Road Cycling - Is deep dumb?

Just wondered if anyone has any experience with deep rims? Im looking at some 30mm ones cause I like the way they look. They only weigh 1500grams/set,Velomax Temepst II. Aside from the weight difference and sexy looks benefits can I expect with these over the Mavic Elites Im ridding on now(almost 1800 grams/set?)? I spend my summer ridding on the street solo and doing centuries with the club. Thanks..............

The elites are closer to 1700@1745g then 1800g. The Temepst are 1550g. Not sure you'll notice much. I do know the elites are bullet proff and never fail or needs to be trued. That all might be worth the extra grams.Velo's make some great wheelsets.

deep rims are for riding fast & aero. you'll find them on time trial and triathlon bikes, where the rider expects mostly flat terrain, and constant, steady state effort (no sprinting, no accelerating/decelerating)

deep rims are for riding fast & aero. you'll find them on time trial and triathlon bikes, where the rider expects mostly flat terrain, and constant, steady state effort (no sprinting, no accelerating/decelerating)

Thanks for the answer to my question; you know your stuff. I looked up a site that had much info about aero rims and your exactly right.
:)

After a few hundred miles with the Velomax Circuit Comps on my new bike, I'd say yes, deep is dumb for a club rider like me. The 28 mm rims are a real handful in crosswinds...first time I took my hands off the bars when a mild gust hit was a big surprise.

Have read that the drag is higher that a low profile rim in crosswind conditions, and that the ride is stiffer.
Next time, think I'll stay with a conventional low rim.

As for the strength of deep section rims vs. standard rims, i'd actually say that the two are pretty close if you get a nice conventional rim that's well built. I have put thousands of miles on a set of wheels with Mavic's old CXP-30 rim and they're bombproof. But I haven't had to true my less than a year old wheels build up with Mavic Open Pros once. Only a few hundred miles on them, sure, but they've done nothing but impress so far. And climbing is noticeably more fun on lighter wheels, especially when the weight savings is out at the rim.

Just wondered if anyone has any experience with deep rims? Im looking at some 30mm ones cause I like the way they look. They only weigh 1500grams/set,Velomax Temepst II. Aside from the weight difference and sexy looks benefits can I expect with these over the Mavic Elites Im ridding on now(almost 1800 grams/set?)? I spend my summer ridding on the street solo and doing centuries with the club. Thanks..............

Well, for aero, deeper is better. My understanding is that 30mm is not really much more aero than 20mm. The wheels I use for triathlons are 60mm front and 90mm rear.

As TimB would say, "an ounce off the wheels is worth 3 off the frame". If you can save half a pound of rotating weight in the wheels, you will notice a difference.

You might ask the Lotto guy in this photog(I don't think he visits this forum though). He broke away on a windy day and won a sprint with some very deep rims. I don't think they held him back.

Unless you ride fast the problem of side winds may overwealm any advantage that improved aero factors may give , like disc wheels , funky but ........