tyre lever called the Kool Stop Tyre Mate which is great for really hard tyres. Bit pricey at £15, but cheaper than a new set of wheels.

 

[Eziemnaik]

Dunno if it is any help but I have had similar issues with another Panaracer made tyre fairweather traveller 32mm - it was nearly impossible to get on the wheel on which g-one would get on with hand or one lever.
My GF has triban rc500 with same stock tyres, stock wheelset is different to yours i believe, and it goes on without any problems and no tools

 

[MrPorridge]

Dunno if it is any help but I have had similar issues with another Panaracer made tyre fairweather traveller 32mm - it was nearly impossible to get on the wheel on which g-one would get on with hand or one lever.
My GF has triban rc500 with same stock tyres, stock wheelset is different to yours i believe, and it goes on without any problems and no tools

Hmm. These are a similar size. 33-point-something mm - being Rivendell tyres originally, they would have to be in some way slightly unusual. Interesting.

 

[MrPorridge]

There’s a tyre lever called the Kool Stop Tyre Mate which is great for really hard tyres. Bit pricey at £15, but cheaper than a new set of wheels.

I've seen those and will probably pick one up, if only to add to my highly anticipated forthcoming exhibition of "Bike Tools That Have Been Destroyed Replacing RC520 Tyres". Seriously though, they look like they might help. Trouble is that I'd have to carry one with me all the time. Even then, I doubt that I'd be that proficient with it that I could use it on a wet, windy roadside.

Am also going to start a running total of money I've spent trying to swap tyres on the Triban. It'll be interesting if it ends up being more than a posher bike would have cost. My guess is that I'll soon be not far off Croix de Fer territory and will probably end up having spent more than a Fairlight Strael (or similar dream machine) would have cost. Plus I still won't be able to fix a puncture on the Triban.

 

[rufeus]

I've seen those and will probably pick one up, if only to add to my highly anticipated forthcoming exhibition of "Bike Tools That Have Been Destroyed Replacing RC520 Tyres". Seriously though, they look like they might help. Trouble is that I'd have to carry one with me all the time. Even then, I doubt that I'd be that proficient with it that I could use it on a wet, windy roadside.

Am also going to start a running total of money I've spent trying to swap tyres on the Triban. It'll be interesting if it ends up being more than a posher bike would have cost. My guess is that I'll soon be not far off Croix de Fer territory and will probably end up having spent more than a Fairlight Strael (or similar dream machine) would have cost. Plus I still won't be able to fix a puncture on the Triban.

Do you have the RC520 with disk brakes or rim brakes? Does anyone know whether that makes a difference to this wheel issue?

 

[MrPorridge]

Do you have the RC520 with disk brakes or rim brakes? Does anyone know whether that makes a difference to this wheel issue?

@rufeus the RC520 only comes with disc brakes. IIRC there was a Triban 520 (no "RC" prefix) which had rim brakes. Same thing with the Triban RC500 vs Triban 500).

 

[vickster]

Are they Tubeless ready wheels? Maybe go tubeless?

 

[MrPorridge]

Are they Tubeless ready wheels? Maybe go tubeless?

Hi @vickster
They are "tubeless ready" and it is something I'd considered. However, whenever I read about tubeless setups people also stress that it's not a puncture panacea (Panaracer should make a super puncture-proof tyre and call it the Panaracer Panacea!) and that you still have to carry tubes in case of a flat which, should I get one, I'm back to square one in terms of not being able to get to work in time (plus all that gunk flying about allover the place).
Thinking about it, it might be worth going tubeless if I'm just sticking to leisure rides so I will consider it, once the LBSs have cleared the backlog of repairs, sales, servicing etc.
Thanks.

 

[gmacbike]

I've had my Triban RC520 for a year now, and it's been a really good experience so far. I've added mudguards and a rear rack, and now plan to undertake a multi-day tour in Europe come the Spring.

However, I had my first puncture last week and getting the tyre off the wheel was difficult but getting it back on was much, much worse - it took about an hour. This was bad enough in the comfort of my kitchen, but potentially in the pouring rain miles from anywhere doesn't bear thinking about.

I'm seriously considering swapping the wheels. Has anyone done this, and what did you go for?

Thanks

Just wanted to say that I read all the reviews about how difficult changing a tyre is on the rc500 and it put the fear of god into me, having just taken delivery of my first ever bike the RC500 flat bar about a month ago. Anyway Ive been worrying about it like crazy, until yesterday I got my first snake bike puncture, entirely my own fault. So I dived in expecting the worst. Ive never changed a tyre in my life before, so i looked on you tube about how to change really tight tyres. And had previously researched tyre levers. So using a set of Pedro's levers, the tyre came off in 1 minute, and using the info I found on you tube I got it back on in 5 minutes. Ive no idea what other people are normally used to dealing with, but constantly pushing the tyre into the middle groove of the wheel, and pushing the slack around the tyre worked totally fine.

 

[vickster]

Just wanted to say that I read all the reviews about how difficult changing a tyre is on the rc500 and it put the fear of god into me, having just taken delivery of my first ever bike the RC500 flat bar about a month ago. Anyway Ive been worrying about it like crazy, until yesterday I got my first snake bike puncture, entirely my own fault. So I dived in expecting the worst. Ive never changed a tyre in my life before, so i looked on you tube about how to change really tight tyres. And had previously researched tyre levers. So using a set of Pedro's levers, the tyre came off in 1 minute, and using the info I found on you tube I got it back on in 5 minutes. Ive no idea what other people are normally used to dealing with, but constantly pushing the tyre into the middle groove of the wheel, and pushing the slack around the tyre worked totally fine.

Are they the exact same tubeless ready wheels though? If so, maybe you got lucky

 

[MrPorridge]

Hi @gmacbike . I'm now able to get the stock tyres on and off my RC520 reasonably easily with tyre levers (and my Crank Brothers "Speedier Lever") although it's not something I'd like to have to do at the roadside.

What has proved impossible to me is using any other tyres. Have tried a couple of other brands and they were a nightmare.

I eventually got a Vittoria Randonneur (wire bead) on the rim but I had to almost destroy the tyre, and slightly damage the rim, to get it off again. It's like it had somehow welded itself into place. A Jack Brown folding tyre was impossible to get on - not even close.

It might be that I'm particularly stupid and/or weak (OK, I'll admit to both of those) but that's my experience.

Another possibility is that the wheels are in fact different. The Decathlon website lists the RC500 flat bar as having "Triban Tubeless ready wheels in
6063T6 aluminium" and the RC520 as having "Triban Tubeless Ready Light wheels in 106T6 aluminium". Not sure if they're essentially the same thing with a bit of marketing spiel, or if they are actually different wheels with different shape/dimension.

Edit. @vickster got there first. And considerably more concisely!

 

[MrPorridge]

Just for the sake of completeness, and to pretend that I fully read the website, they are different wheels as the weight is slightly different as is the "height" (presumably of the rims). Differences in bold.

RC500 Flat Bar	RC520
Triban Tubeless ready wheels 6063T6 aluminium ETRTO dimensions: 622 x 17 C 28mm high for greater lateral rigidity Crossed steel spokes for improved rigidity (28 front and 28 rear) Sealed bearings Weight per pair (without cassette and QR): 2200g	Triban Tubeless Ready Light wheels 6106T6 aluminium. ETRTO dimensions: 622" x 17" Height 24 mm for increased lateral rigidity. Crossed steel spokes for greater rigidity (28 front and 28 rear). Sealed cartridge bearings. Weight per pair (without cassette and QR): 2000g

Not sure what difference 4mm higher rims make (RC500). I'd have thought that would make them harder to mount/remove tyres!

 

[Dwn]

I briefly had Marathon Supremes on my rc520 and they made for a much nicer ride. However, a puncture led to the discovery that the tyres would not come off (they appeared to have welded themselves to the rim) and it took a combination of Stanley knife and pliers to remove them. So, it was back to the not very good stock tyres (which are also murderously difficult to remove/refit).
I've spoken to decathlon about this a couple of times, buy it tends to be met with a shrug of the shoulders.
I'm reluctant to fork out another three or four hundred pounds for new wheels and tyres, but it's either that or sell the bike and buy a different brand.

 

[Dwn]

Just wanted to say that I read all the reviews about how difficult changing a tyre is on the rc500 and it put the fear of god into me, having just taken delivery of my first ever bike the RC500 flat bar about a month ago. Anyway Ive been worrying about it like crazy, until yesterday I got my first snake bike puncture, entirely my own fault. So I dived in expecting the worst. Ive never changed a tyre in my life before, so i looked on you tube about how to change really tight tyres. And had previously researched tyre levers. So using a set of Pedro's levers, the tyre came off in 1 minute, and using the info I found on you tube I got it back on in 5 minutes. Ive no idea what other people are normally used to dealing with, but constantly pushing the tyre into the middle groove of the wheel, and pushing the slack around the tyre worked totally fine.

I've bought the same bike and it's so much easier to remove and replace the tyres when compared to the rc520. Perhaps they learned from the negative reviews of the latter.