Changing wheels and cassette

[Vron]

My soon to be delivered from fleabay Bianchi dama bike has Shimano WH-R500 wheels on it. The reviews for these wheels are pretty poor, I am surprised they are on a bianchi bike. I am planning on swapping these for the wheels on my specialized and putting that up for sale on Ebay. The wheels on my specialized are Xero lite XR1. The bianchi is 10 speed whereas the Specialized is 8 speed. I have looked on youtube about how to swap these over and it looks like specialist tools are needed for the cassette which I don't have. Any idea how much a bike shop will charge me?

Edited by Vron on Tuesday 18th May 19:01

[Henry Hawthorne]

Not much, changing a cassette is a pretty simple job.

[Gnarlybluesurf]

Why not buy the tool and do it yourself... you may brake even this time but will be quids in from then on.

And the sense of achievement.... Priceless!

Edited by Gnarlybluesurf on Tuesday 18th May 19:18

[Vron]

I thought the bike shop may do it for £10 or something as I would need the lock nut key thing and the wrench with the piece of bike chain on it?

[Rolls]

Should be able to get both tools for about a tenner.. - and then you'll have them for the next time they're needed!

[HDM]

Based on what you have explained, a bigger problem may be the compatibility of 8 speed vs 10, when considering the spacing at the dropouts, indexing etc, you may want to check this is going to work, before splashing out on tools.

[Vron]

HDM said:

Based on what you have explained, a bigger problem may be the compatibility of 8 speed vs 10, when considering the spacing at the dropouts, indexing etc, you may want to check this is going to work, before splashing out on tools.

Sorry I am not up on bike mechanics. I thought it was a simple case of swapping the wheels over and swapping the cassettes at the same time i.e 10 speed cassette from Bianchi will now be fitted to Xero lite wheels going back on the bianchi. 8 speed cassette from specialized will be refitted to the shimano wheels and go back on the specialized??

[b2hbm]

Vron said:

Sorry I am not up on bike mechanics. I thought it was a simple case of swapping the wheels over and swapping the cassettes at the same time i.e 10 speed cassette from Bianchi will now be fitted to Xero lite wheels going back on the bianchi. 8 speed cassette from specialized will be refitted to the shimano wheels and go back on the specialized??

Well, you might get away with it but there are a few other things to consider. Firstly 10sp chains are slightly different (or at least the marketing hype says so) and in any case a chain will wear in with a cassette, so assuming the cassettes would swap then I'd move the chains as well.

Secondly - are the gears on both bikes from the same makers ? If not, shimano & campag cassettes have different freehubs and mixing isn't a straightforward swap.

Thirdly, although you're thinking of the swap based on comparable reviews, it's the mechanical state of the wheels that is more important; the amount of braking surface, bearing & freehub wear is more important than how both sets were perceived when new. And reviews are ok for guidance when you know nothing about the market, but they're not gospel; the writer could have had a bad day, got a bad wheelset or simply just not liked the looks of what they are reviewing.

Try the "cheaper" wheels and see how you go. Without wishing any insult or disrespect, if you're asking this sort of question and need the LBS to change them then I'd assume you're relatively new to biking and regardless of what you've read, you will probably find nothing wrong with the wheels. But if you do then just sell them off and use the money towards a new set of something you like - spend your cash on quality parts rather than labour !

edit - my apologies, after reading caiss4's comments I realised I'd mis-read your original idea and that the chains would stay with their respective cassettes.

The comments on wear are still applicable, but assuming you have shimano on both bikes it's an easier swap that I outlined previously. Less than 10 minutes I'd have thought.

Edited by b2hbm on Wednesday 19th May 08:10

Edited by b2hbm on Wednesday 19th May 08:12

[caiss4]

Vron said:

HDM said:

Based on what you have explained, a bigger problem may be the compatibility of 8 speed vs 10, when considering the spacing at the dropouts, indexing etc, you may want to check this is going to work, before splashing out on tools.

Sorry I am not up on bike mechanics. I thought it was a simple case of swapping the wheels over and swapping the cassettes at the same time i.e 10 speed cassette from Bianchi will now be fitted to Xero lite wheels going back on the bianchi. 8 speed cassette from specialized will be refitted to the shimano wheels and go back on the specialized??

That's my take too. I think some think you want to change the cassette to the 8 speed on your Specialized.

I bought a new wheel a couple of weeks ago. I took my old wheel in and the LBS swapped the cassette over for free. It took 5 minutes.

[Vron]

Just phoned my local bike shop and they want the grand total of £2 to swap the cassettes

[pdV6]

One LBS I used to use a lot would do if for free if they knew your face; it really is a 2 minute job.

Far more convenient to do it at home, so picked up the tools for £notalot

[dome]

What drivetrain is the 10 speed bike running, Campag or Sram? Reason I ask is I believe(but I may be wrong...) Campag runs a different type of freehub not compatible with Shimano. Sram and Shimano are compatible though. If it is Campag then its not the end of the world, according to this link a Sram cassette will work.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2008/03/bikes-tech/...

Good luck, and I hope I haven't confused you further!!

[Vron]

They are both shimano so no problem there.

[dome]

Cool, then it's just a case of whether or not an 8/9sp freehub is the same a sa 10sp one. If it is you're sorted