Race wheels?

cunnins4

I was out on a spin yesterday and I was thinking about race wheels i.e. Carbon Aero Wheels. Are they worth it? I was looking at them online and they're so expensive! some worth more than my bike itself! I was comparing the weight of my wheels (Fulcrum Racing 7) and they're only 50-100 grams heavier than some of the Carbon Wheels I was looking at, yet they cost one tenth of the price!

I hit a fairly big pot hole yesterday (that's what got me thinking about them) and I'd say on a set of Carbon wheels they'd have disintergrated after a few hits like that? Are these wheels tough?

Also, when you change your chain or cassette, they should be changed together yeah? So if you own a set of race day wheels, do you swap over the cassette or do you have a cassette on the wheels and a second chain? (obviously the chain and cassette on the bike are used more often and would have considerably more wear on it than a cassette sitting idle 95% of the time?)

I was reading an article about saving time on the bike and that over 40k an aero front wheel is worth a minute? Is that true?

Obviously the best way to get faster on the bike is to put in the miles, but if I could buy time like that maybe they'd be a good investment! (ha, I can see the looks on peoples faces telling them "sure the wheels cost over a grand!" )

E@gle.

most of the guys from the club that have carbon wheels, only use them for races because irish roads are so bad

if you buy another casette for the new wheels you do not need to buy another chain, just make sure that if you have a 10 speed shimano on the fulcrums now that you get another 10 speed shimano for the new wheels

If you are going for carbon wheels i reckon zipp are probaly the best at the moment

blorg

Note the time difference you mention there is due to the shape of the wheel, not the weight/material. Weight is generally less important in a time trial/flat course, only really comes into play when climbing.

dave2pvd

What kind of racing are you contemplating? If it's road racing, you're wasting your hard-earned buying the likes of Zipps. Just my opinion, of course.

Assuming you aren't a 'heavier' rider, a set of Mavic Ksyrium SLs might be your candidate. Not cheap, but fairly bombproof. Buy outgoing/last year model to save money. Aero hardly even matters when you are riding in a group. Unless of course you want to sit on the front for the entire time.

If you are worried about TT performance, you will get the most time/money value in this order: correct TT bike position (free, but can take a while to perfect), correctly inflated tyres (free), aero bars, end of bar shifters, aero helmet. Wheels and an aero TT frame can be a big help, but very spendy.

Weight matters, but mostly when climbing.

E@gle.

dave2pvd wrote: »

Assuming you aren't a 'heavier' rider, a set of Mavic Ksyrium SLs might be your candidate. Not cheap, but fairly bombproof. Buy outgoing/last year model to save money.

aye the sl's are probaly the best, and as dave said they are very strong

cunnins4

Sorry-I should've said it's triathlons i'd use them for. Won't have the money for quite a while, it's just something I was curious about. Those Mavics ^^ they're not aero are they?

blorg

They are aerodynamic but they are not as aerodynamic as deep-rim or disc wheels like Zipps. They will be a lot better suited to general riding, but not specialised for time trials. Triathlons tends to be comparable to time trials with short, flat and fast courses with no drafting. For that specialised purpose aerodynamics is more important than light weight.

dave2pvd

Yup. You might want some 'general purpose' deep dish wheels. Something like 50mm dish could be useful. I would not buy disc wheels, not with the prevailing crosswinds you will typically have to deal with. Even with a rear disc only crosswinds can be a challenge.

I occasionally use a HED tri-spoke on the front. I have to say that it 'feels' faster. But then again, fancy kit always feels faster.

Ever priced Zipp 808s? What about their new extra-deep 1080: http://www.zipp.com/Products/New08Products/108mmExtraDeepWheelset/tabid/252/Default.aspx

Is it really worth it though?

cunnins4

Well if I ever fork out for a set of race specific wheels i wouldn't really mind spending top dollar. Next year should be a good year for triathlons for me-I'm still training away and hopefully i'll be fast enough next year to justify such ludacris luxuries! If I ever move to a TT bike having a set of wheels like that'd be a nice addition.

Fancy bike, fancy wheels, yet there'll always be someone on a €400 beater of a bike going faster!!!:D

E@gle.

These new mavic wheels sound pretty good http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=17456

Wheelworx

The first wheel to ever create negative drag -80 in wind tunnel tests, but comes at a price


http://www.wheelworxbikes.com/product_info.php?products_id=746

Rob