On my P5 I have a Zipp 1080 in the front with a Zipp disc in the rear. When it's really windy when I'm riding I swap the 1080 for my 404....

Get a disc for the back and a 404/808 depth front. This bike deserves a disc

---

Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

I brought a P5 a few months back and have a couple of options:

Race wheels are the Zipp 999 tubular wheelset
Training wheels are the bontrager aeolus 5.0

From a very quick search on e-bay USA, you can get my wheelset on buy it now for $1250 which is a bargain - they might be yesterdays technology, but still go like the clappers - for me anyway!

http://www.ebay.com/...;hash=item4637f34eed

Again, from a very quick search on e-bay, my wheelset (well, similar) comes up at $795 buy it now

http://www.ebay.com/...;hash=item4191b293e2

I think the message is that for the price of a cheap set of chinese wheels, you can pretty much take your pick of some slightly older, but in my view far superior sets of wheels. I am keeping my eyes open for a decently priced firecrest 808 for the front end. From what I can tell, the rear isn't going to matter much at all in terms of having the latest disc wheel, or my current one as it is shielded by the frame cutout.

If none of this appeals, I would go with what has been suggested before and rent some race wheels for your events while you save up the cash to get your own set.

OK, I guess I’ve been embarrassed enough to forget about the idea of putting Chinese Carbon Clinchers on the P5 (even as nice as they seem, and well-reviewed by others on YouTube). Secondly; I’d like to thank everyone who had reasonable and sane suggestions, some of them were ‘on the mark’ and some ‘way off base’ as I prefaced the need for a clincher (not tubular) and an alloy hybrid for superior braking.

I’m now looking at a couple of options;

1. 
   A used HED Jet 9 Road Bike Front Wheel – in decent condition but the 23mm width, so it’s not a C2 – currently at bid of $460, and will most likely close around $525 to $550.
   
2. 
   A new Hed Jet 9 Flamme Rouge Clincher front wheel – latest C2 25mm width – no doubt a bit pricier than used but really the wheel of choice and the wheel my Chinese Carbon Clinchers were designed after. This wheel alone plus the disc covers will no doubt with run twice the Chinese Clincher figure.
   

For the rear a matching HED Jet 9 would be nice someday, but for another $1,100+ that will have to wait. In the meantime and a pair of disc covers over the stock Cosmic Elite will have to suffice. (I still need to locate a suitable covers to fit the Cosmic and could use your best suggestions).

Thanks again,

Bob

Why are you not considering Flo Cycling? You can get everything you want for a little more than $1000

---

Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

Brand new Flo or Swiss Side Hadrons should both fit in around $1000.

I'm leaning towards the Swiss Hadrons, but I need to find the shipping to the USA. I'm not too keen on the black anodizing of the Flo brake track. My research shows -

http://sheldonbrown.com/...t/anodized-rims.html
Anodizing is also a thermal and electrical insulator. Because heat is generated in the brake pads and not the rim, braking energy must flow into the rim to be dissipated to the atmosphere. Anodizing, although relatively thin, impedes this heat transfer and reduces braking efficiency by raising the surface temperature of the brake pads. (When braking in wet conditions, road grit wears off anodizing on the sidewall, an effect that improves braking.) - SO WHY PUT IT ON TO BEGIN WITH? Seems a bit silly to apply a process that actually reduces the braking efficiency, only to have it wear off in rain & grit. Really, this doesn't sound like a wheel set I want to spend over $1,000 on.

Some of these rims were touted as HARD anodized implying greater strength. Hard anodizing of aluminum, in contrast to cosmetic anodizing, produces a porous ceramic oxide that forms in the surface of the metal, as much as 1/1000 inch thick, about half below the original surface and half above. It is not thick enough to affect the strength of the rim but because it is so rigid, it acts like a thin coat of paint on a rubber band. The paint will crack as the rubber stretches before any load is carried by the rubber. Similarly, anodizing cracks before the aluminum carries any significant load.

So I guess I'm still leaning towards HED, might just go with a pair of Jet 6+ and if I feel a need for a disc, I can still add disc covers to my Cosmic.

The black anodizing on Flo wheels wears off after some use leaving the aluminum underneath, especially when used in the rain. So no worries there.

Just want to point out that Flos have been mentioned or recommended nearly 10 times in this thread, but maybe you know something that we don't.

No offense....but you are really over thinking this. This much effort focusing on anodization of a brake track is ridiculous. You do realize HED anodized their HED Jet Black series rims? You have a top of the line bike. Buy some wheels and be happy.


Why would you buy a pair of Jet 6s when a faster setup would be a Jet 6/Jet 9 or Jet6/Disc. 99% of triathlon courses will benefit from a disc. Get a disc and a shallow wheel for the front if your concerned about handling

---

Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

Bryan and some others, I appreciate your input and assistance but I see nothing wrong with buying a set of Jet 6's (inexpensively) and adding a Wheelbuilder's Disc Cover on the rear to have the best of both worlds, a decent TT bike and nice all-around touring bike with the 6's. Better yet, I can put the disc cover on my rear Cosmic Elite and make it easier to go from the Jet 6 pair to the Jet 6 - Disc combo.

For the record, I guess I was not fully prepared for the intimidation and condescension that I got from some here, ya know there's an old saying "To each his own?" Who am I to criticize anyone else's choice of color on the bike of his dreams? So you decal hating folks: Eat My Shorts! This could very well be my first and last post here. Everyone else, "ride fast, ride safe and have fun!" RAD

You have to remember that you came on here asking for advice on wheels. You got the same advice anyone else would get. Most of us on Slowtwitch are concerned with performance. Therefore, you were recommended the wheels that 99% of us would probably buy which would be a disc and as deep a front as you could handle.

I'm not sure where you got the idea that someone was being condescending. You asked for advice, and you got it. Most people here are not going to sugar coat things or hold your hand through the wheel selection process.

Best of luck to you with your wheel decisions. You have a top of the line bike that deserves nice wheels

---

Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

There's certainly an incongruity between buying a top of the line P5 and then skimping on the wheels. You asked for input on the forums and you got input; I'm not sure why you expected advice from a bunch of triathletes to be anything but blunt.

Hey just to address a few of your points I thought I'd chime in.

1. Our wheels have aluminum brake tracks and carbon fiber fairings.

2. The anodization really has no effect on braking performance that I or anyone has reported to experience. I don't feel that you would be giving up any braking performance because of it.
If you have any additional questions please let me know.

Take care,

---

Chris Thornham
Co-Founder And Previous Owner Of FLO Cycling

Have you checked the classifieds for FLO's? In the past week or so looks like there have been several wheels posted. I bet you could pick up a used front 60 or 90 and build your own disc cover (DIY here) (ABS sheets here) for less than $400. I was patient and picked up a used FLO 60/90 set on eBay for $650 that included velo plugs, latex tubes and CP4000s tires!

---

<We all know that light travels faster than sound. That's why certain people appear bright until you hear them speak>

Thanks dmacandcheese - I did look at the ST Classifieds but really didn't find many options for Flo, but did find a pair of HED Jet 6 Plus that looked promising. I PM'd the owner and it turned out that although they were "new" and "unused" in just the last week he had taken them out and found he liked them and was pretty sure he would keep them. I asked if he knew of any deals and he pointed me to an out-of-state dealer who was almost as low as his asking price. Now my only problem is deciding between the Jet 6 (which I know I would like and would be no problem at all) and the Jet 9s which I've never ridden, but think I'll be OK with if I can manage 26 mph on the P5 on flat terrain with the Cosmic Elites. Now that I've been talked into spending three times what I originally had planned.

Why 26 mph? You do realize aerodynamics matters at any speed.....

Get a Jet 6 for the front and a Jet 9 for the rear and be done with it.

---

Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

Pretty much this.

60mm/90mm combo is the sweet spot IMO if you aren't buying a disc

If I recall, yaw angle is reduced the faster one goes, and I already mentioned that I'm getting the Wheelbuilder Aerojacket for the Cosmic rear, so the choice between the 6's and 9's is still relevant. The only difficulty will be adjusting the rear brake when switching from Jet to the Cosmic because of rim thickness differences. (20.4mm vs. 25mm - something I still need to research). Thanks!

I thought that one of the big advantages of having a disc was the rolling impetus? i.e. the disc is faster not just because it has a solid fairing and therefore diverts wind around the wheel, but also because once it is up to spinning speed, the heavier rim as it were maintains this speed better than a normal wheel. If this is the case, and I stand to be corrected, then is there not a benefit to putting a disc cover over a 90mm rim as opposed to a 60 or a 30mm rim? i.e. once you have spun up to speed, I thought that one of the big benefits of the deeper rimmed wheel was that the extra weight maintained this speed better than a shallow rim? This is essentially why you don't see people riding Alp D'Huez in the tour with a set of Zipp 808's, but why you do see them riding the flat early stages with them.

To my mind, surely just slapping a disc cover over a cheap 20mm rim is not going to give anywhere near the same performance as a true disc with the extra spinning inertia? You would presumably get the same aero benefit, but not the rolling speed?

I just don't get it. Everyone is recommending a deeper wheel in the back and your gonna cover a training wheel to make a disc. Why are you so opposed to a good set of race wheels? Why would you buy such an expensive bike yet be so cheap on wheels?

---

Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

Actually a lot of people recommended a disc cover. From what I've read in other threads a carbon cover on a light rear wheel may actually be the lightest, best-handling, serviceable, fastest option out there.

---

-------------------
Madison photographer Timothy Hughes | Instagram

Yes, a disc cover is a great choice. But why not buy a Jet 6 front and a Jet 9 rear so you can have the best of both worlds?

---

Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

I don't get it either Tim, I've said that I'm not buying the Chinese Carbon Clinchers and instead I'm spending three times their cost on a set of HED Jet's. My only dilemma is whether or not to get a set of Six's, Nine's or a Six-Nine combo.

As for the Wheelbuilder Aerojacket just look at their graph. My "cheap" 30mm stock Mavic Cosmic Elite (red line) with wheel covers is faster than both a 60mm (light green) and the Zipp 900 disc wheel (dark green) when the yaw is beyond 11 degrees. The only wheel, perceivably faster, might be a Jet 90 with wheel covers. So I guess I'm leaning towards a Six/Nine combo although the asymmetry still bothers me a bit for group rides with the clubs. Still, the work removing the disc covers to run a bear Jet 90 is a bit more work than swapping wheels and readjusting the brakes, or maybe not?

Maybe if I switch my summer Windows desktop to the combo instead of the 9's or 6's I can get used to the look?

Thanks all,

RAD