Question for second wheelset for Hunq

[Tim]

I'm currently reinventing the Hunqapillar. It's only ever been set up for mountain biking, with knobbies and Bullmoose bars with a 3x8 speed drivetrain with Shimano barends mounted on Paul's thumbies in friction mode. I also have an AHH and a Roadeo, so I kept the Hunq strictly for trails and while living in Tucson for 7 years, I rode it a lot on the AZT and lots of singletrack.

I dealt with constant right hand numbness with the Bullmoose (I've ultimately decided that it is because, at least for me, the Bullmoose bars only have one good hand position.) I was going to switch to Albatross bars as I have an extra set and I like them on my Hilsen, but after talking to Grant I went with his suggestion of Choco bars with Silver barends. I have been Silver bar end/OM-1 curious for quite a while and I finally managed to snag one so I'm converting the drivetrain, which brings me, at last, to my question.

Because I had a local bike mechanic who is as spacey as me, I ended up with a second set of Cliffhanger rims, so I've decided to indulge myself and have a second set of wheels for the Hunq, a more road/gravel wheel set. I asked Will at Riv if there would be a problem with making the second wheel set a 9 speed. He said it shouldn't be a problem as long as the range was about the same. Would the group agree with that? Thanks!

Peace,

Tim, who has usually moved opposite anyway, Kirch

[Tim]

Will said make sure to use a 9 speed chain, which I may very well have forgotten to do had he not mentioned it. I should have mentioned that my mechanical skills are, at the most generous, just barely ok. 

[Bill Lindsay]

For any two-wheel set strategy to work in a practical way, the top priority is usually to make it easy on oneself.  Step 1 is eliminating brake adjustments associated with wheel swaps, and in the case of rim-brakes, using identical rims is the most obvious way to do that.  Good job there.  It's still possible to mess that up, though.  If one wheel is out of dish relative to the other then maybe your brakes will be centered on one wheel and rubbing with the other.  That's up to your mechanic to check out and correct if needed.  

As Will points out, as long as both cassettes have the same physical width and the same lateral position on their respective hubs, then that would theoretically eliminate any derailleur adjustments associated with the wheel swap.  Whether or not your two cassettes are close enough in width and close enough in lateral position on their hubs is an empirical question: measure or just try it out.  The most straightforward way to make certain is to use the same make and model of rear hub and the same make and model of cassette on both rear wheels, but many things are close enough that it'll work.  At least you want to make sure both rear hubs have the same Over Locknut Dimension, and that both fit your frame.  A lot of people run 9 speed chains on 8 speed cassettes, so that should be OK.  Give it a go.

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Tim]

Thanks so much for that information, Bill. Super helpful. As usual, you brought up a lot that I hadn't thought about. The wheels have different hubs, VO and Silver, but they were both built for my Hunqapillar (can't remember offhand if the Hunq has 130 or 135 spacing) so I can likely come up with a two set solution that will work, even if it means switching both to 9 speed. Thanks again!

Peace,

Tim

[Bill Lindsay]

Your Hunqapillar is 135mm, and if both wheels "slide right in" with no big gap at the drop outs, then they are both 135 also.  Check that off the list

BL in EC