I now have a small amount of experience riding a deep front wheel, so I thought that I would write the post that I wish I had seen before buying wheels. I know the rest of you ride a 90mm front through hurricanes, this post is not for you. This post is for the quiet lurker on the forum who has never ridden a deep set of wheels and is unsure how they will feel.
To start with, I have the bike handling skills of a drunken lemur, or the average MOP triathlete. I decided that with as hard as I have been working, it was time to get a set of deep wheels. I ordered an 80mm front and a rear disc. The disc came in immediately. The 80 front has still not arrived so I borrowed my wife's 60mm front.
Here is what I found (I'm 172 lbs and riding a P3X, 60mm front, disc in back.):
At this point, I doubt that the 80mm front will be significantly different than the 60mm front but I will update this post if I ever get the wheel.
OK, I finally got the 80mm front and have ridden it for a couple of weeks. There really isn't much difference between a 60mm front and an 80mm front. The wind speed today was 14 mph gusting to 22 mph. The workout today was 5x4-minute intervals at 105% FTP. I only came out of the aerobars once due to the wind. It wasn't "fun" but I was able to do the whole workout. After about 45 minutes I felt a lot more comfortable. This is probably the breakpoint where I might go with a shallower wheel for a race.
To start with, I have the bike handling skills of a drunken lemur, or the average MOP triathlete. I decided that with as hard as I have been working, it was time to get a set of deep wheels. I ordered an 80mm front and a rear disc. The disc came in immediately. The 80 front has still not arrived so I borrowed my wife's 60mm front.
Here is what I found (I'm 172 lbs and riding a P3X, 60mm front, disc in back.):
- In crosswinds up to 15 mph I was perfectly comfortable.
- In crosswinds 15-20 mph I was initially pretty skittish but got comfortable after 45 minutes. After 2 or 3 rides I am very comfortable and am definitely faster on this setup.
- Over 20 mph it starts to get questionable if I am faster with the deep front or not. During a heavy gust I will sometimes pause in pedaling or come out of the aerobars.
- Over 25 mph I am so uncomfortable with the deep front that a shallow front would definitely be faster. With a deep front I spend a lot of time out of the aerobars.
- It isn't actually the wind speed that makes much difference, it is the variability. You ride along beside some trees and have 0 wind, then the trees end and you are suddenly hit with a 25 mph crosswind. Or you are riding across wide open fields and doing OK with a 20 mph wind, then get hit with a 30 mph gust.
- The disc wheel feels "different" in heavy winds but never scary. There were a couple of moments that I could have sworn it felt like a sail. A few moments that I could feel a sideways pressure, but mostly, I just forgot it was there.
At this point, I doubt that the 80mm front will be significantly different than the 60mm front but I will update this post if I ever get the wheel.
OK, I finally got the 80mm front and have ridden it for a couple of weeks. There really isn't much difference between a 60mm front and an 80mm front. The wind speed today was 14 mph gusting to 22 mph. The workout today was 5x4-minute intervals at 105% FTP. I only came out of the aerobars once due to the wind. It wasn't "fun" but I was able to do the whole workout. After about 45 minutes I felt a lot more comfortable. This is probably the breakpoint where I might go with a shallower wheel for a race.
Last edited by:
tomljones3: Sep 22, 21 12:31