There is logical deduction and scientific reasoning. Neither of which can be done with such little information on the wheels

Agreed on all fronts but I have to bring up again the fact that Lance used the wheel. Remember when Lance was told way back in the day to use a certain wheel because it was faster and he didn't buy into and used something else. Lance tends to be very very picky re equipment selection so the fact that he used the wheel lends credence to him believing it is faster regardless of whether it is or not. Lance used rebadged tires in the past, rebadged bikes, etc so Lance likes to ride what is fast or what he feels is fast. Same holds for Lieto more so than other pro triathlete IMO.

You are absolutely correct in that I am not sure on specifics of yaw angles and such. Regardless Lieto used it at Galveston on day with extreme high winds - crosswinds to be exact. IMO if Lieto thought his Aeolous 9.0 was faster then he would have used it.

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Yeah, I mentioned before that perhaps a lower depth is more manageable than a deeper one at extremely high yaw and wind intensity. A deeper wheel may still have less drag in that condition, but being blown all over the place and having to struggle to keep it straight may use more energy and be slower in the long run. In that case, a 404 FC may also very well be better than a 808 FC. Too many variables to tell. But being blown around can easily affect rhythm and result in a clear choice in wheels.

I really appreciate the feedback and I will certainly consider it for next time, but I think you are still missing the point. Just like you read an aero report regarding your disc cover, I was told by a very reputable source that the wheel is faster than anything Zipp has. It is the same thing IMO. You may be tempted to bring up the fact that "ohhh my report is independent analysis".... and I will say well how do you actually know that, maybe there is some sort of fraud in the report or study. And you say "well I have other evidence that supports it". Well that is all fine and dandy and yes athletes can be swayed and moved by their sponsors but I have no reason to believe the statement made was a false statement. Maybe over time it will turn out to be just that but as of right now I am intrigued by the wheel. I am a loyal Zipp owner but I am intrigued by the wheel.

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Lieto descends from Hawi with a 90mm front in the past. The tricky thing about Hawi is the gusts and the cutouts and not the sustained winds. Granted it is a championship race, but if he is willing to go deep there than he should be willing to go deep anywhere and that is why I made the statement he got to have his cake and eat it too. If it was faster for the conditions he got the added bonus as it should have also been *easier* to handle. Time will tell what comes of this wheel.

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Maybe it was faster because it was easier to handle and is made to be easier to handle. Thought of that? Maybe without high crosswinds, a deeper wheel will dominate. Maybe he doesn't get to have his cake and eat it too. Who knows, maybe because of this we'll see him on the 50mm rim at Kona this time. This is all conjecture both yours and mine. Having multiple sources that show at least some form of testing protocol and transparency and data should always outweigh what a single "trustworthy" source says (and doesn't even show you the data itself). You may be right, but the probability is against you. Independence is nearly impossible to prove, but sources that are considered to be so have significantly less reason to show bias than a manufacturer trying to prove its technology or market it. Now we're starting to get into motive ;) Let's keep it at that as things get messy. I haven't done any personal tests myself, but according to your logic, we should all do our own testing and only believe our own (to truly make it independent). Or we should believe all of it as they are all equal. If in history we all believed that "one trustworthy guy" instead of an entire plethora of sources that say otherwise, we'd be thinking some stupid thing like the earth is the center of the universe