New (wider) wheels for old nine speed?

[MiddMan]

As I piece together my new build, I still have a soft spot for my old Trek 5200, which I intend to use as a rain and winter bike, and/or for the dirt roads of New England. The thing is, the stock wheels, old Bontrager Race Lite, are pretty narrow.

Does anyone have suggestions for new wider wheels? Something that will take a 25 - 28mm tyre—but also be able to work with a 9 speed cassette so I don’t have to make any upgrades?

[TonyM]

As I piece together my new build, I still have a soft spot for my old Trek 5200, which I intend to use as a rain and winter bike, and/or for the dirt roads of New England. The thing is, the stock wheels, old Bontrager Race Lite, are pretty narrow.

Does anyone have suggestions for new wider wheels? Something that will take a 25 - 28mm tyre—but also be able to work with a 9 speed cassette so I don’t have to make any upgrades?

Be careful that your frame has enough clearance (brakes AND also chain stay!) for these wide rims and tires.

I recently purchased for my 20 y.o. Colnago Dream Aluminum with 8 speed Dura Ace a set of new Fulcrum Racing Quattro LG CX (inner width: 17mm; outer width: 23mm). Nice wheels, cheap and good for the rain/ winter (I bought the CX version with a double seal).
http://www.fulcrumwheels.com/en/wheels/ ... ttro-lg-cx

I used these with my 8 speed Dura Ace cassette (and a small spacer on the freewheel) and first with Vittoria Open Corsa 25 mm tires which measure 27mm on these wheels at 95 psi (I wanted to use eventually these wheels then with the Vittoria Open Pavé). On the brakes (front/ rear) there was enough clearance but on the chainstays it was extremely tight. Not to recommend for the use in the rain as many debris are on the road etc....So may be careful about the clearance at the braces and the chainstay on your bike.

[F45]

You just use spacers for the cassette. Any 11 speed rim brake wheel will work.

[Lelandjt]

There is a specific spacer, I believe 1.6mm, for putting a 8, 9, or 10spd cassette on a road 11spd freehub. I doubt your frame and brake can take a 28mm tire, especially on a wide rim and a 25mm will probably be a very tight fit.

[whosatthewheel]

As above... the 1.8 mm spacer is all you need

[vejnemojnen]

Apart from clearence issues, no problem at all. Most wheels come with spacer supplied to mount 8-9-10spd cassettes.

BUT be aware, that many older frames are designed to accomodate 23-25mm tyres at max. Possible interference with the fork crown and chainstays is quite possible.

I'd stay with 23mm tyres, those will stretch out to 27-28mm anyways on 18-19mm wide rims..

[bikerjulio]

Here's how to approach the clearance issue logically:

1 Measure the width of your existing tires.

2 Using a selection of Allen keys as a rough feeler gauge, check for clearance around the tire at the following:

a front brake and either side clearance to the fork
b rear brake, brake bridge, and clearance at the seatstays
c chainstays to tire, and on some frames tire to seat tube.

3 The largest hex that will fit around all these points is then your starting point. Say it's 4mm and you're OK to end up with 3mm clearance. Then you can go from say 23mm to 25 mm in actual tire width, in reasonable safety.