Swapping wheels and disc rotors between bikes

[Rustybucket]

Hi everyone

I'm going to swap some better wheels to my winter bike. The old wheels on my winter bike currently have 160 disc rotors but the wheels I want to swap with currently have 140 disc rotors. Both are 6 bolt - so is it as easy as just swapping the rotors between the wheels too?

Thanks for any help!

 

[stumpy66]

Don't see why not

 

[Rustybucket]

I hope so! Every time I try abit of home mechanics something normally goes wrong thou!

 

[stumpy66]

If it's the same six bolt fittings you'll b fine

 

[robgul]

I'm not so sure - the position of the rotor and the hub OLN may not be quite the same - it would be worth putting the vernier across the rotor surface on the hubs of the two wheels to check they are the same.
[I built up 5 disc braked bikes (3 x Bianchi and 2 x Scott) at the shop today - I'm not convinced they were all the same width/rotor position to make them interchangeable]

Rob

 

[boydj]

WhenI had a disc-brake bike, there were different adaptors for the calipers depending on the size of the rotors, so it may not be straight-forward.

 

[stumpy66]

Yeah different size adaptor- on chain reaction for about £5
I had misread the initial post, so an adaptor will prob b needed

 

[Flying Dodo]

You'll may find when you put the new wheels on, you'll have to loosen off and re-adjust the calipers slightly, to stop the pads rubbing.

On the rare occasions we have deep snow and thick ice, I've got a spare pair of wheels I quickly swap onto my commuter bike, which have spiked tyres on. As they're a different brand of wheels, the rotors are 2-3 mm further outboard, so I've also got to adjust the callipers.

It's still quicker than just swapping the tyres on their own though.

 

[Rustybucket]

Yeah different size adaptor- on chain reaction for about £5
I had misread the initial post, so an adaptor will prob b needed

I'm keeping the same rotors just changing the wheels, so should hopefully be ok without an adaptor?

 

[lpretro1]

No you will have to have an adaptor if u r changing rotor sizes. TBH I have not heard of an adapter to change from 160 to 140 ?

 

[tincaman]

I have always done well with these guys parts, and brake pads too (Link to ebay shop)

 

[Rustybucket]

All done - everything fitted fine. Winter bike now has Mavic Pro All Roads! New chain and cassette too. Next upgrade will be full Ultegra Hydraulic Brakes - but that won't be until next winter now!
Thanks for everyone's help!

 

[simonali]

Similar questions here, so thought I'd reuse this thread.

My current wheels are 6 bolt and I've new wheels coming tomorrow that are centrelock so I have various lines of enquiry. These wheels will be interchangeable.

1. Should I buy centrelock discs or 6 bolt ones? The wheels are supplied with adaptors, so which type is best? Which option will be lightest?

2. If I go with CL, who makes rotors? Do SRAM make any? I want my bike to remain Shimano-free if poss.

3. Will it be a ballache getting them aligned with the calipers properly? I'm not going to be farting around with shims and spacers am I?

4. Will I be requiring special tools for fitting them to the wheels and will these cost more than just paying a nice man in a shop to do it instead?!

 

[smutchin]

1. Should I buy centrelock discs or 6 bolt ones?

If you have a Centerlock hub, get Centerlock rotors. The only downside is there's a bit less choice than 6-bolt, though I personally prefer Centerlock as it seems to be a more secure fitting (not scientifically tested so may be bollocks).

4. Will I be requiring special tools for fitting them to the wheels and will these cost more than just paying a nice man in a shop to do it instead?!

You'll need a Shimano cassette tool to fit the lockring. You may already have one of these in your toolkit, if not you can probably pick one up for less than a tenner from your LBS.

 

[simonali]

I do have a cassette tool, but it probably dates back to when they only had 7 cogs!

I'll be fitting a new SRAM cassette, too. Will that be a different tool?