I'm running an 808 depth rear. The question is what front wheel should I be running given I suck at handling my TT bike it seems (upgraded from road bike to TT bike this spring)? Has anyone seen any comparative aero data of running an 808 (82mm) vs 404 (58mm) vs 303 (45mm) front wheel? Or does anyone have a rough time estimate of the time delta over a 40k course between the three wheels? I realize there are a ton of variables at play, everything from wind speed/direction, tire choice, frame, etc. But even just ballpark would help.
My predicament:
I'm in the fortunate position of owning Zipp 303, 404, and 808 (all Zipp NSW) wheelsets, and trying to sort out how much time I should be spending trying to get comfortable in aero on the deeper front wheels. I'm a 155lb, 5'11", 3.25 watt/kg rider (unworthy of these wheels, I know.... but please help me anyhow.....)
I have no problems handling any of these wheelsets on my road bike except high speed descending in truly gale force winds, but on the TT bike, I just can't seem to get into the groove on anything but the 303 front wheel. I live in San Francisco, and pretty much every afternoon/evening this month I've been riding in 25mph+ winds. I've nearly lost control of the bike a couple times now, and it's starting to mess with my head as I head into my racing season (Santa Rosa 70.3 and Santa Cruz 70.3s, both which I understand can be quite windy).
At some point, with enough experience, I expect I'd eventually get comfortable riding the 808 pretty much all the time. But the problem is, during more intense workouts, I'm not pushing as hard on the pedals as I'd like to be due to temerity handling the bike thus leaving potential on the table. I'm gaining bike handling skills at the cost of increasing my power, but I know I have a LOT of headroom to increase my power on the bike (given bike time relative to swim and run times).
So what I'm trying to figure out is... how much am I playing for really, by continuing to train on the 404 and 808 wheels? Given it's already June, would my times this season likely even be faster on the 303 front wheel and just hanging up the 404/808 until this winter? Is the lower hanging fruit (in terms of getting faster) actually just training harder on a shallower wheel right now. I could use some advise prioritizing skill development vs raw power development right now.
Thanks.
My predicament:
I'm in the fortunate position of owning Zipp 303, 404, and 808 (all Zipp NSW) wheelsets, and trying to sort out how much time I should be spending trying to get comfortable in aero on the deeper front wheels. I'm a 155lb, 5'11", 3.25 watt/kg rider (unworthy of these wheels, I know.... but please help me anyhow.....)
I have no problems handling any of these wheelsets on my road bike except high speed descending in truly gale force winds, but on the TT bike, I just can't seem to get into the groove on anything but the 303 front wheel. I live in San Francisco, and pretty much every afternoon/evening this month I've been riding in 25mph+ winds. I've nearly lost control of the bike a couple times now, and it's starting to mess with my head as I head into my racing season (Santa Rosa 70.3 and Santa Cruz 70.3s, both which I understand can be quite windy).
At some point, with enough experience, I expect I'd eventually get comfortable riding the 808 pretty much all the time. But the problem is, during more intense workouts, I'm not pushing as hard on the pedals as I'd like to be due to temerity handling the bike thus leaving potential on the table. I'm gaining bike handling skills at the cost of increasing my power, but I know I have a LOT of headroom to increase my power on the bike (given bike time relative to swim and run times).
So what I'm trying to figure out is... how much am I playing for really, by continuing to train on the 404 and 808 wheels? Given it's already June, would my times this season likely even be faster on the 303 front wheel and just hanging up the 404/808 until this winter? Is the lower hanging fruit (in terms of getting faster) actually just training harder on a shallower wheel right now. I could use some advise prioritizing skill development vs raw power development right now.
Thanks.
Last edited by:
wintershade: Jun 7, 19 15:15