Old 01-14-11, 09:51 PM
  #10  
carpediemracing 
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Tariffville, CT
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Bikes: Tsunami road bikes, Dolan DF4 track

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I'd go with lighter all-round wheels rather than sacrifice a lot of weight for aero. Use these as your base wheels. Later get some lighter aero wheels (like tubulars).

I bought a slew of wheels last year, all HEDs. Stinger6 tubulars, Bastogne clinchers (non-aero), and Jet6/Jet9 (f/r) clinchers (aero). I rarely ride the Jets because they're too heavy - they take forever to wind up, I don't do a lot of sustained high speed on them, and I've felt my legs wither as I do yet another jump using the heavy wheels in a training crit.

I figure aero wheels really comes into play once you're going over 30 mph. Yes, physics dictates that they affect you at all speeds, but to make a noticeable-to-me difference, 30 mph. When I deal with my two pairs of HED clinchers, with their weight difference (and all of it in the rims since the HEDs use the same hubs) that's kind of the cut off point.

Most of my training rides take place with speed south of 20 mph, some descents and little jumps bringing me above that. For those speeds I'd take the Bastognes. Although if you see me in SoCal I may have one or both Jets specifically for the additional weight.

When I go hunting for drafts I'll put on the Jets though and hoard my jumps until it's time I've also done some group rides with just the rear (Jet9), specifically because I expect some fast riding (like when I rode a few times with the group botto rides with). He commented positively to me after a particularly hard effort I made - I think a big part of why I could make that effort were the wheels on the bike. I can tell you that I skipped turns when in an escape with him and one of my teammates, so it wasn't like I'm stronger than him.

Most of my races tend to be 25-27 mph, lots of 30-35 mph bursts (say like 10 to 60 seconds, maybe longer), and lots of pressure to move up when the group is collectively going 35-38 mph (means I have to go at least a few mph faster than that). In those situations aero wheels make a decent difference. It's like having a slight tailwind, for lack of a better way of describing it. You can just keep accelerating. Although I chose the Stinger6s for their weight/aero factors (1400g/60mm/wide-aero-rim), I sometimes wish I got a Stinger9 as well. If you look at the worker bikes in the Tour for HTC, they're on Stinger9s. Cav is on a combo Stinger6/Stinger9 f/r. The Stinger6s accelerate like there's no tomorrow, and they maintain speed once I'm up there. The Stinger9s would be like a sail in a particular side/crosswind, going to negative drag.

fyi You can ALWAYS go super tall/aero in the rear. Always. It only makes the bike harder to turn. Disk wheel, whatever. The front gets sketchy when it's gusty/windy. I actually think a taller rear wheel makes a taller front wheel possible in gusty conditions.

So for now get something lighter and basic. Later get some weapon grade wheels.

cdr
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