Hey everyone,
Gear questions abound. I currently have a Cervelo S2 which I use for road races/crits and tris/dus. For longer tris/dus, I have aerobars that I add as well. Although a tri-bike would be better for the tris and dus, I can't see myself riding it all that much day in and day out. I think for me, it's better to have a nice road bike and make due for tris and dus.
I have some Ksyrium SLs that I generally use for everything and like them. At a recent tri this past weekend, it was hard not to see the prevalence of carbon wheels (seems like upwards of 60-70% had them) and be envious. The SLs are good wheels, but I can't shake the thought of some tasty carbon. My questions are as follows: First, obviously a ton of road cycling pros use 404s. Are 808s either illegal for road races or would maybe the stiffer 404s be better? Secondly, obviously they are a lot of money. Are they really worth it? I found online a sale of 2011 Zipp 404s for about $1,600 which I thought was good and they have the aluminum braking track which is gone for 2012. Are the 2012 Firecrest 404s really worth an extra $1k? Lastly, what should you be evaluating a wheelset on prior to buying? If you take a test ride, what should you be looking for?
Thanks, I know those are a lot of questions.
Gear questions abound. I currently have a Cervelo S2 which I use for road races/crits and tris/dus. For longer tris/dus, I have aerobars that I add as well. Although a tri-bike would be better for the tris and dus, I can't see myself riding it all that much day in and day out. I think for me, it's better to have a nice road bike and make due for tris and dus.
I have some Ksyrium SLs that I generally use for everything and like them. At a recent tri this past weekend, it was hard not to see the prevalence of carbon wheels (seems like upwards of 60-70% had them) and be envious. The SLs are good wheels, but I can't shake the thought of some tasty carbon. My questions are as follows: First, obviously a ton of road cycling pros use 404s. Are 808s either illegal for road races or would maybe the stiffer 404s be better? Secondly, obviously they are a lot of money. Are they really worth it? I found online a sale of 2011 Zipp 404s for about $1,600 which I thought was good and they have the aluminum braking track which is gone for 2012. Are the 2012 Firecrest 404s really worth an extra $1k? Lastly, what should you be evaluating a wheelset on prior to buying? If you take a test ride, what should you be looking for?
Thanks, I know those are a lot of questions.