Tips On How To Set Up Carbon Road Bike Wheels

Cycling Weekly

Carbon bike wheels are one of the best upgrades you can make to your road bike, but once you've got them, you'll want to ensure they are fitted correctly. In this video Sam Gupta demonstrates exactly how you go from box to fully fitted and ready to ride. If you follow his steps for fitting your new bike wheels, then you'll be sure to have fitted your wheels correctly and safely.

Transcript

00:00People are always saying the first thing you need to upgrade on your bike are the wheels.

00:05For those who have heeded that advice, this video is for you. We're going to tell you how to set

00:10them up going from boxed to fully fitted. The first step is a pretty easy one. You need to

00:17unbox them. Happily, most of the packaging wheels come in is recyclable, so be sure to dispose of

00:23the waste correctly. Make sure you dig out any spares that come with the wheels and if they're

00:28loose, then keep them together in a sealable bag for safekeeping. Losing these bits can be a real

00:34pain later down the line. First off, inspect them. Now that you're hands on with your wheels,

00:40it's important to inspect them while they're fresh out of the box and untampered with. Go around both

00:46wheels and give the spokes a little squeeze just to ensure they're under tension and none of them

00:51are obviously loose. Next, check the rim tape has been fitted correctly. Runs perfectly straight

00:57through the middle of the rim and isn't lifting in any areas. If you're going to be setting your

01:02wheels up tubeless, then this part is especially important. Check the wheels are untrue and the

01:07bearings are smooth. You can do this by spinning the wheel in your hands, holding it out and looking

01:12at the rim to see if it wobbles. You can check the smoothness of the bearings with your hands.

01:17Ensure they turn with ease and don't feel loose or grindy. Check the rims for any defects or damage.

01:23This is particularly important if you've bought your wheels secondhand. Check for any scuffs, scrapes,

01:29dents or cracks which could jeopardize the structural integrity of the wheels. If you see something you're

01:35unsure about, then head to your local bike shop and get a second opinion. Check the nipple holes

01:40are well machined and do not show any signs of cracking or splitting. And the same goes for the hub.

01:47If you are considering buying some secondhand wheels, then be sure to check out Hunt's Renew

01:51program. They will recycle lightly used wheels and put them through a full inspection and

01:57refurbishment program by their own technical service team, meaning you can not only save a

02:02bit of money, but also ensure perfectly good components get their chance to be ridden.

02:08Now that your wheels are unboxed and you're happy with the condition they arrived in,

02:12we can start to get them set up. First, we'll get the tires on. We've made plenty of videos on how to

02:18set up either tubed or tubeless tires, so I will leave links to those videos in the corner of the

02:23screen. But in this case, I'll be going tubeless. Next up, it's time to fit your cassette. In this

02:29scenario, I'm using a Shimano cassette and as such, I have ordered these wheels with a Shimano Freehub

02:34body. However, if you have a SRAM groupset, then be sure to order the SRAM XDR Freehub. Both fit in

02:42similar ways, although each of them has their own nuances. If you're fitting an 11 or 12 speed Shimano

02:48cassette, then simply slide it onto the Freehub body like so and screw on the lock ring, just

02:54finger tight for now. From here, you'll need to be grabbing some tools. Grab a Freehub tool and a

02:59wrench and fully tighten. Cassette lock rings should be tightened to 40 newton meters. Ensure there's no

03:05play in the cassette and it is securely attached to the Freehub body. If you have a 10-speed cassette or

03:11lower, then you may need to attach an extra shim, which would sit at the base of the Freehub and

03:16would need attaching before you install the cassette. If you have a Campagnolo groupset, you'll need a

03:22different cassette tool, but the process is largely the same as fitting a Shimano cassette. We're nearly

03:28there with adding components, so now the last thing to fit before you can get these wheels in your bike

03:34are the rotors. That is, if you're using disc brakes. If you're on rim brakes, then you can go ahead

03:40and skip to the next step. Slide your rotors into place, ensuring the interface is clean. Once again,

03:47finger tighten the lock ring. Now grab your Freehub tool, insert it into the lock ring and tighten to

03:5240 newton meters using your torque wrench. Some wheels, like the ones I have here, use a different

03:58lock ring that have external splines rather than internal ones. If the tool doesn't go in smoothly

04:05when you attempt to fit your lock ring with internal splines, then it's likely you'll need an externally

04:10splined lock ring. In this case, visit your local bike shop. Your wheels are now ready to be fitted to

04:16your bike, but it's worth taking one last look at them to make sure they are fully ready. Ensure the

04:21tyres are fitted correctly and the bead of the tyre has popped into the rim of the wheel. Check your rotors

04:27are secure if you have them and ensure the cassette is also tight and secure. Now, offer the wheel up to

04:35the bike. I always like to start with the front wheel. If using rim brakes, ensure the wheel is pointing

04:40in the right way and you can do this by checking the rotation arrow on your tyre. For disc brake users,

04:46you'll just need to ensure that the rotor sits in the caliper nicely and then tighten your through axle

04:51or quick release. Again, for quick release users, ensure the wheels have gone in straight. The best way

04:57to do this is to open the lever up while the bike is on the ground as this will ensure the axles are sitting

05:03square in the dropouts. Move over to the rear now and pull the rear derailleur back. Let the chain droop

05:09onto the cassette and slowly bring it up into the frame, being sure to align the rotor so that it sits

05:15inside the caliper. Again, pop the through axle in or fit your quick release. If you haven't already,

05:21now is a good time to set your tyre pressure. You can do that by using the brilliant calculator that's

05:26found on Zipp's website. I've been using it for years and it's worked really well for me. If you

05:32have set your wheels up tubeless, then do monitor the pressure in your tyres over the first couple of

05:37weeks of having them set up as it'll likely deflate a little faster than usual as the sealant settles in.

05:44However, once you're past that point, they should hold air as well as any tube setup, but it's always

05:50worth keeping an eye on them. Finally, there are two key jobs you need to do before you set off on your

05:56first ride. First, ensure your rotors are not rubbing. I like to do this very simply by placing

06:02something brightly coloured on the floor and then positioning the caliper over that surface

06:07and looking down through the gap. You'll quickly be able to see if anything is rubbing. Ideally,

06:13what you want is an equal distance between each brake pad and the rotor. If there is rubbing,

06:18work out if it's because the rotor is warped or if it's because the caliper is misaligned.

06:24Caliper misalignment can be easily fixed by slightly loosening the caliper mount bolts

06:29and then shimming it over into position. This can take a while to do and does require some patience,

06:35so take your time. If you really cannot get it right, there is a chance that the caliper mounting

06:40surface may need to be faced to create a perfectly flat mounting surface. If this is the case, then go

06:47visit your local bike shop. If the rotor has warped, then you can realign it using a rotor tool, but

06:54again, go careful on this. It is easy to overdo it. If the rotor has warped by more than a couple of

06:59millimeters, then you may want to consider replacement. Lastly, the final job to do is to check your gear

07:06indexing. There's a myriad of reasons why your indexing may have been thrown off, so run through your gears and

07:13check they're all working smoothly. If they aren't playing ball, then go see your local bike shop or

07:19watch one of the many videos that we've made on how to fix them, which again, I've linked to in the

07:24corner of the screen. That's it. You are done and it's time to go for your first ride. If you've

07:31just upgraded your wheels, then let us know what you went for.

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