DropDeadFred

So I've been riding on the 404s for awhile now and the wind here lately has been unusually brutal and abrupt. The sudden jerking motion I experience is enough to get my heart rate up a few beats, especially on fast descents. In the flats its not so bad because I'm not moving as fast or feel so out of control but it's super scary in my descents.

Is there a proper technique to handling this sudden jarring motion? Or is it just HTFU and hope you don't fall each time it happens. So far it's been HTFU, but the stronger these winds get the more I catch myself holding back on descents that I normally would bomb down with my ksyrium SLs. My current technique has been to be in the drops and put pressure forward and down against the the bars and press my arse back against the saddle in hopes of keeping the front wheels from jerking so hard, this in turn causes tension in my shoulders and pain on longer rides...fml

merlinextraligh

Lighten up. It's the gusts of wind that cause the problem, and you need to be loose to absorb them smoothly.
So lose the death grip, relax your shoulders and bend your elbows.

Also you can anticipate somewhat where the gusts are going to come from, i.e. breaks in buildings, treelines.

Creakyknees

Yes. Use the Ksyriums on windy days.

LowCel 

Gain weight. Being fat makes it much less noticable.

echotraveler

I havnt experienced this at all! On those windy days, why not just put the sl up front. I guess it wont look as good but you would eliminate the kite effect.

DropDeadFred

im trying to lose it so I can get up the darn hills...
they are gone =/ but I am looking at buying some new wheels...possibly another pair of ksyriums....what do you guys think about psimet?
really? when I say gusts, these are 25-30mph on the low side...letting loose might make me float off the bike...but I'll try it...if my next thread is a "road rash recovery" post, you'll know before you open it what happened.

merlinextraligh

It's the same thing as getting bumped in a crit. If you're loose you'll absorb it, and no problem. If you're tight, bad stuff happens.

A wind gust on your front wheel is essentially like getting bumped; you have to absorb it, without overreacting.

You still want to have a grip on the bars that keeps you on the bars, but not so tight you're locked up.

DropDeadFred

i see, I've been completely locked up out of fear...just being honest. I knew to expect it and have felt it in smaller jolts but lately it has been like somebody punching my front wheel, mid ride.

Seattle Forrest

Look for tell-tales: flags, tree branches, etc, before you move from a protected area (like with a cliff upwind from you) into an exposed place.

AMFJ

^I've been going through the same thing on some 50MM Boyds. I have been caught out in some in-coming storms and the gusts were down right scary. On Monday I was literally leaning one way and the wind had me going the other way.

I'm going to try the "loosen" up method, but I'm not sure my instincts will let me not do the "pucker up" method.

jfmckenna

It especially sucks when you are leaning left into a side wind and a truck comes by you. Definitely need to plan for that.

DropDeadFred

the part I hate about leaning is when the wind lets up suddenly...its almost as bad as the wind gusting on you.

Homebrew01

Buy a spare front wheel for windy days.

Mansram01

The natural tendency is to hold on for dear life but holding the handlebar not too rigidly has helped. But the problem is that I find myself being too concerned with holding the handlebars correctly, keeping my line and wondering where and how the next gust will hit. This takes away form enjoying the ride and focusing on performance (at least for me). IMO I think the best solution is to secure a second set of wheels and use them on mountain climbs or windy days.

Mansram01

This is a good option too. Buy a Zipp 303 for the front. Cheaper than a full set...

Shimagnolo

The worst around here are the RTD buses. Big trucks block all the wind at the cab, but it's short, and partial wind passes under the trailer. The bus extends nearly to the ground for the full length. I've nearly fallen into a bus that passed me during a hard crosswind, on several occasions.

svtmike

I also prefer to not deal with very strong crosswinds, so I either take the secondary bike with the HED Belgiums on windy days or I plan my route to minimize the crosswinds.

DropDeadFred

my girls Trek 5.2 has some bontragers that might roll decent...I may just take her front wheel next time I go climb

Seattle Forrest

You can usually see that coming, too.

dissident

I've heard people who ride faired motorcycles like the ninja 250 can be blown into the next lane if they are not careful and are not prepared for the effect wind has on them, however you'll eventually adapt to it. The key, as others have said, is to not have a death grip on the steering.

Crosswinds also increase the needed wattage for a given speed of course.

garciawork

Shoot, I almost got blown over on a descent last weekend on my Fulcrum 3's... Pretty sure I would have gone off the cliff had I been on something aero! I have no technique other than try and hang on as I end up three or four feet left/right of where I meant to be...

Pinkbullet3

Earth World Problems, as I like to say...

zigmeister

Are these FC Zipps? I can say the difference between my 50mm deep V carbon clinchers I use for training, and Zipp 303 FC in cross wind (I know, 10m difference but still) the xwind effect is greatly reduce with the FC design. Now I feel a slight nudge when in xwind. Deep V, the wheel and bike gets blown around, and at 170lbs, makes you wonder and feel a bit sketchy.

Not sure how 13mm more depth of the 404, if you are running the new FCs would affect that and if it still applies. Or if there is some critical depth which really pronounces the weathervane affect.

soma5

My LBS (I've known them and dealt with them for many, many years and it's a great store) is a Zipp (and Enve) dealer and I have 404FC wheels that I purchased from them last year. I asked about possibly buying a 303FC front for windy days and they told me that I should save my money because it would not make enough of a difference to make me happy about the purchase. The folks there that ride both wheels were pretty adamant about that. They also said that it would make a noticeable difference with the Enve wheels, not that that is particularly relevant to this thread but it is interesting information nonetheless.

ColinL

I would have found it hard not to laugh in that person's face. Instantly my gut reaction is that they are full of ****, have drank too much ENVE koolaid, and/or they make more money on ENVE than Zipp.