waterrockets 

I guess you're not talking about the 36h front wheel in the shot, are you?

bdcheung

If you pay $700 for a 36h front wheel, you need more help than a little needle (or a new set of wheels) can provide

Homebrew01

How does the PT get the credit for your extra 7% ?? It measures your improvement, but you had to do the workout to get the improvement. I'm not knocking PT, I'm just curious, since I'm not that familiar with them. (I'm old school, but willing to go new school when it makes sense)

waterrockets 

I thought I had my training all figured out. I was thinking I had reached my potential for a guy training 6 hours/week. With the PT, I quickly recognized how lopsided I really was with my power profile. My 5s power was 9 rows above my FTP. So I picked some threshold type workouts, all but scrapped my neuromuscular power and anaerobic capacity workouts, and got busy.

For the first 6 weeks, I was still at 6 hours/week, and raised my numbers by 5%, and closed the 5s/FTP gap to 7 rows. I'm nearing 8 hours/week now with a commute to a new office, and the numbers are climbing a bit faster.

These are changes I absolutely could have made on my own, but I was too stubborn to change without seeing some data. I guess it just comes down to efficiency. With such little training time, I can use the PT to make every ride count towards exactly what I'm trying to develop.

nitropowered

I'd throw in the Reynolds plug as well. They are nice wheels. It really sucks that I have to cancel my SDV66 order so i can buy new tools for my job.

Back to 32h clinchers.

wmelton

Take a look at https://www.williamscycling.com. Zipp rims @ half the cost. I'm planning on buying some race wheels this year and am 95% sure I'll go with Williams.

aicabsolut

No comment on your 404s, cheung?

bdcheung

I payed $650 for the wheelset. No comment, indeed.

Oh wait, you mean how do they perform? Admirably, I suppose, though they haven't seen a race yet. Only one longish ride because I wanted to take the new toys out for a spin.

Do I think Zipp 404s are worth it? No, not really.

CastIron

Please elaborate.

bdcheung

It's along the lines of what Cypress said: they're expensive toys that I'm always worrying about. Granted, I didn't pay full price for mine so I'm not as worried, but let's be realistic: I'm a CatV who would have seen greater benefits had I spent that money on a coach than a set of wheels.

I know the kind of races the OP will be doing, and I'm familiar with the terrain. Last year I did all of the races with an almost-2.0kg set of wheels, and did just fine (Ksyrium Elite front, OpenPro/Powertap/3x rear).

I just don't think $2k wheels are worth it. But still, I'm not selling mine.

bbp

Edge 68 mm or 38 mm rims laced to White Industries H2 hubs with CX Rays.

aicabsolut

I did just fine last season on my stock wheels, too. But sometimes, they just piss me off. I think the rear would make a fine trainer wheel.

Today I did a ride that got really windy for a little while. Gusts were supposedly up around 30mph, which seems about right (I've ridden in 40+...that was hellish). On a good crosswind gust, I felt like I was getting blown all over the place. I really struggled to maintain a decent line. Sooo.. I'm thinking something as deep as 404 all around is too much for me given my size and by bike geometry (Specialized Roubaix Comp--long wheelbase, high HT). However, I'm still itching for new wheels...a nice new toy for this season.

I understand what everyone is saying about a Powertap, but I think that it would be overwhelming right now. I just don't have the discipline for the structured workouts I'd have to do to really get the benefit of knowing my power. I have a lot to learn about training with power, and maybe I'll want to go that route down the line. These days, I'm just happy if I can get on the bike and put in some good miles and work hard. I find my heart rate monitor very useful, and I have a Garmin. I'm thinking a Powertap right now, while I'm still pretty new to this, is going to be sensory overload.