Road Cycling - What's wheel wind up?

In discussions regarding wheels, sometimes the term "wind up" is used. Can anybody tell me what it refers to?

I think it has to do with how quickly a wheel will accelerate, or gain speed?? :confused: :confused:

From Roadbikerider.com

wind up: steady acceleration to an all-out effort.

wind up (like wind up a clock, not wind as in air) is the twisting that occurs at the rear wheel where the hub twists before the rim due to the flex in the spokes.
Some wheels have alot of wind up (bad) while others seem to have zero wind up - one reason the Ksyrium SSC's are so popular.

Ahhhh. So wind up = wasted energy = bad. Thanks!

Originally posted by RacerX
wind up (like wind up a clock, not wind as in air) is the twisting that occurs at the rear wheel where the hub twists before the rim due to the flex in the spokes.
Some wheels have alot of wind up (bad) while others seem to have zero wind up - one reason the Ksyrium SSC's are so popular.

Understood. . . but how do you know if a wheel is winding up? What does it feel like?

actually, you don't notice it unless you ride several different wheelsets. Wheels with more wind up feel less snappy, less responsive and soft- but you can't tell unless you ride a set with noticably less wind up.

RacerX hit the nail on the head.
Look at what the pros ride, these will probably be the best wheels. Noticed a lot of Ksyrium SSC SL's

[tongue in cheek]
Although, certain wheels, with a ridiculously high amount of "wind up", can provide for an interesting boost of power when you stop pedalling.
[/tongue in cheek]

:D

I have more often seen reference to windup with regard to spoke lacing pattern. A radially spoked wheel winds up more than a 3 cross for obvious reasons.

RainmanP,
I guess then that the more spokes that cross, this would result in a wheel that has less windup. For 2 extreme case example,
(a) 48 spoke 4 cross tandem wheel would have very little windup,
(b) a disc wheel (solid aluminum) would have the least amount of windup.

As wheels have less windup, they seem to be heavier.

Where/which wheels would you think are at the intersection point in light-weight/aerodynamic/least windup?

A followon question to think about - chains. I have tried both the DuraAce 7700 as well as the 7701 chains. The 7701 seems to have less stretch under sprinting conditions. This appears to go hand-in-hand with reducing overall drivetrain inefficiencies....

Your thoughts?

I'm probably not the best person to ask either question. So far I have found no burning need to ride anything other that plane jane Mavic 32-36 spoke MA3 or CXP23 rims on 105 hubs, and I use only SRAM PC-69 chains.