I am after a wheel for my Alpine 160 (2016), this is what i know i need;
27.5 inch wheel, 12mm x 142mm, 6 bolt hole and between 27 - 32mm rim width, 12spd cassette. I dont know why but this seems hard to find especially on the used market. Im not really having much luck on the new either :/
One question i do have is - are the hubs specific for a certain speed cassette, so my whole drivetrain is 12 speed so does that mean the wheel needs to be to?
If its a 142mm axle spacing that's non boost which isn't the current "standard" so to speak. But, the real question is what is your current 12speed brand? is it sram or shimano?
Is your drive chain shimano or sram 12 speed? I.e. do you need a SRAM XD or Shimano Microspline freehub (or do you have a HG 12 speed cassette)?
You need to look for a wheel with a hub that can be converted to the freehub standard you need. I would probably focus on wheels with either Hope (pro 4/Pro 5) or DT Swiss (370/350/240) hubs as all of those can be converted to either freehub standard.
Main thing really you'll need to watch is the freehub.
Do you know which cassette you have? If it's Shimano it'll be Microspline, but if it's SRAM it could be xD or Shimano HG (confusingly!)
Other than that, you just need to make sure it's 12x142 and you should be dandy.
are the hubs specific for a certain speed cassette
No, but there are different types of freehub/cassette that need to match. HD is the old fashioned Shimano mainly standard but this will go upto 12 speed, albeit with a minimum 11 tooth smallest sproket, Microspline is a newer standard that will go down to 10 teeth.
You might be better just to try and source a hub and have it built into whatever rim you like rather than find a very specific combination of older standards ready made.
edit - same as what they said! ☝️
Does 12 speed fit on non boost wheels, or is the freehub body wider?
I too have been out of the loop too long, so just ended up buying a new bike.
142X12 wasnt around for long before everything went boost.
might be worth getting a Pro2 wheelset and rebuilding it onto the rim of your choice. Hope stuff can easily be made wider in the future with their variety of end caps.
https://www.hopetech.com/products/hubs/accessories/axle-conversion-kits/
i dont know if the newer stuff can be pushed back to 142 if its designed to be 148.
ive got a 142 > 148 set in the post though for my old wheels so i can keep using them.
Yeah, 12 will go on a 142mm that's what road bike and most gravel bikes, (I think) use. Sure I've seen some of those old bike recyclers on YouTube but 12 speed on 135mm hubs too, though I might have mis-remembered that.
Its SRAM SX Eagle
You'll need an HG freehub then. 🙂
142mm is the thro-axle version of a 135mm QR hub - many can be converted.
However, a boost 148mm hub will probably not work as 142mm as the hub body is longer / disc brake offset will be wrong
However, a boost 148mm hub will probably definitely not work as 142mm as the hub body is longer / disc brake offset will be wrong
FTFY
Try these (the second is ID off)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326836892933
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/205969340498 (I'd buy the front hub from you from this set, you could have the rim as spare)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326892125314
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326900239611
This is great thank you all - I would of got the wrong wheel
However, a boost 148mm hub will probably not work as 142mm as the hub body is longer / disc brake offset will be wrong
If the increase is in the hub body (as it should be) then the offset to the frame for the cassette and rotor will be the same on both hub sizes
If the manufacturer has cheated and just increased the end spacers, then it's really only a 3mm difference each side.
I've ran Boost hubs in Non-Boost frames without any problems other than it's a tiny bit more of a faff to drop the wheel in.