Update Sunday Aug 10
Road the stock i25 rims with 700x42 specialized sawtooth tires. "Fastest" speed on my normal 11mile loop, without trying that hard. 10.1 mph baby! (that's still super slow for anyone who doesn't road bike) Best I ever got on the larger 700x55 teravail sparwood tires was 9.5mph and my legs would be blown up. Next update, I'll do some trail riding on the new i30 rims with the sparwoods.
Saturday Aug 9th
I bought a new wheelset for the Salsa Fargo 2025 bike i got a few months ago. I've spent the last week without my bike because I'd caught a bad flat and the rim needed to be trued and tightened up. Sucked to have to give up the bike for a week. I spent a lot of time hiking the nearby woods waiting to get the bike back. Could've ridden my old Specialized Sequoia, but I'm addicted to the huge granny gear on the Fargo, makes the hills so easy.
TBH (to be honest), it's ridiculous I've been riding the stock Fargo tires on the road so much. I've put 1,000 road miles on the Teravail Sparwood tires since May. I even had to replace the rear tire already ($70). Road riding is not what they're meant for. They're for rough forest roads or mtb singletrack. The rubber is softer for better grip on the dirt, so they wear faster on the road.]
So looking at the wtb tire rim chart. https://www.wtb.com/pages/tire-rim-fit-chart
I realized that the i25 rims that came with the bike would work with the 2018 specialized sawtooth tires I had stored in the garage. I never used the sawtooth tires much with my previous gravel bike because they were "too heavy". But I'm 20lbs heavier now, and the old sawtooth tires are much lighter than the Fargo's stock Sparwood tires. It's all relative I guess. They're not really for road riding either, but will do that far better than the Sparwoods.
Getting the wtb i30 proterra tough rims will work even better for the stock Fargo Teravail Sparwood tires. They'll handle the off road abuse better. The 30mm wide rim will give the tires more of a U shape than an O. So more sidewall strength at lower psi.
Some "girl math" made it less painful to spend the money on a 2nd wheelset. I got them for $325 ( vs $795 retail), never ridden, from litespeed.com. One of their customers got a new bike and didn't want the stock wtb i30 wheels. Litespeed sells high end stuff, so the customer probably splurged an extra 2k on a carbon fiber wheelset. The girl math comes into play because getting the new rims also meant I could use tires I already had, saving $140. I still had to spend $75 more for another rear cassette (the rear gears), and $100 for 2 more brake rotors, so it'll be easy to swap the wheels back and forth. But cheaper than a 2nd bike! Yay girl math! It's for boys too!
I've already tested switching the wheels back and forth. I didn't have to adjust the gear shifter or the brake caliper alignment. I do have a weird Old Man Mountain Rear rack that uses a special rear thru axle, so that makes it slightly more of a PITA to swap the wheels, but that's it. 2 extra bolts i have to remove to get the rear rack out of the way. Still a < 5 minute job to swap both wheels.
Pro's
- a 2nd wheelset is cheaper than a 2nd bike
- the new 30mm wheelset is better suited for the larger 29x 2.2 sparwood tires. better sidewall shape for rough trails
- the stock 25mm wheelset now has 700x42mm tires, smaller and better for the road riding I've been doing to lose weight. Zero money because I already had them (similar new tires are $70 each)
- more than half off for a brand new wheelset (never used)
- now have a spare wheelset if I knock a wheel rim out of true again (easy to do at my weight)
- moved the 4 tires myself. the bike shop charges $25/tire to mount a single tubeless tire. $100 saved!
- used 2 tires i already had, another $140 saved.
Cons
- cost me about $600 total. $325 for new wheelset (plus $30 shipping and tax), $75 for another rear cassette, $100 for 2 rotors, $30 for a special tool i needed.
- swapping time, and more wheels to store (but not another bike!)
- going tubeless on both sets means more wheels I have to replace the sealant once a year. Messy job, but i'm getting better at it.
