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Rotor alignment between multiple disc-brake wheels
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I'm new to disc-brake world and wondering what would be involved in switching between two wheelsets.

I read that for some wheels rotors are slightly shifted and people have been using shims to align them so that they don't have to readjust disc brake mounts every time.
Will this be still an issue even if the two wheelsets are from the same manufacturer? If not, are there any manufacture pairs that known to work well together?

Just wondering if I should take this into account when picking up a second wheelset.
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Re: Rotor alignment between multiple disc-brake wheels [aki] [ In reply to ]
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It’s easier with a thru axle. I have a quick release disc brake gravel bike and it’s always a pain in the ass getting the front brake perfect when I put the wheel back on.
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Re: Rotor alignment between multiple disc-brake wheels [aki] [ In reply to ]
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I am dipping my toe into the disc brake world myself and learning this challenge. I have a gravel bike that I recently bought a second set of wheels for so I can have one setup with a nice road tire (Continue 5000) and the other wheel has my gravel tires on.

I purchased some shims with the idea to get the rotors to line up. It seems to be working ok. Although I did learn that centering the brake rotor by adjusting the caliper is not that challenging (Ultegra hydraulic). So I do not worry now about my use case of swapping wheels out based on the type of ride I plan on doing.
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Re: Rotor alignment between multiple disc-brake wheels [ryans] [ In reply to ]
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ryans wrote:
I purchased some shims with the idea to get the rotors to line up. It seems to be working ok.

I did the same and never ended up needing the shims. The gravel and road wheelsets swap nicely without a hassle. SRAM HRD / 160mm rotors.

Shane Miller - GPLama
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Re: Rotor alignment between multiple disc-brake wheels [aki] [ In reply to ]
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Every part has a machining tolerance and sometimes all the errors stack up in one direction. Most people I know have not had issues, so my game plan is to hope for the best when I get a second set of wheels.
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Re: Rotor alignment between multiple disc-brake wheels [aki] [ In reply to ]
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If you can, then get wheelsets with the same brand hubs. I've only ever had mis matched alignment on my MTB, moving from Shimano boost hubs to bitex.

On my cervelo there has been no adjusting needed switching between different hubs.

It's very easy to adjust though and takes a minute or two to sort out, just loosen the caliper bolts, adjust, squeeze the lever to align then tighten bolts.
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Re: Rotor alignment between multiple disc-brake wheels [aki] [ In reply to ]
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Everything is up to the hub. Same hub means no gaps. No worries dude..!

Stay home, stay healthy.
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Re: Rotor alignment between multiple disc-brake wheels [aki] [ In reply to ]
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Just finished my first swap between my two wheel sets.

Background - Trek Checkpoint with Ultegra Hydraulic brakes
Wheel set 1 - Bontrager Paradigm Comp
Wheel set 2 - HED Emporia GA Pro

With spacers for the discs, I was able to get my rear wheels all set up so they do not need any adjustment between the two wheel sets. Super easy. With the fronts, I had to re-center the brake which is all of loosening two 4mm Allen bolts and fiddling with the brake to get it set perfectly and then re-tighten. I might be able to fix with a spacer on my HED rim but bottom line it was a simple process.
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Re: Rotor alignment between multiple disc-brake wheels [ryans] [ In reply to ]
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I go through this process pretty regularly on my Orbea Terra going between the OEM gravel wheels and road carbon wheels. One thing worth noting (won’t be a problem for you yet or hopefully for a while) is that if you get a sticky piston or to the stage when your brakes need bled you may repeatedly get contact on one set of rotors that you can’t get rid of. Happened to me, bit annoying for a while then bike off to LBS for brake bleed. Back in perfect condition for swapping. Enjoy, it adds a huge about of flexibility on one bike.
Last edited by: hiscotsg: May 7, 21 12:24
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Re: Rotor alignment between multiple disc-brake wheels [hiscotsg] [ In reply to ]
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Thank you, all! Similar to the replies, I'm mainly thinking about this for a gravel bike (3T Exploro, 105 hydraulic, thru-axle). It came with a 700c gravel wheel set, so once the original tires wear out, I want to put road tires on it and get another 650b wheel set for dedicated gravel use.

Given the responses,
1. There is a good chance that two wheels are swappable without issues. If two have hubs from a same manufacture, the chance would likely increase.
2. Even if not, adding spacers might solve it, and adjusting calipers when needed is an easy job.
(*) If the bike is QR, calipers may needed to be adjusted even when putting back the same wheel.

Overall I think I was a little overthinking. It's reassuring to know that a lot of people are doing this just fine.
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Re: Rotor alignment between multiple disc-brake wheels [aki] [ In reply to ]
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I'd disagree with a couple of the posters here and say that you do not want to be adjusting the calipers every time you swap wheels, it's too fussy and I find I often need more than one try to get it right. You really want a process such as this to be as easy and quick as possible so it's not a nuisance when you're time constrained. If you end up with misalignment between wheels shims are absolutely the way to go and should take care of any problem you encounter. I have different hubs on the road and gravel wheelsets I use on my gravel bike and needed to put in a .1mm shim on one of the rear hubs, took a bit of fiddling to get it right when I installed it and ever since just a quick and easy swap.
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Re: Rotor alignment between multiple disc-brake wheels [tttiltheend] [ In reply to ]
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Thank you for sharing your experience with a 0.1mm shim. I was wondering how thick the spacers should be for the right granularity. I saw on some other forum that people are getting shims from industry distributors (not sure how to call them, just not bike shops) like http://www.mcmaster.com for centerlock shims.
I hope the method works well because my current wheel is Shimano, and I may want to avoid Shimano to keep XDR an option for the future.
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Re: Rotor alignment between multiple disc-brake wheels [aki] [ In reply to ]
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I got some shims from November cycles and it was pretty easy to align the rotors. Just figure out which rotor is further outboard, adjust the caliper to match it, then shim the rotor on the other wheel
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Re: Rotor alignment between multiple disc-brake wheels [aki] [ In reply to ]
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this doesn't quite answer your question, but i might also bring up the facing of one's disc brake mounting surfaces. there are multiple tool options, none are really cheap. i guess i wonder why this is not a more commonly engaged in practice. back in "my day" we used to always face and tap all the bike's surfaces: headsets and BBs always got faced. you didn't build the bike until you faced these, and tapped the BB threads, and the RD threads.

couple that with a cheap tool ($7): a disc brake gap spacer, like this one from birzman. then, if you ever discover your rotor is taking the scenic route during a rotation, there's a straightener ($17).

i would think a mechanic - mobile or IBD - would have the means to face disc brake mount surfaces. then the user can pretty easily take it from there with a couple of very cheap tools. the birzman (or similar) tool makes it easy to set up a caliper to your default wheel. and, of course, sometimes the pads just lose their spacing for some reason, esp when wheels are out of them, so those (red, usually) spacers that are in the bike (or in the caliper set) when they arrive to you new, i keep those, and just shove one of those in between the pads to push them back out again if that happens.

beyond all of that, yes, the shims will normalize one wheel to another wheel's rotor placement. just, you might drive yourself crazy getting rotors not to rub if it turns out your disc brake mount surfaces are misaligned.

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
Last edited by: Slowman: May 9, 21 9:26
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Re: Rotor alignment between multiple disc-brake wheels [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
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Thank you for the advice!

Just to follow up, I ended up getting a wheelset from a different manufacture (Easton EA70 AX 650b and Shimano RS170 700c) because there was a local sale hard to pass by.
Luckily the rotors are just fine after swapping, but interestingly the rear derailleur needed some adjustment. It wasn't too bad and adjusting wire tension is much easier than readjusting the brake calipers, so I may just keep using them as is.

Thanks for the linked article. The article is a good read! When I started cycling, I was also told that facing is the key and it is what differentiates a good bike shop from a mediocre shop and home mechanics. I'll keep this in mind in case I cannot get rid of rubs in the future.
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