You must be pretty tiny to feel rough with some 404's since they are only 58 mm. But, Lisa Bentley (also pretty tiny) uses a 303 up front and a 404 rear (well, she did for years anyway) in Kona because she was afraid of the gusts. I would not go down to a 202 though. Perhaps the 303/404 combo would be the right combo of aero benefit vs. comfortable handling for you?

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Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD

Thanks for the advice. No, not tiny at all (thanks to the years of swimming & lifting - about 5'9", 160) but I did just get a bike that is significantly lighter than before. That could contribute some, but new bike + old wheels without rims didn't feel the wind. Why not go to 202's?

I'm about the same height and only four pounds heavier, and also got blown around with the 404's on a couple of recent rides. On the last ride, I was trying out my Zipp disc with a 404 up front. The winds were shifting, so I got pushed from behind, from the left, right and front. The rear was stable, but the front wheel was blowing around a bit. My coach taught me to keep a light touch on the bars, and in very heavy winds to ride the bullhorns, not the aerobars.

GEt a bigger rear. The center of pressure will move rearward and increase your stability. That's why discs are MORE STABLE in crosswinds. The disc counters the steering effect of the wind. If you can't use a disc, get an 808 or H3. My $.02 only

http://blackwellresearch.com/...lity%20Explained.pdf


Of course, this could also mean that a Neverreach will make a bike MORE stable, too, since it puts more sail area in the rear ;-)

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Dick

Take everything I say with a grain of salt. I know nothing.

At 160lbs you should have no issues with 404, 606, 808, or 909. I dont.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

i'm with record10, i ride a disk rear and a 90mm front, and at 150 i have had exactly one day where i felt the wind at all.

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Link to my photography
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I weigh 140 lbs. I ride the Zipp 404's over the Golden Gate bridge in really strong, gusty cross-winds regularly. They really aren't unsafe to ride in heavy winds. I don't know how often you practice on the 404's in high winds, but if you're not spending a decent amount of time getting used to how they react in the wind before you race them, I can see where the sensation might be unfamiliar and how you'd wonder whether there's a better alternative. I promise you, however, that the 404's are perfectly rideable in high winds. I rode them at Wildflower in really windy conditions and had no difficulties.

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Stephen

What day did you ride IMWI?

I was out there on Saturday - 180 pounds on training wheels and I got blown around.

That was the windiest day I've ridden in Madison course, and I've been out there on some windy days.

I echo what sentania said, I got the sh*t kicked out of me last Saturday. I do not think it was the 404s. It was an exceptionally windy day. I am 175 and had Mavic Ksyrium SSLs. I did IMMoo last year with 404s in the rain and wind and had no problems at all.

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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR

Get a Disc cover for the 404's I'm 5'10 155 and never really had a problem with just the 404s but I did find that the disc cover made things ever more stable and FASTER!

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http://www.nunnsontherun.com

StevieK is right on. I originally felt that the Jet60 was too much wheel for me to easily control. With the Renn disc in back it's a whole lot easier as the front end doesn't tend to get "steered" around off the road. I tend to get "pushed" a bit from side to side, which is a lot easier than the front wheel suddenly trying to turn left. This has to do with aerodynamic center, etc.

But my real solution to feeling good with the H3 front/Renn rear is to ride with the Jet60 front and Velocity Spartacus Pro rear (30mm) in a LOT of my training rides. I actually ride this combo almost exclusively and now it's no big deal. FWIW I am also ~160lb and 5'11". One thing to check is the quickness of your steering and the centering effect. When I was using a shorter stem it was a lot harder to control than a longer stem. The "slower" steering of the longer stem/hand position made things a lot easier in heavy winds.

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