Disk wheels
 

What are your thoughts on disk wheels? Any interesting pics to share of them? What is your experience with them?

You mean 'solid' wheels? No spokes? Only ever used one on the track. There are millions of photos of them out there, all you gotta do is search.

They are fine on the rear. I use a spoked front wheel. Too much steering interference with wind if using a disc wheel up front.

In dead calm they are pretty fast. With any winds, you only want them on the back wheel. With significant winds, the bike becomes unstable. When you look at track bikes, even there they typically use a tri-spoke front wheel along with a rear disc. Totally a specialized wheel not suitable for normal road riding.

- I think they are useful in a very specific situation(s).
- I dont have interesting pictures.
- I ride paved and gravel roads so I dont have experience with them.

What kind of thoughts? Ideas? Problems? Dirty naughty thoughts?

My experience is that unless it's windy enough you wouldn't ride anything anyway, I train with one on my TT bike all the time. And a 90mm on the front also. No need to post pictures as the "tt bike" topic on this subforum is littered with disc wheels on bikes.

Back in the 80's these were a thing. They made the bike sound cool, but they were definitely a handful on windy days:
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d454b22f1.jpeg

Covers are basically ricing your bike.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fbdeb73bc3.jpg

REAL, tubular disc wheels are a status symbol.

Cool on the track, pointless anywhere else. I used to have a bike with Specialized tri-spoke wheels which I thought were super cool, but even small gusts of wind would push the bike around.

I'm not sneaking up on anybody with this set-up.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...61b7cc00d3.png

This isn't a true disk wheel, it's spoke covers.Works the same though. This bike was designed for it, although I can't say it makes a lot of difference. It does, however, accentuate the cool " hollow whooshing" sound the bike makes.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2ebfa2aa1b.jpg

Here is a rear disc and front wheel with two spokes. This was at sunrise on day 2 coming up out of Brest, France.


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8ae9a32bf8.jpg

Custom fork? NoComs didn't come with disc brakes, or am I wrong? Badass bike there.

How are those weird two/three spoke wheels up front? I’m thinking about what front wheel to pair with the rev x I’m getting in the back, heard rev x (4 blades) up front are not great in the wind. Is it the same for most aerospoke types?

Been running tri-spokes since they first came out and in some nice windy days with no issues.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...963e2c383d.jpg

I can say I never noticed any wind effect ever on rev-x wheels. They're not deep enough or aero enough to really be effected by wind. The profile in only around 30mm which was deep in the box section rim era but nothing compared to today when plenty of rims are 27-33mm in aluminum and carbon often starts at 35-42mm. 2 spoke work very well and cost a ridiculous sum of money, you can probably find old specialized tri spokes for a reasonable amount,

1. Racist.
2. You don't know what in the world you're talking about. There's plenty of triathletes and TT'ers on a budget that would both argue otherwise and smoke you in a race. As it's nearly all the benefit, just without the cost and durability.

Again, sounds like someone that doesn't know what they're talking about. Your tri-spokes were a low-yaw wheel, meaning........low wind or not cross-wind. Plenty of folks used to use those with plenty of outdoor success. Ignoring the fact how moronic that statement is since lots of velodromes are actually OUTDOORS. And modern trispokes are ridden "off-sponsorship" in pro races even. See the Revolver trispoke lots of pros currently run.

Not bad. Just go really really fast with any aero wheel and it won't stall. :) The change in airflow over the wheel puts a torque onto the steering and if someone is holding with a nervous death grip, they will not like any fast wheel but some are worse than others.

A lot of true disk wheels are tubular. Most of the clincher disc wheels are actually spoked wheels that are covered in the factory. I don't see any difference in principal. They are both covered with a disc of material, just the inner construction is different.

It is pretty complicated when determining what wheel is faster because conditions vary and more importantly, a fast rider can ride a narrow low yaw wheel with a narrow tire whereas a slower rider would be better off with a wheel/tire combo that might be slower at low yaw but stalls at a much higher angle and therefore is better overall. I love reading all the time that 28 or 32 mm tires are always faster. If so, why don't we see them at TT road or Pro races on the road

The only caveat is I think the industry caught up with the undeniable fact that hobbyist racers and riders don't all weight 135 lbs to maybe 165 lbs like the pros do. So yeah, a pro can race all the time on a lot smaller tires. Aero design intent or not. But a "joe" that likely weighs more in a range from 160 to 200 lbs, needs more tire. Otherwise they might bounce around all over the road.

So now the wheels are catching up to the tire trend of more tire volume and lower pressure. Some of the aero wheels now being designed even around 25's and even 28's.

I race on 23's and train on 25's.

Plus, training roads are terrible and I don't know about you, but my speed is much lower training and wider tires make sense. TT? On good roads? Wide equates to more area and there becomes a point of diminishing returns, in other words any marginal improvement in Cd does overcome the increase frontal area nor does the marginally lower Crr of the wider tire, unless we are talking Paris Roubaix cobbles. I have to go to Europe to see the pro bikes on the tours, I miss it. When I look at pictures or the television, I don't see 32 mm tires.

I ride 25mm almost all the time and at 6'4', I am rarely below 190 pounds although could get to 170 lbs when young. I have not had a pinch flat in years.

The idea that wide tires at low pressure are just as fast as skinny pumped up tires is Big Gravel trying to n+1 roadies. Same with dropper posts but thats another story. also I had a bike with 23's and weighed 240-260 lbs, no issues.

Stop trolling Larry.

R.I.C.E = Race Inspired Cosmetic Enhancement. You are thinking of Rice Rocket, which is actually racist. When I am talking about how disk wheel covers are bad, I am only talking about the plastic and cardboard things that people put on for looks only. This excluses bike polo, in which they do actually serve a purpose.

I had a Falcon disc back in the day.

On a flatish course, it absolutely flew. It was pretty heavy though.

I actually think the standard road bike with a rear disc and clip on aero bars was faster than the aero tri bike with front and rear 650c Hed H3.

They both were really fast 20 years ago.