At your weight i would also leave the deep wheels at home. Ii's not the wind so much as those gusts.

To add to it, it’s also flat and open.

That’s what my guy was telling me.

Disc will actually help stabilize, but those gusts / your weight might make it difficult if you don't have experience. Front I'd do a shallow training wheel

Thanks for the vote of confidence. :). Too long ago I used to live by the ocean and rode in the wind a lot (road bike with shallow wheels). Now I’m not near the ocean and in a wooded area. I’ve got the cool wheels but no wind to practice in.

If I can’t ride safely in it; the rd needs to rethink whether they should have the race.

The whole disc stabilizes you is such nonsense. Yes, true at high speed in low to moderate winds, disc is a keel. A big cross wind gust and a disc is a sail blowing you across the road. I train and race on a Roval 321 disc. I find few things more terrifying than catching a big gust with a disc on back while descending at high speed.

My rule of thumb is I only race on the disc if my speed is higher than the wind speed. Not science. Just what works for me.

/shrug. I raced wildflower on a disc in a high wind warning without issue. But I’m 6’’2” and 200# so takes a lot more wind to affect me

First, one should ride what one is most comfortable using.

Second, your understanding of how a disc works is incorrect; you are misinterpreting your own situation.

Third, your last sentence is really important and one that I can support.

I'm just a little heavier than you. I've ridden that combo many times in the conditions you described.

I've always thought it was the right decision.

I did a few windy races after I got my rear Disc. The first race was 15mph with 30 MPH gusts. I put my training wheels in the car before driving to the event so could make a race time decision. I was going to make the switch, but as people were rolling in their bikes I saw lots of people with the rear discs. I talked to a few of them and none of them seemed too concerned so I stuck with the disc. Yes, it was windy. My goal was to go as fast as I could and hold on tight. I figured that going slow I would get blown over but going fast my momentum would keep me upright and moving. It really wasn't that bad so the next two times I showed up for windy races I kept the disk on. The 2nd race went as well as the first race, but the 3rd race was a different story. That race had the swim in a man-made lake and the bike leg started riding a few miles along the lake then making a hard left to ride 1-2 miles on the road that went across the top of the dam that created the lake. The swim was canceled for that race because winds were too high to keep the swim buoys anchored. So it would have been 15-20 MPH with 30-35 MPH gusts (speeds???). Starting the ride with the wind at our back things were fine. When we made the left turn to go onto the damn a gust hit me and nearly knocked me off the bike. Going across the dam I got hit with 3-4 more gusts and every time I felt like I was going to lay the bike down. Oh...and it was a multiple loop course so I got to go across the dam more than once. That was a very miserable ride. I wish that I didn't have the disc that day. My training wheels would have been much better in those cross winds.

So... 30 MPH gusts at your back...no problem. You can do that all day long and get an impressive PR. 30 MPH gusts as a head wind. This will fatigue you. You will ware out really fast but the wheels will do more to help you than hurt you. 30 MHP cross wind. This will wear you out even quicker than a 30 MPH head wind. You will have to use your upper body to stabilize the bike and hold it up so you don't get blown over. You will have sore shoulders and arms after the race. The high cross wings are also dangerous. They can blow you over (less likely if you riding smart) and they can cause swerving which could result in participants running into each other (this is more likely. be careful), etc. The 60mm front is probably fine. If you are riding along a body of water or crossing canyons where there will be high cross winds a 60mm rear would be better than a disk. If you are riding on highways where the wind follows the roads to where it will either be at you hear or your back, then the bike will probably be okay with a rear disk. I am not sure what you will get with an flat open course. I guess look at the wind direction and the course map. If there are not a lot of cross winds I would personally ride with my disc but yes, it comes down to what you have practiced and are ready to deal with.

FWIW, wind speed normally is measured 10 meters above ground level, so wind speed while racing normally will be lower than reported wind speed, which is why one uses a portable anemometer when doing field testing.

Tri.Tony, are you doing the Kinetic Multisport Waterman's Half in Rock Hall, MD? I am and the conditions forecasted are similar to what you describe. I have the same dilemma: 60mm front and disc rear; 60mm front and 60mm rear; or Aluminum rim front with 60mm or disc in the back. The latter will require a rotor swap.

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CG

Good to know. I was just thinking that I would rather have the wind blow through the both wheels when I get hit with a gusts that for it to have anything to push on from the side. I thought the point of the lower depth on the rims of the front rim was for turning. Any time the wheel move from on side or the other to turn in high wind I can feel it catch the wind and if I am not holding tight the wind can whip the front wheel into a jack knife.

After races I often leave my front race wheel on the bike for a week or two until I do my next outdoor ride but have to change the back wheel out because the skewer on my race wheel are not compatible with my bike trainer. I moved from Oklahoma to Texas 18 months ago and ended up with my bike at my place in Texas for a 2-3 months with the race wheel on front and the training wheel on back. the other wheels where in storage in Oklahoma so I did all my outdoor rides with a race wheel in front and steel spokes in the back. I never noticed any instability or imbalance. I did ride on some windy days, but nothing like riding across that dam with all the high wind coming off the water hitting square on the side.

Just saw this - yup. It’s not windy now but the forecast hasn’t changed.

That was a windy one… FWIW, I went with a 90mm HED rear and a 37mm Bontrager Aeolus and was very impressed by the handling. Even on the long crosswind section of the course, I had zero issues with gusts that I fully expect I would have had with my matching HED up front.