I train on absurdly cheap carbon clinchers. Built right, they are a bargain.

I rode 60 miles once without a spacer not realizing I needed it. Everything worked, but the cogs at the end of the cassette were very loud.

I have a question about disc wheels. I just bought a rear wheel cover from Wheelbuilder which so far does not fit my TT bike/rear wheel. I may be able to trim it and make it work, in which case I'll just stick with that. If I can't make it work, I'll be looking to buy a rear disc wheel.

My starting point is looking at a FLO disc because they are so affordable- ie $600. Also I put FLO 60's on the TT bike and am so far very happy with them.

Reading about disc wheels, it seems that there are two options- a solid disc or a regular wheel that is covered with a carbon sheath. The FLO disc is this latter type. Does one of these disc types hold significant advantage over the other? I've read that the covered wheels are a little more comfortable, which would be a plus because I could see eventually trying longer TTs, although for the time being, I am sticking to the 20k distance. Also, if it matters, I'm a woman, so lower power output, I'm probably not going to overpower any wheel out there.

Part of the reason I'm asking now (before the final verdict on the cover) is that FLO can't build wheels fast enough, so they only have stock one day a month and all the wheels sell out within hours to minutes. The next sale is Sept 27, so I'd like to have my ducks in a row by then. If I'm going to buy a FLO disc, I don't want to wait until the end of October to get it.

Vuelta Corsa Lite from Nashbar? A lot of people seem to like them, especially when they're 20% off. They're like $200.

Actually, I found a good cheap solution. Friend is giving me an old 10 speed wheel and I'll but an 11 speed cassette and take a cog out.

Pulled the trigger on a Stages Rival. $400 is a bargain.

I have a flo disc and a 90 front. I've been super happy with them. Nice wide rims, they ride well, and have some good aero data. They are not the lightest wheels though. Can't beat the price.

The FLO disc is only 85 grams heavier than the Zipp Super 9. Not bad, given the $1400 differential in cost.

My question was really about the covered disc wheel style (a la HED and FLO discs) vs solid (a la Zipp discs). I did get one private response that solid is better because it's stiffer and you'll therefore have less energy absorbed by the wheels.

As I understand it, the aerodynamics are pretty identical. I'm probably going to just go with the FLO because it's so much cheaper.

I ended up going with HED Jet+ Disc. From my research, the covered wheels have better ride comfort, handling and braking compared to the full carbon discs. The only downside is they're a little heavier; but not necessarily by much. The HED Jet+ is only 35g heavier than the Zipp Super-9.

Wow, that is a really good deal. I actually remember reading that fake discs are a bit more aero than real ones because of the way the fairing transfers airflow around, and various other sciencey reasons stuff.

Took the Stages out for a test ride, it seems to read fine, my only complaint is it seems to take 1s longer to display power initially. Hopefully that is by design. The swapability is nice; what Vectors are supposed to be. Still going to race with the Vectors, these are for the TT bike and CX / Commuter.

Replaced the cable, replaced the cassette with one with fewer than 100 miles on it, and doused the shifter numerous times with WD-40. No joy. I'm going to finish that can of WD-40 tomorrow. If that doesn't work, the 6600 shifters come off a bike I'm not riding and go on the rain bike. I hate to get rid of those shifters.

random question: if one put a crank based powermeter on a fixed gear, could it measure the power you put into the pedals when braking with your legs?

Yes, it displays in negative watts and deducts kJ and TSS from the workout.

If you ride backwards you will gain weight as you ride aswell.

dammit.

subjective/it depends topic alert: saddles, do cutouts help you or no?

For me, yes ... bigger cutout saddle like the Selle SMP Dynamic is wonderful.

It mostly depends on the saddle. I HATE Terry because I think their cutouts feel terrible, but I LOVE the Specialized Toupe. Rest your gloved taint upon a few different ones if your LBS will let you.

i love the romin evo but I don't think it's necessarily because of the cutout

I was a diehard Selle Italia Flite guy but I bought a Specialized Romin because I got a good deal. Hated it at first, but love it now. Now when I jump on one of my other bikes that still has the Flite, it feels like a big lump in the middle.

I've got Specialized Chicanes on three of my bikes. It's discontinued but still available. It's basically a San Marco Regal with a cutout. I don't think I've gone over 75 miles on it yet, but I've 100-mile rides planned for Saturday and again in a couple of weeks and I don't envision any problems. The Romin is a close second.

Until I got the spesh POWER... my favorite saddle was the Bontrager XXX Paradigm.. I think I have 2 or 3 of those still.

I've got a Power on my TT bike, like it.

I have a sitero on my TT bike... wondering if I should get the Power there also...