[reply]Serious question: If the spokes save 15 watts at 30 mph, how many watts do they save at 20 mph?[/reply]
Riding 22mph into a 10mph sidewind = equivalent of a 24mph headwind at 22.6 degrees. Riding the GFT last year with a 20mph sidewind at 20mph = 28mph at 45 degrees. Very rarely do I ride in dead calm or without significant crosswind.
That said, bladed spokes are dumb in crosswinds but oval spokes are a slight improvement, maybe. Using less spokes is more important than the shape of the spokes. Based on the numbers I remember seeing, 15 watts is too high...but it's late and I am tired. What I do know for certain is the oval spokes on my Hed 60 whistle in the air, and the round ones on my Spinergy Tilium do not. Unless they are perfectly aligned then they will cause more drag, and in a crosswind they have higher drag than an equivalent round spoke.
Riding 22mph into a 10mph sidewind = equivalent of a 24mph headwind at 22.6 degrees. Riding the GFT last year with a 20mph sidewind at 20mph = 28mph at 45 degrees. Very rarely do I ride in dead calm or without significant crosswind.
That said, bladed spokes are dumb in crosswinds but oval spokes are a slight improvement, maybe. Using less spokes is more important than the shape of the spokes. Based on the numbers I remember seeing, 15 watts is too high...but it's late and I am tired. What I do know for certain is the oval spokes on my Hed 60 whistle in the air, and the round ones on my Spinergy Tilium do not. Unless they are perfectly aligned then they will cause more drag, and in a crosswind they have higher drag than an equivalent round spoke.