crewdoglm

Weighing the merits of the HED H3 carbon tri-spoke for all-around. Any experience with these? Slightly slower than a full disk but more versatile is my hypothesis.(Predictably, HED reports that their H3 has conquered the world of track racing...) Is reliability an issue? I have never used a disk or tri-spoke but I've always wondered how they avoid the hub shearing out of the thing under high torque.

Jaytron

I'd be interested in knowing as well.

OT: do you race at Hellyer?

Carleton mentioned that trispokes feel a little mushy in turns with normal to bigger sized riders. How big are you?

crewdoglm

I'm 180. Yeah Hellyer but minimally this year due to the distance etc. Mushy is good feedback. I wouldn't want that in a $2K set of wheels.

8bits

the mushy commentary pertains only about hed's 3 spoke and not all 3 spoke wheels, corima's HM 3 spoke is like a rock

Jaytron

Cool man, maybe I'll see you out there next season

Good to know!

oldprobmx

I raced hed tri spokes this whole season, weighing in at 176, I found no mushy feeling over riding spokes and not that my results are a great, there are some crazy fast riders, but my best for the season, 1000 1:14, 3000 3:59.

crewdoglm

Thanks. Nothing wrong with those times my friend. (1:12 won N. CA/NV this year in my age men's group - 45-50 and anyway you don't need to be world champion to have a valid opinion.) A carbon wheel is going to dampen vibration over an alloy rim so I suppose "mushy" needs to be elaborated upon. I would be surprised if big chunks of carbon (HED 3's) were very flexible. Maybe they'll be some more responses to this.

taras0000

You can check this thread for some more info on those wheels.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...n-Track-Wheels

We should probably make this a sticky.

bitingduck

I raced a pair of old Specialized Trispokes (construction may be slightly different, but it's essentially the same wheel) for a few seasons, til I broke one in a crash. They're fine wheels for almost anything, though if you look at the Roues Artisanales site they're the flexiest (but among the most aero) wheels. The only time I ever found it to be an issue was riding madison on steep concrete tracks-- in a bad exchange with a lot of side load they'd chatter getting thrown in off relief. On a wood track (at least on Carson), they'd slide slightly rather than chatter. I'm about 185.

FWIW, big chunks of CF can be as stiff or flexi as you want them to be, depending on how you lay it up.

slindell

I don't think the hed3 is much different in flex than a zipp 808 based on playing with them. What is different is that the 808 has constant flex but the hed3 varies as it rotates so it will feel softer.
For some older measurements on wheel flex check out Sheldon Brown's site
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/rinard/wheel/index.htm
There is a link at the top for a table of results.

crewdoglm

Great information. Thanks! The chatter you mention is something I've experienced but had completely forgot. (Racing 25 years ago. Yikes...) Madison slings behind the motor (training) would do that and the track was Atlanta which if I recall, is 41 degrees and concrete. We would wind up exchanging in the bank sometimes when the motor was really moving and that would cause a weird shudder. (The rider on the bottom was reaching UP in the throw.) Appreciate it.

bitingduck

The 808 is almost 2x stiffer laterally than the Hed 3: https://www.rouesartisanales.com/article-23159755.html
404 is even stiffer.

carleton

That stands to reason. I've ridden a buddy's 1080 front and it was like riding on a sponge! (OK, I'm fat, but you get the picture).

I weighed both a 808 track and custom 1080 laced to a track hub both with the same make/model tire. They weight about the same (give or take). Basically, it seems to be the same amount of carbon used in both the 808 and 1080, the 1080 just stretches it thinner for the deeper profile...which makes it mushy.

Hida Yanra

I've never noticed mine being mushy, nor have I had any problems with them.... but I weigh 150ish, so there's that.