i had a front wheel from these guys a few years ago when i was just starting out in tri. i never had any real problems with it, but it weighed a ton. not sure how aero it actually is either. when i e-mailed the company to ask about wind tunnel tests etc., i got a snarky reply stating that they test their equipment in the real world, not in wind tunnels. i guess they kind of had a point, but on the other hand, it makes you wonder about how it would perform. at any rate, if you're a heavier rider, you might be better off to just pick up a set of older mavic cosmics or something like that. they're a spoked wheel (so they're strong and can be trued) with a reduced spoke count, bladed spokes, and a deep rim. you could likely pick up a used set for pretty cheap (if you're on a budget). if you have the $$, zipp also makes it's 404's in a clydesdale edition.

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"I'm happy when life's good,
and when it's bad I cry.
I've got values but I don't know how or why."
- The Who

I agree with you on the heavy rider issue...yes they are tough. However the point that they are heavy and maybe "not aero" is certainly true. You may be better served if you look into the Specialized / Hed trispoke wheel that will do the job very well for even 200+lbs folks out there.

remember the old Specialized marketing? "Nasa tests show that this wheel at 30mph has less resisitance than turning the page of the magazine you are reading"? I was sold.

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

If I use my reflex rims 32 cross 3 dura ace hub with a ch wheel fairing is wheel weight a problem? I have an old ufo spacehawk rim with 16 spoke ( I weigh 170) is this areo enough for the front ?The rim is 1.5 inches deep. I use it now only to stretch new tires. The low spoke count bothers me. What do you think is a good deal for a IM distance front wheel ? I mean on the cheep stuff.

i am sure that i would like the performance of the hed3/specialized trispoke, but it seems that the only place you can pick them up cheap is on ebay. and call me what you will, but i am just not real comfortable ordering somthing that i havent seen in person ( anything used especially.) And i definatley cant buy the hed 3 new considering im on a high school budget. but i may just decide to get a trispoke front and a ch aero cover for the rear. i might have to just suck it up and hope that i dont get ripped off through ebay. while im on the subject if i were to build a front wheel ,radialy spoked, with dt aero blade spokes should i use 18 spokes or the full 36? my LBS says that i should be okay with 18 spokes but with my weight i think i should go for the full 36. any suggestions on this would be much appreciated.

I've owned my Aerospoke wheels for about three years. The one thing they will not do is flex in cornering. The wheels are very strong. I started doing tris when I weighed 250 lbs and did not notice any flex issues. Mavic Ksyrium wheels are another option. They are very strong and pretty light. I bought the Mavics with a Litespeed Blade and rode them for a season. Never had to true the wheels once!

Our local area has a velodrome and I noticed a lot of the riders using Aerospoke wheels. The two guys I spoke with were very positive about the wheel's performance. For them, weight was not an issue (and I expected them to comment on the wheel's weight as neither wighed over 200lbs). It would be interesting to see the wind tunnel performance of the Aerospoke vs. ZIPP 404's. However, I think it's safe to say the wheels are very aero.

Lastly, I picked by Aerospokes up for about $400. The ZIPP 404's are about $1400. With the savings you can buy a Computrainer which in the long run will probably result in more performance than either wheel set. ...and if they end up being too heavy, you can use them on a cross bike.

Best of luck.

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Ban Wetsuits !! Wetsuitsareforwimps.org/net/gov