Triathlon - Wheel Upgrade? 303's?

OK so i posted this in the road forums too. but my lbs hasa set of 303's laced to a extrlite hub with ti spokes for 1600. i can get them for 1400 the owner said. so worhtwhile or not? i hear thye arent deep enough and good for tris. any opinions?

anyone?

They wouldn't be my first choice.

Unless your Tri's are very hilly....

I would rather have some nice deeper wheels....808's....1080's.....MMMMmmmmm

there are faster wheels for $1400. Those wheels will be stupid light but not super aero.

don't do it...unless your tri is in the alps or something...or unless your tri takes place during gale force winds. as long as winds are low and he course is reasonably flat, run a disc in the rear and go with 404 or 808 up front.

don't do it...unless your tri is in the alps or something...or unless your tri takes place during gale force winds. as long as winds are low and he course is reasonably flat, run a disc in the rear and go with 404 or 808 up front.

Agreed. Go to e-bay you can get a better set of wheels that are more aero for that money.
Dwayne

alright thanks guys. i guess i could dream for 808's.
but can anyone tell me why people run a deeper wheel in hte rear than the front?
like 404 in frotn and 808 in rear as an example

alright thanks guys. i guess i could dream for 808's.
but can anyone tell me why people run a deeper wheel in hte rear than the front?
like 404 in frotn and 808 in rear as an example


that's a good question! i don't know. what i do know is that people used to run discs in the front as well...i remember watching the the last time trial state of the 1989 tour de france...laurent fignon was using discs in both the front and rear (lemond used rear disc and shallow front).

these days, you don't see too many people running a disc front. i THINK this might be because you really don't want a random gust of crosswind hitting your front wheel...that could really mess you up good!

From a physics standpoint (not a a triathlete's) I would argue that a disk front wheel when turned would act like an airfoil. Kind of like the rudder on an airplane that would cause the bike to be less stable when the front wheel is turned. The back wheel is always in line with the bike and parallel to the direction of travel and so would not cause this type of problem.

that makes sense. thanks for the help guys.

one more subject change:
aluminum tri bike....how do you feel about em?
i was thinking about building up a tri bike with an aluminum aluminum frame, carbon fork handlebars/stem and seatpost, full DA groupo, then getting a nice set of aero wheels. then in two or three seasons upgrade to a carbon frame. any ideas or suggestions?

that makes sense. thanks for the help guys.

one more subject change:
aluminum tri bike....how do you feel about em?
i was thinking about building up a tri bike with an aluminum aluminum frame, carbon fork handlebars/stem and seatpost, full DA groupo, then getting a nice set of aero wheels. then in two or three seasons upgrade to a carbon frame. any ideas or suggestions?


My thoughts in order
- get a bike that fits
- get a bike that is comfortable for what you are doing
- get a bike you will ride
- get a bike you can afford (carbon being more, al less...)

If it fits and fits your budget and you like it, there's nothing wrong with aluminum. Some folks say that carbon isn't as "harsh" of a ride, but I wouldn't know, having never ridden a carbon bike.

thanks guy....i've never ridden a carbon bike more than a mile so i've never rely been able to notice a difference since my roadie is alu with carbon fork and seat post

that makes sense. thanks for the help guys.

one more subject change:
aluminum tri bike....how do you feel about em?
i was thinking about building up a tri bike with an aluminum aluminum frame, carbon fork handlebars/stem and seatpost, full DA groupo, then getting a nice set of aero wheels. then in two or three seasons upgrade to a carbon frame. any ideas or suggestions?

if aluminum is what you can afford, go for it. regardless of what frame material, make sure it fits right.

as far as ride quality...whatever. frame geometry, tube shapes, tire/wheel selection, air pressure, seat post, seat, fork, stem, handlebar, bar tape, etc have more to do with ride quality than what material the frame is made of.

personally...i prefer carbon for for tt/tri bikes for a couple reasons. first, most carbon bikes have shaped tubes that make them more aero than most non-carbon bikes (there are a couple exceptions). secondly, seems like most carbon frames are lighter than most aluminum frames.

Front wheel shallower than deep rear - handling reasons.

Aluminum tri bike - if it's what you can afford, it's better than a road bike. However, the key aerodynamic components of a bike are rarely carried onto aluminum tri bikes. A deep downtube and a seattube cutout are nice, but other key areas to an aerodynamic frame are an airfoiled headtube, good cable routing, bladed seatstays and fork-frame integration. The only aluminum bike that really seems to be on par with the carbon bikes is Trek's aluminum Equinox. I've seen some data that shows a P2k is about 1:30-2:00 slower for a 40k Time Trial than a P3carbon. A p2k is about as aerodynamic as aluminum frames get.

It's just intuition but a budget tri frame that seems to hit most key aerodynamic points(32mm wide downtube is good but not great, 70mm deep, WIDE headtube though) is this generic frame thats rebranded by a few companies including X-Lab: http://www.xlab-usa.com/avenger.html

Although at about 1/3 or 1/4 of the price their aluminum bike is a nice price too: http://www.xlab-usa.com/mach_3.html

NOTE: I don't work for and am not attached to X-Lab in any way. I just used them as an example.

thanks for the recommendations triguy.

does any one know anything or have experience with the leader 735tt?
i have a 721 track bike and havent had a issue with it and like the guys at leader so it was my budget aluminum frame. http://www.leaderbikestore.com/pd-ld-735tt-2009.cfm there is the link.
any opinions?

I'm riding a 735TT, they are one of the best bang for the buck frames out there.

alright thanks for hte help Dwayne1. what is hte setup?

anyone else

I has a mish mash of parts I got on e-bay and local bike shops
Cranks are Truvativ
105 gears and shifters
Campy Veloce brakes
Ritchy bars
Truvativ bar stem
Racing wheels are X-Lab 4 spoke on the back and a 404 on the front

i take it those are training wheels in hte picture then....nice looking build.
how much does it weigh? do you like the alu frame? what distance tri do you usually do?

i take it those are training wheels in hte picture then....nice looking build.
how much does it weigh? do you like the alu frame? what distance tri do you usually do?
Sorry for the slow reply
yes those are training wheels It weighs just under 21 pounds wich is good for a alum frame. This is my first tri spesific bike and I have to say the difference is noticeable. A tri bike puts you in a better aero position and is built stiffer so you can really push on the peddles with no flex. my old Nishiki had so much flex the chain rubbed on the deraileur ever time I hammerd on the peddals...lol Anyway for the money I'm very happy with the Leader frame.
The race I do is 750 m swim 32 k bike and a 7 k run, but I'm thinking about doing to long course this year wich is 1500 m swim 64k bike and 15k swim