botto 

round.

mdrew9

I'm pretty sure that the last 3 are 7th, 14th and the 21st.

shovelhd

You are correct.

Get down there.

mdrew9

Thanks for all your help.

clones2

If you're looking at Boyd Wheels... get the Vitesse Alloy Clinchers. ~1520grams. Stiffy and pretty lightweight. I just started racing this year...

6th in my first Cat 5 crit with 40 riders on those wheels. They were a huge upgrade over the stock wheels on my Madone. Saved a pound, and much stiffer. For ~$550, that should get you a good enough wheel for the price point to be able to compete in Cat 4/5 as your cycling gets stronger.
They're also my everyday training wheels too...

Racer Ex 

Get out of my head.

You too Botto.

Nashbar has tubeless Ultegra on sale for $350. They kick Open Pros in the nads, stomp on them while they are down, then laugh as they walk off with the OP's girlfriend. I've been riding these for a month now and it's a great all around wheel, their more expensive Dura siblings get very good reviews for durability.

They don't ride quite as nice as tubulars but they are better than tubed and have a lot of the qualities (no pinch flats, generally slower deflation if you pick up a nail or glass) that make tubulars attractive.

hammy56

well Im sold.

Racer Ex 

S & M slave auction?

hammy56

you wish moneybags.

Racer Ex 

Two words:

Economy size.

hammy56

pecos

And that can only come from a good coach. I speak from experience, b/c while I can 'hang' with the folks that end up in the podium I probably train very stupidly compared to them. The few times I ended in the podium in the past was b/c I either got a lucky break or attacked -being fitter or in better shape at that point in the race.

A good coach will teach you how to train and get you race-fit and mentally ready to do well. The motivation, self-esteem, e-wang (as it is referred to by some of folks in this forum) that comes with doing well at races is priceless. Worst thing you can do is get a pair of really nice wheels and get dropped by the peloton.

Of course, a good coach will most likely ask you to invest on a power meter, which in my opinion is more important than a nice pair of wheels. When and if you do, don't get the polar meter, far too finicky and prone to failure, and not all that accurate. Anyway, I went over what you asked, but perhaps I've helped you get a better perspective.

Scummer

Wheels... I had my rear wheel checked out today by Rob from Psimet. It is true like the day when it was built by Rob three years ago and I never trued it since then. 190lbs with 6000 miles yearly riding on rough streets.
That is all.

JAX_11

I have begun assembling my parts to my new race bike. I am stuck on wheelsets. $3,000 is the cap on wheels and its narrowed down to zipp303 firecrest tubulars and Shimano c35 tubulars both 2012 models. I weight 67kg live in Florida and want to pick the one of these that is gonna be great all around. Which one would you guys consider to be stiffer and more likely to last awhile? I like the zipps but Im worried about durability issues. I also Like the shimano c35 but worry about the 35mm depth. is there really that much aero advantage disadvantage on these compared to each other?

jsutkeepspining

you live in florida just get a set of 1080s and go race ur bike

carpediemracing 

I'd get something taller. $3k? You can buy 3 wheels, maybe 4, depending on how you do it.

Do you do mainly crits with a bazillion turns in 30 mph winds? If so then I'd get one of the wheels you list. Personally I wouldn't buy those wheels (except a front 303 to complement a tall front and a tall rear wheel). I'd get a much taller wheelset. If your events tend to be strung out single file hammerfests then that 1080 suggestion actually makes sense.

If you do steady type racing (vs jumpy crits) there's actually an argument for heavier wheels, coming from a racer/rider/engineer I respect. He's been experimenting with significantly heavier wheels and has evidence (objective and subjective) that it's easier than when he rides on lighter wheels.

He notes that a jumpy type ride favors lighter wheels.

rkwaki

I can tell ya I raved the other night on my 32h training wheels with powertap and they were fine. At 2200g or so they are a little on the heavy side, kinda like me but they did the job. $3000? Damn I could build a new bike for that. My buddy just paid 1700 for 2011 Zipp 606 Firecrest with tires.

JAX_11

Racing almost weekly. I tend to stick to the hillier road races in Florida where I do my best riding. I do race a lot of jumpy criteriums though. I do like wheels that spin up easy. So you say ride a deep wheel. Well I had a set of 58 tubulars american classics and found that 50% of the races I had to pull out or not use them as the wind made it so extremely dangerous I was afraid for my life. I don't want to have to worry about that everytime I get to the start line. Now would a zipp 303front 404rear male more sense or will the 404 not spin up so great? I seen the 303/303 as a great aero wheel whic zipp claims is on a few watts different from the 404 or go to the shimano 35 tubulars which are stiff and more of a uphill wheel that will spin up nicely in Crits although the 303 setup should do the same

jsutkeepspining

oh u silly bike racers, worry about your equipment this much!

JAX_11

Do I want to spend that much on a set of wheels? No! I found plenty of places online selling the shimano c35s for 1800 but if I rolled up to my local bike shop with those wheels and didn't purchase them there for 2500 I wouldn't hear the end of it. The problem with trying to support your local LBS, find excellent deals but get the black sheep treatment for buying them somewhere else.

A post for another time "do you support your local LBS even when there are great deals on equipment online or do you take those deals? And if you take those deals what kind of flack would you hear for your LBS?

grolby

Hey OP. Any of the wheels you listed in your post are good ones and worth checking out. If you have a limited budget for cycling gear (this is my perpetual situation), your priorities should be durability and versatility, not speed.

What everyone else is saying, that all of the other priorities should be seen to before wheels, is dead on. A properly-fitted bike and shoes have done more for me than anything else ever has.

Homebrew01

Apparently not.

You could buy 4 pairs of used wheels that will cover all conditions.

carpediemracing 

I see a few things here:
1. Crosswind issue
2. Weight
3. Aero benefit

I don't know the AC58 profile first hand but my teammate uses a similar (clincher) rim in training and races. He uses a DV46 tubular in races. I think both are affected by crosswinds more than a rounded type rim profile (Firecrest, Stinger, Enve, ?). I know I use my Stinger6 rims in pretty gusty conditions, including wind blowing out from behind a stadium. In a cross tailwind a taller rim becomes really, really fast. I don't have proof but I move up regularly in tailwind conditions quickly and decisively without going bananas regarding power.

Weight - any rim will be 450-550g or more. 1500g for a pair will be reasonably light, 1200g very light.

Aero - in general, for a given rim type (narrow, wide, etc), taller is better.

If you really have $3k I'd get an ENVE trio of wheels - a front 45 or so, a front 70?, and a rear 70-85. I think you can do that for $3k. If you want to go cheaper you can get some complimentary rims to your ACs - maybe a "non-aero" front (wheel weight should be 500g total), an 80-100 rear (900-1000g), and if you sell off your AC58s, buy a 60-80 front. Figure you can do that for about $1k and spend the rest on a Quarq or a used SRM. Oh and you'll have to buy some more tubulars.

carpediemracing 

I like thinking about equipment. I don't necessarily buy stuff but I think about it. I know it's a low % of the overall equation but it's still fun. Tall wheels which are reasonably aero are one of the more significant things you can get to immediately affect your top end. It's faster at 30 mph, 40 mph, especially with a cross tailwind. They transfer from bike to bike quickly and they generally last a long time. It won't allow me to time trial like a Cat 1 but it may help me stay on their wheel for a minute or three.

I don't think much about lower return stuff like cranks or hubs.

After extrapolating the significance of a flat aero profile top of the bar I'll think about that a bit, ditto a super skinny aero seat post. My bike is so short that aero or no aero doesn't make much difference in most of that stuff.

valygrl

FWIW, Firecrest 303's are very wide, I was going to get 303's front & rear, and it didn't fit in my frame, so I went with a 303/404 combo. Try before you buy.