My wife is 5'3" 120 lbs and going to do the ironman az in 07. She has never had a deep sided wheel before. I was hoping to buy her a set of zipp 404,606 or 808's for her birthday. I was wondering if the extra weight and surface area of the 808/606's cause problems with cross winds and hill riding, or should I just look at the aero properties? It's not that windy that often where we live. Any female or guy with experience or opinions, I'd love some feedback. Thanks.
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Re: Zipp Wheels [brew]
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My wife weighs 125. She rides a disk and a Jet 60 (basically the same as a 404). She has never had a problem and we live in Oklahoma where it is dang windy. I think bad handling of aero wheels is WAY, WAY, WAY overrated... Then again, my wife isn't a chicken sh*t either, so that might help.
Personally I think the 606 would be a good choice for most women. A 909 set would be better, but it is going to take awhile before the majority of women start riding disks. Just in the last two years though, the number has increased significantly.
Hills are fairly irrelevant for triathlons. The teeny bit of extra weight of a 606 set versus something less aero just isn't a factor compared to the aero differences.
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Justin in Austin, get it? :)
Cool races:
- Redman
- Desoto American Triple T
Personally I think the 606 would be a good choice for most women. A 909 set would be better, but it is going to take awhile before the majority of women start riding disks. Just in the last two years though, the number has increased significantly.
Hills are fairly irrelevant for triathlons. The teeny bit of extra weight of a 606 set versus something less aero just isn't a factor compared to the aero differences.
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Justin in Austin, get it? :)
Cool races:
- Redman
- Desoto American Triple T
depends on her bike handling abilities, what she's comfortable with (a lot of women seem to look at disks as a bit too much for them) and here ambitions (will she/can she do Kona?).
If she's not all that confident on a bike and you live in a windy area, maybe a 303 front and a 404 rear. Set a friend of mine up on this (107lbs or so) and she loved them even in Kona.
If she's a pretty good bike handler and is up to the challenge (it's really not that big of a challenge) then a set of 404s or a 909 setup. In a tri the handling difference in the wind is minimal as the rear disk doesn't affect steering at all, it just nudges the bike around a slight, very slight bit.
The 606 wheels are cool but honestly unless she's doing non-disk legal races (Kona, Honu 70.3) I just don't see the point for a triathlete. But then again the speed gain from a 606 to 909 is probably nill so if she is at all scared by disks maybe the 606 would be perfect.
808s or 999s, hmm, she's a bit light for that. She'd probably never have any problems, but you never know. I have some friends who have no problems with their 808s when it's windy and then other 135lb skinny friends who live in fear of their 999 setups in the wind. Just depends on how you ride.
Anyways good luck:) Oh and discuss with her before buying:) And if she needs color coordinated decals to match her bike, PM me of course!
If she's not all that confident on a bike and you live in a windy area, maybe a 303 front and a 404 rear. Set a friend of mine up on this (107lbs or so) and she loved them even in Kona.
If she's a pretty good bike handler and is up to the challenge (it's really not that big of a challenge) then a set of 404s or a 909 setup. In a tri the handling difference in the wind is minimal as the rear disk doesn't affect steering at all, it just nudges the bike around a slight, very slight bit.
The 606 wheels are cool but honestly unless she's doing non-disk legal races (Kona, Honu 70.3) I just don't see the point for a triathlete. But then again the speed gain from a 606 to 909 is probably nill so if she is at all scared by disks maybe the 606 would be perfect.
808s or 999s, hmm, she's a bit light for that. She'd probably never have any problems, but you never know. I have some friends who have no problems with their 808s when it's windy and then other 135lb skinny friends who live in fear of their 999 setups in the wind. Just depends on how you ride.
Anyways good luck:) Oh and discuss with her before buying:) And if she needs color coordinated decals to match her bike, PM me of course!