Seems like an expensive way to get some fast training splits! I had a friend who just bought a new pair of race wheels and decided to take them out on a "training" ride, hit a pot hole and cracked the front! Race wheels, disc's etc are made for speed and give up a lot of strength for that speed. But hey, if you have lots of $$ go for it..

Not to hijack, but I'm curious about this too. I have four races with about 3 wks between each. I use a wheel cover and do most of my workouts on a trainer (Trainer Road) and really didn't want to take it off, put it on, take it off, etc. So I've left it on AGAINST the recommendation of the manufacturer. So far so good. Anybody know why it's suggested not to use wheel covers for an extended time on a trainer?

The wheel cover will tend to wear out and crack around the hub sometimes if you use it all the time. If you tape it in place this is less likely, but then the tape might deteriorate over time too.

disc wheel - depends on construction. discs like the HED Jet which are spoked wheels with permanent fairings will wear out like any other wheel.

if you ride it all the time you have to swap your race tires on and off all the time too.

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
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this is where triathletes should practice what roadies do.


do you race on your training wheels?

save race wheels for race day.

they (and cassette, tires, tubes, etc.) will last longer, there will be decreased chances for mech. failure or flats due to use, and will allow you to go faster, since race wheels are (should be) more aero and lighter, and will be more advantageous to training wheels, for when you need to go faster, etc.

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Not the local roadie group I sometimes ride with, I look like shit compared to them with their fancy outfits, aero road helmets and Zipp firecrest wheels!

Maybe next time I ride with them I'll wear my new Desoto Liftfoil, put on the FLO wheels (maybe the disc cover too) and aero helmet.

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My last wheelcover died because I had a pinch flat after switching tubes while riding on the trainer, the tube violently blew, and the escaping air cracked a big chunk of plastic as it escaped the tube/rim area. Makes a big noise too :)

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I see many pairs of 808's being ridden by local rodies every time I ride, probably 10 to 15 pairs every ride. They're riding wheels every day that cost more than most of the bikes I own.

My wheel cover came apart after 3 years. Totally worth the 80 bucks. I was going to remove it after races, but it's a pain in the ass because I don't have a cassette removal tool. So I just left it on. Lots of people started commenting on how cool it looks, which got me riding more and harder, which made me faster. So, I just got a new one and I'm leaving it on as well.

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I use two Zipp 900s for training, long distance audax, and high elevation gain races. Solid, reliable and give a distinct aero advantage compared to Zipp 808s/1080/Rolf 90 rears. For flatter races, I use Zipp super 9 and Zipp sub-9 depending on comfort and bike frame.
No worries so far using discs. Sealant, and changing to new tubulars prior to important races.

I know a dude who put a wheel cover on his mountain bike and trained and raced with it.

Go for the wheel cover if it makes you happy!!! Like the other guys said, its only 80 bucks and people will know you as 'that guy' which will last a lifetime;)

Your concern shouldn't be with your wheels but with your tires. Unless you are swapping rubber every time you ride, you are putting more miles on the tires that you really really need to be flat-free for races. Were it not for the tires I would probably be riding race wheels most of the time (in good weather at least).

i do that shit all the time lmao it's fun i love it, i swag up completely for my real training.. evade, sleeved virklon suit, tt bike 100% of my real training is done straight like that on the do lo but i ride an alu road bike w training wheels if not going hard, just poddling around town, or with slower friends. the disc works fine tho i have a spoked disc idk how it's gonna hold up cause i haven't had it that long but i got a cheap one and it's great lol and i feel like it's worth. if i had a covered wheel i would feel very confident in riding it & servicing it if needed which is what i'm most worried about with riding my disc

During training I have never thought "Hang on, I need to push another 5 watts because I am training on race wheels". That just wouldn't make sense.

I would much rather keep tires / tube for raceday than a $2k plus set of wheel plus tires and tubes for raceday.

Buy them, ride the shit out of them. Get your money's worth.

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Covers fatigue over time but aren't expensive to replace so worth leaving on all the time.

Discs are fairly resilient but I wouldn't ride one all the time. If you get a popular one and use it sparingly then the resale value tends to hold up very well so it might work out more cost effective not to train on it as you'll keep that high resale value.

If you're using either option as a tubular wheel I'd leave it for race only as changing tubs is way more of a pain than changing a cover/wheel.

Iain

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True, if you're riding on your own. But if you're riding with a group, you've just gained 5w extra training for the entire ride, assuming you're strong enough not to get dropped.

I did not write that. It's silly. See my actual post above.

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I think by the time you factor in drafting then the wheel issue is not worth mentioning. Someone worrying about a few watts on a training wheel really should look at not having a group pull them along for the entire ride anyway.

Is drafting now so accepted that people actually train that way! ;)

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I keep my race wheels on my TT bike all the time (Jet 9/Disc). I only ride the TT bike about 1/3 to 1/4 of my rides when the weather is good and always solo. I figure they are designed to be pretty solid and it is annoying to change them out (they have different widths that my old training wheels so I have to change my brake setups, etc). I also like that it forces me to learn to ride in different wind conditions, etc. When I do race I'm more confident that I know how to handle the setup since it is exactly the same setup I've been riding. I will even periodically ride with an aero helmet for the same reason, but much more less often, maybe just the ride before a race. Not sure how many miles total I have on the disc, certainly north of 1000, maybe significantly more and it doesn't seem to show any noticeable wear.

I also ride 404s on my road bike year round in all sorts of conditions and they are also holding up great. Somewhere north of 10K miles on those.

In both cases I feel like I've gotten plenty of enjoyment out of my investments in the gear and wouldn't feel crushed if they wear out at some point due to using them full time.

pop a spoke on race day
it happens!

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

Yes, lots of shit happens. Change your wheels and misadjust your brake pads. Rear wheel rubs the whole race. It happens! Both are fairly useless anecdotes. I'd love to see some real data on the relative failure rates. Seems just as likely to me that the process of swapping things out for racing could cause more failures for most people than you would see from wear and tear. Of course it helps that I'm light and so pretty easy on my gear. I don't pop spokes at anything the rate a 200lb guy does.

I ride my wheel cover all the time. I have over 3k miles on mine over 2 years. I have had no issues. I have removed cleaned/trued the wheel and retaped the disc 2 times. I do tape the outer perimeter of the disc to the wheel.

I leave my 808's on my tri bike year round and use a wheel cover. I will generally take the cover off between races unless I have back-to-back weekends of racing then it's too much hassle and I bike commute that week like a boss. Or a dork.

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Apologies - I edited the quote of the person who originally replied to you, but edited out the wrong name - sorry! I was agreeing with your original statement entirely.

So, what I'm reading here is that the driving reasons to not save race setups for race day are:

• it's too much hassle/trouble to swap wheels/tires/cassettes
• a general fear of mechanicals from improper adjustments on race/non-race gear, etc.
• no specific reason, just a desire to ride race gear for training

This is good insight, so thanks all who've responded to the OP's thread.

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