I have a Terra-fied Strada. It still has the alloy wheels and these have served me pretty well even over old, very rocky, wagon roads. Yet, I've read and seen pictures of folks who have broken alloy wheels and lamented they didn't have spoke wheels -- so it got me thinking: Would switching to the spoke wheels provide any noticeable benefit when off-road? Better chance of riding away from a undesirable solid landing? Maybe lighter steering? I was also thinking, having both options would allow me to switch the wheel/tires as desired depending upon season or what is coming up and save wearing out my off-road tires when commuting. Let the opinions flow and the flames begin! [Tried adding a pic of the bike but wouldn't accept the URL.]
I have both sets for my Terra. I use the alloy Strada wheels most of the time and keep more agressive tires on the spoke wheels than I typically have used when I only have one set of wheels. The 21/18 spoke wheels do work better in nasty conditions but the majority of the time the 19/17 alloys are fine. It is handy to be able to quickly swap to the agressive tires while using longer wearing ones for more mundane use like commuting or long distance road touring.
Like minds... I thought the convenience of being able to switch would be nice. Since you're doing this, a follow-up question: Looking at the IPB, it looks like the swap would be pretty straight-forward -- just remove the current wheel, move the brake rotor to the new wheel, then put on the new wheel; of course, the rear would include moving the sprocket and holder to the other wheel. But it doesn't seem difficult, in theory. Maybe half a day of work?
I did the brake rotor/tone wheel swaps at first. To me it was a pain in the ass, I snapped one of the cheepo BMW spec bolts once and rounded off a few too. My sets are complete with rotors & tone wheels AND better hardware. I even have an extra sprocket carrier & cush rubbers now for quick change "road" and "offroad" gearing during the wheel swap. I can swap wheels & gearing as quick as 10 mins, but yea a couple of hours back in the rotor/tone wheel/front sprocket swap days......if you don't break anything. One thing to remember is with the 18" rear you are going up in gearing due to the larger diameter. This is the opposite of what you typiclay want for a more off road use. Before I got the extra sprocket carrier and adjusted rear sprocket size, I used to swap the front/countershaft sprocket down at least 2 teeth when going from the 17" to 18" wheels. Swapping the front sprockets typiclay is not too bad for the chain. Swapping the rears can be, though this bike seems to be easy on chains & sprockets, unlike a lot of thumpers I have owned. If I think I am going to put a lot of miles on the 18's I will use my "road" rear sprocket and swap out the front either 1 or 2 teeth down.
A couple of guys are running these. Seem OK https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2pcs-Fr...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649 Cheaper for you
I put my kit together all from used OEM BMW parts (except hardware). I had to be patent and diligent about condition, but it cost me less than even the chinese aftermarket stuff (though still probably chinese made).
One thing to remember is that spoke wheels are much more flexible. The hard hits that would jar you through the grips with the alloys without breaking the rim will eventually cause rider fatigue. That and a spoke rim with a "smiley" from a really hard hit will keep on trucking along. If you plan on doing any half way agressive riding then you'll thank yourself. Then there's the weight difference, better rubber selection, ability to roll over obstacles better, etc when you go with a standard 18/21 set of spoke rims. You're on the right track with wanting to go with the spokes.
Same here. Then sold it all again.... ...as I realized I'm not doing any of that. Which came to just over ounce per wheel...in favour of the cast rims. Smaller wheel, less rubber, no heavy duty tubes. So I bought a spare set of cast wheels.
I went the spendier hybrid route. Strada that I often run cast rims in motard mode, but a front custom from Woody's Wheel Works, black anodized, and added an eBay tone ring. Rear is a BMW hub from a 17", but cut the spokes and rim off, and had Woody's relace with an 18" rim. Not cheap at about $1100 all in. A bit better feel offroad, but not nearly as cool on paved as motrard mode. Trade-offs.
