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Any actual recognizable differences in race wheel hub performance?
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Has anyone tested race wheel hubs in a controlled environment without variables (same wheels, spokes, tires, same physical testing environment) to determine if there is any definitive, measurable difference in performance?

I've been curious about this over the past few years, switching wheels many times on my bikes (Dura Ace, Zipp, Mavic, Enve, etc), just to experiment.

My Dura Ace hubs seem to be the fastest coasting of any I've owned, but I have no way to know if it's just imagination, or if there is some variable coming into play that I'm not considering.

It'd be great to see tests of hubs and bearings, to go along with the aerodynamic wheel testing and tire testing we've learned from.
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Re: Any actual recognizable differences in race wheel hub performance? [Super D] [ In reply to ]
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Re: Any actual recognizable differences in race wheel hub performance? [Super D] [ In reply to ]
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The only sources of drag are bearings and the freehub mechanism. Friction Facts did some bearing testing if I remember correctly. The type and volume of grease was important and there is seal drag, but in general bearings don't account for more than a couple watts. I don't know what freehub drag would be, but most of the time you are pedaling, so other than coasting it seems almost irrelevant.

My guess would be freehub sound and vibration add more to the sense "smoothness" or drag than any difference you could actually feel, but that is just a hunch.
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Re: Any actual recognizable differences in race wheel hub performance? [grumpier.mike] [ In reply to ]
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I started getting curious when coasting downhill on C24 wheels with guys running Zipp and Mavic aero wheels, the riders were similar or higher weight than me, and I was coasting faster. Made no sense. The only thing I could guess at was maybe my bearings are rolling easier for some reason. But there is no data supporting that guess, so it must be a combination of factors. Still, it’d be interesting to see a completely controlled hub test conducted. No variables of tire, rim, spokes, tire pressure, bike, rider.
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Re: Any actual recognizable differences in race wheel hub performance? [Super D] [ In reply to ]
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Aerodynamics: bike, rider, rider position.
Saying they're similar or heavier than you doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of Occam's Razor.
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Re: Any actual recognizable differences in race wheel hub performance? [Super D] [ In reply to ]
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I switched to an aero road helmet and noticed a difference in my downhill coasting speeds. A 5 watt difference at 30 mph really gets magnified at 50-60 mph because aero drag increases with the square or cube of velocity (I can't remember the formula off the top of my head, but I think it is ^3). Bearing drag will be linear, so a 2 watt savings at 30 is only a 4 watt difference at 60.
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Re: Any actual recognizable differences in race wheel hub performance? [Thorax] [ In reply to ]
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Thorax wrote:
Aerodynamics: bike, rider, rider position.
Saying they're similar or heavier than you doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of Occam's Razor.

No doubt about that. The interesting thing was that I noticed it with guys I regularly ride with and it kept consistently happening with only the wheel/hub change...so it piqued my interest.
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Re: Any actual recognizable differences in race wheel hub performance? [grumpier.mike] [ In reply to ]
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grumpier.mike wrote:
I switched to an aero road helmet and noticed a difference in my downhill coasting speeds. A 5 watt difference at 30 mph really gets magnified at 50-60 mph because aero drag increases with the square or cube of velocity (I can't remember the formula off the top of my head, but I think it is ^3). Bearing drag will be linear, so a 2 watt savings at 30 is only a 4 watt difference at 60.

aerodynamic drag increases with the square, power with the cube of velocity I believe

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