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I have never actually seen a CH Aero wheel cover. I have some questions for anyone who has one or who knows about them.
What is the cover made of? Would they work better with a box or an aero rim (either with or without taping)? How do they sound? Do you feel faster with the cover?
Thanks. David K
Disc covers like those made by CH Aero and other companies were probably the cheapest possible way to get a disc wheel. They are retro 90's and pop up on ebay quite cheap every now and then. Usually they are selling for around thirty dollars or so.
Some use cloth material but the CH Aero's were made out of a plastic type material and cover a regular wheel box rim wheel. The fit with a box rim is actually quite good. To maximize the aerodynamics put black electical tape along the outer circumference of the cover and along the rim but not touching into the braking area. This will form a seal so that no air will get behind the disc cover and thus defeat it's aerodynamic purpose. There is also a cut out on one of the covers that is for the valve stem to put air into the tire. Also cover this to maximize aerodynamics. You now have a legitimate disc wheel that if was tested in a wind tunnel, would likely test as well as anything else. When John Cobb tested disc wheel covers he noted that air tended to get behind them because of a less than perfect seal between the cover and the rim. He obviously didn't think of the $.98 black electrical tape solution.
The covers themselves weigh about 500 gms a set if I remember correctly. I used a light weight 32 sp. Mavic tubular box rim with a Dura-Ace hub and Dura-Ace cassette to keep the overall weight down. It was heavier than one of the new high tech discs, but still not bad. You have to change the electrical tape every now and then, but it's not a big job.
I would call this the poor man's way to maximize your rear wheel aerodynamics.
I had one about ten years ago in college when I did Du's as summer training for XC and Track... Ch Aero covers were about $60 new, so don't more than that if you can when buying on E-bay.
There was something called a Uni Disc Cover, which was plastic that would stretch to fit your wheel, I suppose it had the same effect, but the Ch Aero would cinch down pretty well against the rim wall.
I went "Back to the Future" myself last week and bought a J-Disc, just barely a step up from CH Aero..
FWIW, Old HED Discs can be found on E-bay with thread-on freewheel if you're willing to look and bid.
Good luck.
Thanks guys for the input. I have an old Roval wheel that would be fun to put a cover on. David K