cbfight

So your club's A group rolls on carbon wheels when not racing?

Forget carbon and go with Zipp 101s. Much better all around wheelset and if you get dropped, hey, at least you weren't rolling on carbon wheels!

If you're stuck on carbon, you might as well take the plunge go full carbon tubular with some cork pads. But like others said, if you can't keep up, you just can't keep up. A flashy wheelset isn't going to help enough. And high aero profile rims are a nightmare in crosswinds.

Hermes

I own a number of carbon wheel sets which I mostly use for racing except at the track where I ride carbon tubulars for training.

I assume you have the budget for any of the wheelsets you mentioned but want to make a smart decision. Lightweights are very nice and a couple guys in our club have them. IMO, they are too much money for the value received but they will definitely turn heads. Since I do road racing, TTs and track, and I want everything, I did not want to put $6k into Lightweights. And I am not sure what kind of support you will get if there is a problem.

The decision of going with a deep section carbon wheel is a difficult one if you are going to rely upon it for the majority of your riding. I have found that wind and terrain dictate which wheelset I will use and I usaully show up at a race with several sets of wheels and decide that morning what I will use. A lot depends on the wind. Deep section wheels are difficult to handle in the wind. And if the road is crappy, I do not like to risk expensive carbon rims to damage. So if the wind is reasonable, no rain and good roads, I go with deep section wheels for road races, circuit races and criteriums. I use tubular tires for racing. I match the width of the tire to the rim to maximize aero and select high quality tires with latex tubes for rolling resistance. i use Swiss Stop yellow break pads. If allowed, I put extra wheels in neutral support and in the pit. I have the Easton EC 90 58 mm tubulars.

For training, I use the Williams System 30s. Deepish rims but more importantly bomb proof for training rides, fast rides and etc. For road races with bad road, I use the Williams 30s. I have a nice light set of carbon box rims for hill climbs.

I do not see how you can go wrong with Zipp, Easton, Williams or any of the knockoffs. Since I use mine a lot, I go for the cheaper stuff in case I break it except for TT wheels which I think is less likely.

Engine versus the wheels...IMO you will get at most about 10 watts of gain with a good set of wheels OFF THE FRONT. Sitting in a pack of disturbed air, your guess is as good as mine. Let's say 5 watts. A fast group ride at 25 mph will have some 400 to 600 watt accelerations and bumps in the ride. 10 watts is meaningless in helping with that. If you are off the front, 10 watts of extra FTP is meaningful at 25 mph. Riders get dropped due to accelerations or multiple accelerations of hundreds coming up short 100s of watts not 5 to 10 watts.

Price independent, I would go with the Zipps and get the fancy decals / paint to make them special https://www.zipp.com/zedtech/ . I would go with clinchers unless the roads are pretty free of debris. That way when the fast guys drop you, they will be envious of your wheels and you will look good OTB.

Hermes

Here is another wheelset that is interesting, unique and IMO, not many on the road. https://www.ffwdwheels.com/product.as...gory=93&page=1

I was looking at the track version of these versus the traditional 5 spoke Mavic. I saw these in LA when I raced at the Home Depot Veledrome. https://www.ffwdwheels.com/product.as...gory=82&page=5

Essex

Thanks Hermes for your summary. It helps me be pragmatic about choosing the best wheels for what I typically, or may intend to do.

Cheers,

Essex

teterider

I'm still lusting after these:


They are 49mm rims and 1365 grams, and actual weights of Soul wheels have been right on or lighter.

Essex

I would like to ride on a set of these around Cape Ann. Is there info. and reliability?

Cheers,

Essex

DubT

What about Hed 3 wheels?

Hermes

I use the Zipp 900 on the rear and an HED 3c on the front of my TT bike. At the track, I pursuit, sprint and race in mass start races on the Zipp 900 / Hed 3c. The trispoke is not allowed in USCF mass start road races but is allowed in TTs. HED does a nice job on their web site comparing the aero drag of different wheels at various yaw angles. It becomes clear that depending on the wind conditions, one will select a different wheel for least aero drag depending on the race course and wind directions.

Trispoke wheels are fast but very difficult to handle in windy conditions. The problem is that with each wind gust, one may tend to ease off the power. The goal in a TT is power on ever increasing at all times. So wheel aero benefit may be lost due to decreased power. In windy conditions, I put away the HED 3c and use an Easton EC 90 or even my William 30.

I would not recommend Hed 3 trispoke wheels for group rides or training. Although many fixed gear non-trackies like the tri / Five spoke wheels to cruise around on the road.

v70cat

Great information thank you

v70cat

What about
Easton EC90 Aero Carbon Road Bike Wheelset


Are about equal to Zipp 404's?

For $1275+/- for the set they about have the cost of Zipp?

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Ea...et/5360044665/

v70cat

Just found out that they are tubular.

$1,800 for clinchers, still much less than Zipp

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Ea...et/5360052048/

Hermes

I have a set of tubulars and like them. They are not dimpled but I think the rim depth is similar. IMO, they are equal and one brand may perform better in some wind conditions than the other i.e. the dimples.

Steve90068

If your going for low price, low weight and durability I don't see how you can go wrong with the Soul's (shown above). Another added bonus - the brake surface is infused with ceramic and you can user regular pads

v70cat

I am sorry but I have never heard of the brand before someone posted it here. Does anyone own them for a while?
$1300+/- for a unknown brand is a lot of money?

v70cat

Still looking for the best deal on carbon wheels. You think I can get 2011 Zipp 404 carbon Firecrest for under $2000?