dayday82

I'll be there tomorrow.

Essex

It'll be interesting to see if the OP decided to take the deep carbons. I did 3 hours in NYC with occasional gust going to 45 mph. Doable, just distracting as all get out when you catch a stray breeze.

triumph.1

perfect reply to an unpleasant person

I would like to hear how the ride goes with the wheels.

pmt

OP, please report back how you did. Our group did an all-night 200k just south of the Seagull route; some guys went on to do the Seagull afterwards. The headwinds on the way south were pretty tough, with lots of random crosswinds. I was glad not to have deep-dish wheels.

LancerMongoose

Alright, so the ride is done! It was a nice sunny day and the wind picked up past 11am to the predicted levels. I did ride the 50s, mainly after hearing from Boyd, the wheel builder himself. They worked well. A lot of people had similar wheels and some even deeper and they all survived. I saw one guy with Zipp 808s on.. Yikes. I had no problems with the 20 mph or so constant head or crosswinds later in the ride and the 30 mph gusts buffeted the steering a bit, but not unmanageably. I did have to concentrate a bit more in those moments though. Everyone struggled on the bridge over the water from Assateague Island as there were some massive gusts, but I didn't feel like the 50s put me in any worse shape than anyone else.

It's really as Psimet said. As long as you're dumbass factor is low and you understand that coming out of woods into a field or around wind blocks of some sort you're likely to feel a gust, it's likely going to be fine.

I'm loving the 50 mm Boyd clinchers and really enjoyed using them on the ride. I hope everyone else that rode had a good time too. Ps. The seagull century's signature food is pie an ice cream at the last rest stop. Tasty.

Essex

Pictures? Glad you had a good ride.

LancerMongoose

Thanks. I'll post a pic or two tomorrow when I get home.

igknighted

The issue isn't really how deep the wheel is... it's just that the deeper the wheel is, the more precisely it needs to be "aerodynamically balanced". In a crosswind, the center of the force applied to the wheel for many deep wheels isn't exactly at the hub, and this causes steering issues. Wheels like the 808 (especially the latest firecrest version) have the forces balance at the hub, so you are less likely to get that "phantom steering" in crosswinds. Sounds like your wheels were pretty good in that regard as well, glad you had a nice ride.

DGozinya

It seems he might have had a 50in waist, though...and Mtn baggy shorts.

cyclebycle13

Ah, if you really wanna learn how to handle a bike in crosswinds, try riding on a set of hed h3's.

revchuck 

I can't believe the OP missed the obvious opportunity here..."Dang, I got buffeted by those winds today...gotta get me a set of good, low profile clinchers!"

nhluhr

Actually the firecrest shape places the force center just behind the hub, which causes the wheel to steer slightly into crosswinds, thusly self-stabilizing. Riding my 404 FCs is an experience like no other in this regard. It does take some getting used to when you feel a gust and you brace into it only to realize your wheels have already corrected and you're now overcorrecting.

LancerMongoose

igknighted and nhluhr thanks for the explanations about crosswinds and the aerodynamic shapes of the wheels and their effect on steering. I'm a mechanical and aerospace engineer, so I always like learning about that stuff.

revchuck, you're right I totally missed an opportunity to justify some better low profile wheels than my Shimano whr-500s. Damn.

Here are some pics, as promised. Me and the bike:


The girlfriend with her Giant Avail (women's Defy):


We both look happy because there are only 15 miles to go and we've just had pie and ice cream They had photographers along the route, which is cool, so I should have some action shots forthcoming.

ntjp

Yeah, botto seems to be a dick :-)

revchuck 

She's way too pretty for you.

Essex

Glad that everyone had a good day! Look forward to the action shots.

Just saw that the Century is benefitting Alzheimer's organizations. Way to go!

Cheers,

Essex

botto 

LancerMongoose

Ssshhhh. Don't tell her.

Also, as noted earlier, the Boyd's aren't simply a V-section rim. There is a curvature to the outer surface, although not as extreme as the firecrest Zipp toroidal profile. I think this may have helped, but I can't be sure.

Psimet2001 

Absolutely.

Pug

Those last 15 were rough. I'm pretty sure I saw you - I remember seeing the UVa jersey. How were the wheels on the bridge to/from Assateague?

dayday82

The last 15 were brutal. I was dying trying not to fall off the back of the little train we had.