curlycomber
Regular
- Location
- West Sussex
Buying wheels
- Thread starter curlycomber
- Start date
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You will need to know the distance between the forks, ie, 100mm or whatever it is for the front wheel,
and the same internal measurement for the frame the back wheel fits into, ie, 135mm or whatever it is
in your case.
You need to also ensure your new back wheel comes with the right hub
to take the cassette off your old wheel,
not alone will it need to have the same amount of gears, it will also need to be either
Shimano or SRAM compatible if your old wheel uses either of these cassettes,
Shimano and sram are interchangeable, as long as they are the same speed cassettes.
There are other types of hubs on wheels, not just Shimano and sram
all wheels will be advertised as being available In a range of hub types,
so you need to get a wheel that will take the make of cartridge you plan to use,
and that cartridge will also need to be of the correct speed, ie, 8, 9,10 or 11 speed,
which you will determine by counting the gears on the old wheel.
Also note that you need to get wheels that suit your braking setup, so they will
be either rim brake or disc brake, get the type your bike is set up for.
Wheel width too is important, get the same width rims as is on your bike,
wider ones will make your tire a little wider, and unless there is enough room
between the frame or fork then the tires will catch, and you won’t be going far.
Rims usually cone in 13, 15, 17, 19 mm internal diameters, and others, so make
sure you replace like with like unless you are sure you have room to go wider.
You know more spokes makes for a more durable wheel all else being equal,
weight will go up a bit, so you need to take all this into account and chose
what suits the type of riding / terrain you will be riding on.
If you post the model and year of the bike, it may help suss out what rims
came on it originally, if no one changed them.
and the same internal measurement for the frame the back wheel fits into, ie, 135mm or whatever it is
in your case.
You need to also ensure your new back wheel comes with the right hub
to take the cassette off your old wheel,
not alone will it need to have the same amount of gears, it will also need to be either
Shimano or SRAM compatible if your old wheel uses either of these cassettes,
Shimano and sram are interchangeable, as long as they are the same speed cassettes.
There are other types of hubs on wheels, not just Shimano and sram
all wheels will be advertised as being available In a range of hub types,
so you need to get a wheel that will take the make of cartridge you plan to use,
and that cartridge will also need to be of the correct speed, ie, 8, 9,10 or 11 speed,
which you will determine by counting the gears on the old wheel.
Also note that you need to get wheels that suit your braking setup, so they will
be either rim brake or disc brake, get the type your bike is set up for.
Wheel width too is important, get the same width rims as is on your bike,
wider ones will make your tire a little wider, and unless there is enough room
between the frame or fork then the tires will catch, and you won’t be going far.
Rims usually cone in 13, 15, 17, 19 mm internal diameters, and others, so make
sure you replace like with like unless you are sure you have room to go wider.
You know more spokes makes for a more durable wheel all else being equal,
weight will go up a bit, so you need to take all this into account and chose
what suits the type of riding / terrain you will be riding on.
If you post the model and year of the bike, it may help suss out what rims
came on it originally, if no one changed them.
vickster
Legendary Member
Assuming you mean a roadbike? Post a link to the bike spec. You'll likely need 700c rim brake wheels, compatible with whatever cassette size (7, 8, 9, 10, 11?) is on there
Why do the wheels need upgrading, are they pringled or worn out?
sleuthey
Legendary Member
- Location
- South Gloucestershire
IM sure someone will advise on the dimensions side of things but you also need to find out whether the bike has a cassette or a freewheel. If it has a cassette then a replacement rear wheel will need to have a freewheel hub built into it that the cassette can slide onto. If the bike has a freewheel then the replacement wheel will need to have a male thread on the hub.
Last edited:
Ajax Bay
Guru
- Location
- East Devon
There are Carreras of all shapes and (wheel) sizes. OP needs to provide the model and/or the ebay link for a useful answer.
Cycleops
Legendary Member
- Location
- Accra, Ghana
Why do the wheels need upgrading? Are they spoilt beyond repair. Is the bike particularly cheap because of this?
As above you just need a few details like freewheel or free hub, cassette speed, hollow q/r hubs or solid, rim size and width and if it's important spoke count. You should be able to get a pair of similar quality to the OE for around fifty quid.
As above you just need a few details like freewheel or free hub, cassette speed, hollow q/r hubs or solid, rim size and width and if it's important spoke count. You should be able to get a pair of similar quality to the OE for around fifty quid.
curlycomber
Regular
- Location
- West Sussex
Hi, Shadow121, Vickster, Sleuthey, Ajax Bay and Cycleops.
Many thanks for your helpful replies a while ago to my wheel question. Huge apologies for not replying sooner. It took me ages to find my log in and password as I have a few email address.
I didnt get that particular bike but have purchased a slightly "well used" bike to modify. It is a project to dip into to learn as I go along. I found out today the difference between freewheel and cassette. So the spending and learning starts here.
These types of forums are a gold mine of info for like minded people and in particular people happy to pass on their knowledge. I am looking forward to this process I have started.
Thanks to you all again.
Curlycomber
Many thanks for your helpful replies a while ago to my wheel question. Huge apologies for not replying sooner. It took me ages to find my log in and password as I have a few email address.
I didnt get that particular bike but have purchased a slightly "well used" bike to modify. It is a project to dip into to learn as I go along. I found out today the difference between freewheel and cassette. So the spending and learning starts here.
These types of forums are a gold mine of info for like minded people and in particular people happy to pass on their knowledge. I am looking forward to this process I have started.
Thanks to you all again.
Curlycomber
Ajax Bay
Guru
- Location
- East Devon
I think you'll appreciate dipping into the knowledge base that the late Sheldon Brown created. This article is but a thousandth (say) of the content:
https://sheldonbrown.com/free-k7.html
