A fairly common setup is alps in the front and a tri-spoke in the back. It's Macca's setup. R and A Cycles (racyles.com) has pretty good deal on that set up. BTW: why not 404's? They offer much more versatility.

Why not 404s? For the same $$ as a set of new 404s you can get a full set of H3s AND an Alps front to give you all around flexibility and some very fast setups. Don't get me wrong, the 404s are great, but not the only answer out there.

"For the same $$ as a set of new 404s"

Actually the Hed setup is cheaper by about 400 bucks. Oh well, I love the versatility of my 404's and that's that.

I have an H3 front that I run with a disk and almost alway race that set up (I do all short stuff). I also have alps (I agree with TriBriGuy re $$$). I think your considerations are valid and don't really have an answer. I also weigh 185. The alps are probably more versatile. I had same concerns and bought mine as backups for certain conditions, but have raced them only once in 20 races I have owned them. I like them but really just have not felt like I could not handle the H3 and disk. One time that I raced alps was based more on an extremely hilly course that included turns at the bottom of a couple of hills that scared me. I had one hairy experience on the H3 on a windy downhill to a bridge. Other than that, I have never had any significant problems. Probably not as much difference as we would all like to believe, just depends on what you are into.

Hed 3 rear ~ $500

Hed 3 front ~ $400

Hed Alps front ~ $400

Total ~ $1300 + ~ $150 for tires = ~ $1450

Zipp 404s ~ $1399 + ~ $100 for tires = ~ $1499

Six of one, half dozen of the other. Either of the above setups is effective. I like the Heds. I rode a set of Specialized Tri-Spokes for 10 years, including a high amount of training miles. They were still nearly perfect when I made the mistake of selling them this spring. On the other hand I trashed a set of 404s in 3 years of racing them (albeit including a fair amount of descending which is hard on carbon rims). Now that I'm moving back to all 700 bikes, I've bought a set of H3s and a set of Alps. I'll be ordering some disc as well. For my $$, the 3s offer the best combination of performance and longevity for most triathletes. I figure a couple seconds here or there between the major aero wheelsets is a wash, so I lean heavily on the longevity part. Of course for a flat-lander the Zipps may last forever too. The Alps I ordered are for the mountains moreso than wind.

Just incase you are interested....I just ordered a set of 2002 404s (tubulars) for $799.

www.labicicletta.com

I got my HED H3 front this June. Since then I used it for all my races (IM, Half-IM, 4 OD).
I like it very much and never had real problems with it. Once i could feel the 'impact' of the wind but it was not a problem.
I can really recommend it.

Felix

---

http://www.weilenmann.ch.vu

At the risk of beating a dead horse, I was basing my calculations on these figures from my LBS:

http://www.racycles.com/eq/catalog/hed_race_set_1348165.htm

I admit, once you add the cost of tires, tubes, rim tape and cogs the price is higher, but the same adjustment should be made for the Zipps. My goodness, I sound like I'm advocating the Hed set up. Thank god it's slow at work today.

I bought a Hed3 wheelset with the intention of training and racing on them. When I am training in the aero position I find the Hed3 front to be VERY dicey in windy/gusty conditions, but I really don't notice it too much when I race. I think it's a combination of adrenaline and not having to hug the ditchline on race day. When I train and it's windy I either leave the Hed3 front at home or stay off the aero bars.