DeepDish wrote:
Maybe this is more of a question for Rappstar, but how durable are Zipps (or full carbon wheels in general)? i.e., how bad of a crash can they take and not be destroyed (that's probably a terrible question - too many variables). I'm a very good bike handler, but with the unavoidable 'act of God' crashes that can happen in Cat 5 (where I'll be starting), would it be better to get something aluminum (like a 101) until I get out of the bottom of the barrel, just so they'll survive if I do get sucked up in a crash? I'd hate to get a pair of wheels and lose them 5 minutes into a race, but that might be unavoidable.
FWIW, I did my first crit on the Shimano R500s that came with my P2, since they had bladed spokes and a lower spoke count than my Cane Creek trainers, and I thought I'd look like a tool if I rode my Jet 9s in a Cat 5 crit on a 14 year old aluminum road bike. So, I'm looking to upgrade from those.
Carbon wheels can take a pretty good beating, but it all depends on the angle and speed of the crash. Ive seen a friends 303's survive a 45km skid into a cerment wall and be perfectly fine, but a set of 404's get taco'd when a guy went up onto a curb at 30km. In cat 4 and 5, I would never suggest bringing any wheelset that did not have a very good crash replacement (hello Reynolds!) or something that you would not worry too much about. I typically use my Shimano RS80's for road races simply because they are a very good wheelset that can be fixed up very cheaply, and a brand new set will only cost me about $400. I would not suggest busting out the 101's for cat 4/5 as they are just as likely to get toasted as your carbon wheels. Wait until cat 3.
In road race situations I typically would not want to go deeper than 60mm. Stick with the R500's unless you can get a slightly better aluminum rim. In crits light weight usually trumps aero due to the constant harsh accelerations. Not to mention with the typical crit course being equal to or less than 1km, you will have to fight silly wind pushing against you for a good part of the race. In a crit I would gladly sacrifice some speed for better control.