I am in the same boat thinking about getting some race wheels so I am interested in what people say. I also ride a set of super teams that seem fine. I ride a 2021 Giant Trinity and just have a hard time forking over that kind of money for wheels but I have no experience with nice wheels so maybe it is worth it.

I'd call Superteam 60/88 with GP5000 tires "race wheels." Not the best race wheels, but race wheels. But you could get a significant maginal gain for $1500. Disc rear and deeper front.

"A significant marginal gain" sounds a bit contradictory haha...what do you mean by significantly marginal? At 140 lbs. max with a semi-weak FTP, I'm scared that a deeper dish front wheel and disc wheel would blow me around a bit much.

I mean they will make you measurably faster...possibly whole minutes for an IM-length race. But not a fundamentally faster racer.

The rear disc will not make you less stable (that notion, though intuitive, is age old despite all the attempts of this forum to defeat it). A deeper front might. So you could just get a rear disc and keep the 60mm front.

Are you saying that you are currently running a 60mm front and an 88mm rear? If so, you will not notice any difference in the real world no matter how much you spend.

Keep in mind, wind tunnel numbers are not a realistic representation of what you will experience in a race. Even wind tunnel numbers are only going to tell you that the best wheels will give you a minute or two over IM distance. Out in the wild you will get significantly less than that.

I went from box rims to 90/disc and I cannot pick out the improvement from wheels over all the over variables (wind direction, temperature, my stomach condition, sleep, etc.) I have faith that it is faster, but no real proof. I switched from a 20yr old bike to a superbike with super wheels and my placing at races did not change. I got much smarter with training and diet and I started slowing creeping up the AG podium.

After destroying a set of HED Jet+'s by hitting a huge rock in the road (I was 3rd in a paceline), I now only use the replacement HED's for racing and some cheap wheels and cheaper tires for training. If you're not concerned with wear/trashing the superteams during training, I'd just keep the stock wheels as a backup. I definitely wouldn't spend $1500 on a set of "race" wheels if I were you. I'd spend $200 bucks on a disc cover though. Or maybe $800-900 on a disc wheel if you want to train on the superteams.

I am selling my premier bike 88mm front wheel (cheap) in the classified/ebay. It doesn't test much faster than this wheel.

https://www.ebay.com/...tkp%3ABk9SR_zMwbaQYw

If by 'box rims' you mean non-deep wheels (like Shimano's basic shallow-rim wheelset), there is a BIG speed difference between Superteams even at 50/50 compared to box rims if you're riding on a typical flattish TT/tri course. Go 88/88 and it's even more. My race placements and USAT scores jumped a huge amount just by upgrading my frame and wheelset, of which I consider the wheel upgrade the much bigger one, as the frame was likely minimal gains coming from an already-fast Cervelo P2c.

For OP - I have done countless training rides and several races with either Superteam 88/88s, vs well-regarded and aero-tested reviewed PremierTactical 88/disc. Honestly, I cant even tell the difference speedwise between the two. I can tell vs 50/50s, but not against 88/88s. Note that the disc combo is heavier, so may have a penalty on climbing, but I'm talking mostly flattish courses with no big mountain climbs.

Superteams are so inexpensive that you can just rock your set for all training and racing, and easily replace it if you damage it. I've been riding mine for several years now, and am convinced that as long as it's good from the get-go (I'm super skeptical on warrantee service given the ultra-low cost), it'll work fine with virtually no aero penalty.

Note that I would probably NOT rock these wheels in a road-style criterium that requires tons of accels/decels. I haven't done a detailed comparison, but I know they're slightly on the heavier side, and for a crit, the accel penalty may offset a lot of the aero gains. But for tri-riding or training where it's mostly TT-style at consistent power, they're shockingly good for the price.

I have a set of race wheels for a couple of reasons:

They are deeper then my training wheels (train on 60/60, race on 90/disc).

Dedicated race tires and tubes (GP Supersonics w/latex tubes). They don't get a lot of miles, so the wear patch is smaller tahn my training tires (GP5000).

---

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I'm not benefiting from deeper front wheel. Somehow 60mm front wheel works the best for me.
OP, get the rear disc wheel first(no brainer there) and borrow a deeper wheel from a friend and try first before dropping a ton of money for both.

My personal experience disagrees. I did Chung-method A/B testing of an 80mm rear vs disc and got clear indication the disc was faster in the real world.

I use race wheels every day.

If you don't want specific race wheels - a set of 88's front and rear are a great choice. Train on them and race on them.

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Dan Kennison

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The non-marginal gain would probably come from going with a rear disc and faster tires. In breezy conditions the disc can greatly reduce drag and there are rotational power savings as well.

The other gain is better tires. The GP5000 is OK, but the GP5000 TT is going to save you 5 watts and 8 watts for the Corsa Speeds. These are lighter tires, so they are a bit more puncture prone, but only a bit when run tubeless. The real issue though is that you can spend a pile of cash burning through expensive race tires, because they aren't nearly as durable. Don't get me started on how bad an idea it is to try swapping tires right before races.

Thanks for the info Mike

I didn’t realize the TT version where that much faster

I just switched to wider rims so will be going wider tires and tubeless. Sounds like the perfect time to switch from regular GP 5000 to the TT version.

I only do 3 half’s a year and save the race wheels/tires for races. How long you think the GP5000 TT would last?



EDIT: where are the 5 watts savings for the TT coning from Mike?

What I found on BRR is about even

Is it the aerodynamics?

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/...l-grand-prix-tt-2016


And aero coach

https://www.aero-coach.co.uk/gp-5000-tubeless-data

I have a set of dedicated wheels used only for races, Hed Jet 6's, on Continental tires. Love them!

If you are considering purchasing, and for as much as you race, i'd recommend renting a set in whichever configuration you are comfortable with. I've rented a few and had PR's in races and loved how the wheels handled.

The ride on my race wheels is just smoother, and lighter than my stock wheels with Gatorskins.

If i were to do it again i would purchase 45/Disc combo from Premier Tactical (best overall value vs. other brands).

Happy Racing!

I think of it this way. What is a 5-10 minute benefit (max) worth to you. Are we talking going from 9:00 to 8:50 then heck yes get the best ones you can afford. But going from 14:30 to 14:20 what’s the point?!?!

I was looking at the AeroCoach data. They have 23.1 watts for a pair of GP5000 TT . The GP5000 TR is 27.3. So I guess only 4 watts and change.

I rode mine at least 3 to 400 miles before I pulled them off at the end of racing season. When I did, there was no obvious flat spotting on the rear, so they will go back on in the spring. If I had to guess I would say you could get 60-75% as many miles on them as the regular 5000s. I also think they feel nicer than the standard 5000s. Knock on wood I haven't had any issues with flats or cuts. I credit the Silca sealent for some of that though. I put a monster cut in a Corsa Speed this year and didn't notice anything until after the ride when there was sealant all over the back of the bike. Even with the cut, I still PRed my local TT. That would have never happened with latex tubes.

Sometimes I grumble about the price, but then I remind myself that life it too short to ride shitty tires.

In 2022, I returned to Tri after several years away from the sport. When I came back one of the first things I noticed was the change in people’s approach to wheels. I bought my first disc around 2004 and I’m not sure I’ve raced without one ever since. If I have, it hasn’t been but a time or two. I run a deeper front - I’ve got a zipp 404, HED3, and Premier 88 (along with a couple of other options). I’m seeing fewer and fewer discs at races. I also see shallower front wheels. It’s always been a little confusing to me. I guess I’m just a retro grouch but I keep running my trusty race wheels - most of which are tubulars to boot.

I'd save the money, put the stock wheels back on and use the super team as your race wheels, maybe add latex inner tubes, if you run tubes. You then need to work on your biking and get your FTP up, you will go much faster with improved fitness than you will with a new set of wheels.

Science also disagrees!

I know someone who races with exact same wheels you have but he uses wheel covers for the rear. Wheel cover that makes the wheel looking like a disc. His bike split is always #1 out of hundreds of people at local races. So definitely try that first if you don’t want to drop a lot of money. Good race wheels are NOT cheap.

Ive always had a set of dedicated race wheels.
There is a noticeable difference between my shallow aluminum training wheels and my race wheels (Either HED Jet 9's front and rear or Hed Jet 9 front Hed Jet disc rear) but I cant detect the difference in either feel or time from the above mentioned race combos.