[Elite]

How do these compare for track use? How much of a benefit is the $3000 iO in regards to stiffness/aero than the $700 Hed3...other than the extreme sexiness of the iO. I know the iO has no braking surface...but who needs brakes. This would probably be a BEAST on the road in a crosswind, lol...no brakes+violent swerving=Hospital Bill!

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[Yoshi]

Whose marketing do you believe more? HED or Mavic?

[bitingduck]

The Heds are about the least stiff aero wheel there is. I race a pair on the track and it's mostly not a problem, but in madisons I've had some hairy moments in exchanges (on the way out) because of the side loads you can generate (I'm not that great at madisons, so better form might make it less of a problem).

[eriksbliss]

The Heds are about the least stiff aero wheel there is.

Well, now, there is some rain on my parade. I was all set to get a pair of Hed3s for my track bike. As I weigh 230, I've been asking lots of questions. The guy at the store told me "no problem, I put these on racing tandems. They're better than anything else that's even remotely in the price range." A guy I ride with tells me that a cat jumped into his while he had it on the front for a TT: cat's dead; guy was in the ER for a concussion; but no damage to the wheel. So I'm all set, I think, until the Duck says I'm going to be riding on wet noodles. Duck, what do you recommend instead for fats guys on track bikes?

[bitingduck]

They definitely don't suck, but there are things where I'm less inclined to use them for.

I've been racing them pretty much exclusively for 2 years on the track (at 180 lbs, Cat 2, mass start endurance racer with a decent sprint) and have crashed them hard twice with no harm to the wheels. They also remain one of the most aero wheels you can get. The only time the stiffness has bothered me is riding madisons on concrete tracks-- if the exchange is a little marginal (e.g big speed differential) and the handlebar isn't dead straight I get a shimmy. I don't think I've raced them in a madison on ADT. I borrowed a 404 after that and it was definitely stiffer. Other than that caveat, I wouldn't worry about the Hed3s. The vertical stiffness is fine and mine are actually the old specialized ones and are relatively ancient but going strong. If you're more of a short distance pure sprinter, you will notice that they're not that stiff though.

There's stiffness data here: http://www.rouesartisanales.com/article-4934445.html

[bradenCBC]

From what I understand the IO was developed to work best indoors whereas the hed is designed to cope with the varied wind of outdoor cycling.

[bitingduck]

Never ridden an Io, but with that many spokes it's probably not too great outdoors on anything other than a still day. I've ridden the Specialized Trispokes (Hed3) on the track in moderate wind, and the first few times you go through corners you notice the effect of the wind, but after that not much.