Creatre

I prefer aero over weight personally. At least when it has to deal with 100-200g.

thechemist

I don't know why anyone would do anything but enve 6.7 tubeless if enve is at least an option. Light and aero and dual purpose daily ride/raceday wheel. Light enough for most hills it just may not be worth the price for some.

waterrockets 

For some? They're up into the Lightweight price zone there. There are plenty of folks who will spend whatever, and there are people like me who, well, don't.

grolby

Hell, my race bike is already 18+ lbs. What's another 100g? I don't want to discount weight, but it's not enough of a factor in the races I do to justify the expense of superlight wheels. My racing/training/everything wheels are more than acceptable at about 1500g. I don't have a lot of money in aero, either, but I do what I can with my position on the bike.

thechemist

Yea and that is the kicker. I just mentioned as I think @GLobalcanvas had enve as an option and if you are going to spend that kind of coin than I think that is the best option. It gets complicated when you start talking about Chinese carbon rims or simillar that are 50-60mm deep with a powertap for ~1500 dollars. That or you could build up an aero 60mm wheelset and a super light climbing wheel for the price of one enve wheel You give up a bit of handling in crosswinds and some watts at different yaw angles if you forgo enve/zipp etc. but how much and is it worth it.

furiousferret

I finally got tired of looking at my race wheels in the garage and just ride them all the time. The only time I don't use them is when I have my climbing set, which isn't much lighter but has a 12-27 (which I definitely need for TNW's).

I know because of physics, wheel weight gives a bigger benefit than anything else, but I still can't justify spending a ton on them when I can still lose 10 pounds.

gsteinb

I don't care how fast I go except on race day. All the other days are judged by effort, and effort alone. Like the honey badger, effort doesn't give a **** about weight. It'll kick your ass no matter what.

shovelhd

Ditto. I'd own sub 30mm wheels if I did a lot of climbing races, which I don't.

Profile is a significant factor for me as I get tossed around a lot in the wind. The Zipps are way better in this regard than the psimets. Fighting the front wheel wastes power and concentration.

tetonrider

sorry, globe--i quoted the weight of the c24 clincher. are you willing to go tubular? that is really the way to go if you are looking to go light.

if you're looking at 10-speed, i have a lightly used set of 202 tubulars (w/ evo cx iii's on them) that i might sell. (i'm converting to 11s and these are 10s shimano, though i could put on a campy free-hub + cassette and run them with an otherwise 11s shimano drivetrain; i also have a lighter set of wheels that eliminates my need for them.)

not really sure i'll sell, but if it helps you i'd be more inclined.

i can HIGHLY recommend the c24's, though. bomber + low-maintenance. shimano stuff is never the lightest (never the -est of anything, really....not the fastest, lightest, cheapest, etc., but they often hit a really good compromise on everything).

tetonrider

i agree...for almost every situation where one goes up and down.

at some point, 100-200g here, 100-200g there begins to matter.



that's the key. sounds like globe enjoys climbing, does races with significant climbing....maybe has some races that end on a climb or are pure hill climbs?

i'm fully on-board with the aero thing for racing, but i've got a few events where weight does matter. they're pretty rare and mostly have meaning just to me--building up an über-light wheel set was just a fun technical project and will make a difference of a handful of seconds in certain situations.


some folks might have access to excellent deals on zipp or enve, through sponsorship, employment, other connections. brings them closer (a bit) to the generic rims. i'd be more likely to go with generic tubulars than carbon clinchers, though...MUCH more inclined to do that.

technically true, but this difference is so, so, so tiny as to be meaningless.

it's not an either-or thing, but i get your point. some folks in this thread may be doing/have done all they can to get lean....or maybe they just want to drop the $.

i geek out big time with respect to wheels, weight and aerodynamics. i sometimes use it to my advantage, but most often it's just projects to fuel my curiosity during the off-season.

tetonrider

you guys seem to be a virtually unbeatable team, and i just read race reports here...but i do wonder how/when the favor gets returned to you. seems like you are often burying yourself for the team, so i'd expect that one might come out to support you in a race they'd otherwise not prefer.

it's a genuine curiosity about team dynamics, nothing more -- curious about a situation where i don't have any personal insight.

gsteinb

I'm not sure that's a race where shovel would actually go, since it's in VA. But yeah in those circumstances it could be beneficial to him. We had a similar situation in Orchard Beach last year, but unfortunately he got crashed out when he was bridging to the separation I was in. I was very content to get him the age group win there. Generally, the problem in those combined pick em separate races is that you have guys with all kinds of agenda in the same race. I was in a break once in a 35/45 race, trying to win the race. The 45 plus guys (I didn't know who was who) seemed hurting, and I kept reeling in the two teammates who were 35. In the end the 45+ guys were content to race for 3rd to beat me. Only I didn't know it until after the race. We were really out there doing different things.

As to our team being unbeatable, that's sweet. But not really accurate. We're kinda small, lack a dedicated lead out guy, and could use someone who could go up the road solo and be the threat for a win. If we had a guy like the guy who won somerville it would open a lot more opportunities for someone like shovel. With guys marking the solo guy, knowing he's going and watching me for a late break or a field sprint, shovel (for example) would have a lot more opportunities for a successful break.

A bigger limiter is that Monday was the first time we raced together since Bethel ended, which was really about winning as many (most) of the races we could (five firsts and two seconds). With there being an older race at white plains in a couple weeks, Shovel will have the opportunity to lead for a win with a couple of teammates, and I'll be left with the smaller squad of younger old guys in the 45+.

shovelhd

Unbeatable, no, but we are always a factor in races, and when I talk to our peers, well respected as people as well as threats to win. Gsteinb and I are marked riders in the Northeast. That's the positive side. On the other hand is reality. There are ten years between gsteinb and I. He is much faster than me in a sprint. In order to lead him out properly in a stacked M45+ field I have to save everything for the end. I can't be chasing threats all day and do that too. That's where age has defined my role, and I'm fine with it. Goes with the territory. At some point I'll be up the road in an early break and he'll cover the field for me. It just won't be a planned event.

spectastic

I adjusted my saddle tilt from 4 degrees forward to neutral. It wasn't comfortable, especially when I get low, so I readjusted it to 2 degrees forward. out of curiosity, what saddle tilt do you guys put on your bikes?

Herbie53

Nose down ~1 degree.

mattm

dunno, but it just feels right.

Ygduf

I eyeball it. prior to this past month I've had an indestructible taint, though. ymmv.

ridethecliche

I left my commuter bike outside all winter in a covered patio. The chain is obliterated. Where should I pick up a 7/8 speed chain from on the cheap? Anyone have an extra one by any chance, especially if they no longer have an 8 speed bike?

Aside from the chain, what else should I check? I figure I might just go on a small shakedown ride. If the wheels are having issues spinning or I can hear grinding when I spin them by hand, I might grease up the bearings as well. The bike wasn't ridden through slush/salt water/etc. It just sat on my porch and got snowed on and wet a bit from the rain. I definitely neglected it this winter :/

I'll probably put it in the basement next time.

Enlightening.

carpediemracing 

The nose of my saddle is a touch down, maybe 2 mm? compared to the tail, but I don't know if the saddles are meant to be flat using that methodology.

carpediemracing 

I sneezed this morning and almost threw out my back. It was all I could do to reach the Advil and turn on the faucet. After about an hour the spasms started to subside. Junior was getting the "drag along" carry (my arm around his chest, sort of holding him against my hip) rather than the "pick up" carry (arm under his butt). I can now pick him up about 6 hours after the sneeze.

furiousferret

According to my Retul charts online, my saddle is -2% (nose slightly tipped down).

Ygduf

degrees or percents. I don't even know what a % angle is.

hack

he's a cyclist and only thinks only in grade...so, 1.15 degree-ish

waterrockets 

100% is 45° (slope of 1), so 2% (slope of 0.02) would be 0.9°.

furiousferret

I'm just copying data off the Retul chart. In layman's terms, slightly down but not enough to notice.