Cyclocross Racing - deep dish wheels?

i keep seeing a lot of people prefer to still ride deep dish carbon wheels when racing cross. i would assume since you aren't doing that much high speed riding for aero to be super important people would prefer to ride something a little bit lighter with less profile.

It's not about being aero. Deep dish wheels cut through mud/sand better and since the spokes are further away from all the crud and slop there's less of that stuff catching on the spokes and weighing the bike down.

So I guess it would be better to use deep dish aluminum rims ?

I have a pair of Cosmic Pros, aluminum 35mm rims. I guess that would be better, more solid and last longer isn't it ?

At that point it's debatable. If you're buying your own parts and can afford to replace everything you use, carbon wheels will be lighter than aluminum.


That being said, my next wheelset is going to be box section aluminum tubular rims built up by hand with non-aero spokes and DT hubs. I care more about tires than rims, and I can't afford to risk the $$$ of carbon a wheelset.

I can't afford to risk the $$$ of carbon a wheelset.

In all seriousness, my 50mm carbon wheels are the strongest wheels I own. Not once have I needed to true the wheels, ever. Even after racing 'cross with them. Plus they are the lightest wheels I own.

That being said, lightweight is really important. Anything under 1500g's is perfect.

I'd rather spend the money on an X-Fire if I'm going to buy blingie carbon.

So I guess it would be better to use deep dish aluminum rims ?No, because they are heavy. In cross, with all the slowing down and speeding up, rotating weight is of the essence.

It's debatable how much deep dish rims actually help get you through sand and mud. For those of us with limited budget, it's much more important to have a light, reliable set of wheels. That means a lightweight aluminum box-section tubular rim, laced 32x3 with double-butted spokes and alloy nipples.

consider: there have been, like, two really muddy races so far this year in the delmarva + pa area.
the extra money not used for carbon rims can be used to pick up a pit bike/bribe friends with beer to work the pit for you. a clean bike w/o zipps is faster than a muddy mess with.

(incidentally though, if you have the cash on hand i won't be the one to look down my nose at you if you buy them)

buy another bike or buy more wheels and tires (if you are running tubulars) instead of getting carbon wheels.