JeffOYB

A friend gave me an old HED 60mm rim carbon front wheel with 24 bladed spokes and a full disk rear (both tubular). I sold the rear and am angling to replace it with a 60mm rim rear. Any chance this will be a good CX setup?

(Anyone have such a rear wheel they don't want and would sell affordably? Old HEDs are about my price range.)

Some have told me that 60mm is overkill and that 30mm is the CX way to go, but I was thinking it would be nice if the wheels kinda match. Maybe I would go for a 50mm rear.

My current CX wheels are plain old 30 yr old sewup race wheels. I'm hoping that new (used) aero deep-rim bladed wheels give me a thrill of some kind. I've heard they're better in the mud/sand. But apparently it "all depends."

I'd also plan on using these wheels for road racing. I've dabbled with the front and didn't notice the wind blowing it around. And with the rear disk the set-up certainly rolled super-nice. I've only ever had non-aero wheels before and was thinking a set of 60mm/blades might be faster. I tried a friend's carbon bike with aero wheels and it was noticeably faster. ...I need all the help I can get. : )

Andy_K 

CX Magazine did a test a while ago and if I remember correctly their conclusion was that deeper rims have a significant effect on shedding mud. I definitely think that 60mm is overkill on dry courses, as you're not likely to get much aero benefits at CX speeds, but if you have muddy races they could help. Weight, as always, is the biggest issue but with the kind of rims you're talking about that's probably not a big deal.

In any case, they'd look cool.

billh

my .02 cents on deep-dish carbon wheels for cx . . . purely for show. I don't think anything really helps in the mud. but I am biased, as a heavy rider, I tend to sink in the mud. I need pontoon wheels. Now, I let my 15 yr son race my carbon reynolds assaults in cx, but then he only weighs 90 lbs. Me, I would crack them for sure.

flargle

60mm is hardly ridiculous.

Don't expect them to make sand or mud riding any easier. They might (might) be less likely to clump up with grass, mud, and weeds, because the spokes are farther off the ground.

fietsbob

I hear they plough sand pits better..