If you already have h3's, I would probably do: 606 clydes, sell you rear H3 and buy a disc.

The Jets should prove to be stiffer and longer lasting considering their construction.

I don't have any specific data to the Hed's but the Mavic Cosmic Carbone's which are of similar construction (al rim with carbon fairing) tested significantly stiffer than the 808s.

Shamless Bump.

i too am a bigger guy (200 lbs). i bought a zipp 404 cyclocross (was told my the lbs that is pretty much the same as the 404 clydesdale). i've got less than 200 race miles on it and the thing cracked. i posted here, and it set off small debate about performance vs. durability. some people seem to think you can't get both. other's say you should expect both for that price. whatever- all i know is the thing broke. i took it back into the lbs last saturday, and now i'm just waiting to see if zipp covers it under warrantee.

i guess when you pay that much, the thing i expect most is customer support. if zipp takes care of it, i'll be a loyal customer. if not, and i have to replace it, you can bet i won't be buying zipps anytime soon.

I'm also just over 200 lbs and I ride a set of HED tri-spokes. If isn't broke don't fix it. I love my tri-spokes, and the reason I don't buy Zipps is that I don't think they are made to withstand my weight, and the crappy road surfaces I ride on. The performance gain that you might get is minimal compared to other improvements you can make, and this improvement won't do you any good in a race if you're on the side of the road with a cracked wheel. If you're big, go for bombproof before ultra-high performance.

Other wheels that I've found are relatively bombproof, but that still perform well are Mavic Kysrium SSCs and Cosmic Carbones. The Kysriums are a great road/training wheel, but I think the tri-spokes are a better performing wheel than the Cosmic Carbones. (My personal experience only - no data to back this up.)

I rode a lot of years (we, about 5...) on Zipp wheels with no problems. Didn't even use the Cydesdale version. I've also had the Hed 3 wheels and they were great. Probably the best wheels for training and racing. It's hard to imagine destroying them.

After reading some of the responses, I'm considering a set of the full carbon tri spokes. I don't guess I can get a clincher in them but it would make for a lighter wt. set for the hilly courses. The more I think about it, I guess I've never had big problems with cross winds riding my H3's.
Is Hed coming out with a "next generation" Tri spoke soon?

They just started using a new lighter rear hub.

I was considering some of the same wheel options you are as I am also a 200lb rider. Based on my email conversations with a HED Tech, the H3's you already have are faster than their JET wheels. He made it very clear I would be foolish to give up the speed benefits of the H3's, especially on terrain with rolling hills where their stiffness really come in to play for faster climbing. As far as windy conditions go, what are your concerns with the H3's? I am 50lbs lighter than you, and I have never felt that I was out of control or had a loss of handling because of stiff cross winds. Maybe I'm incorrect on my assumption, but at your weight, I would think that a heavy cross wind would have less of an effect on your handling compared to a smaller rider in the 160-180lb range. Where I seem to loose speed and sap my energy is on a stiff head wind because I have a lot more mass to push through the air. I would imagine you experience the same. Unfortunately, I don't think there is a wheel available that will shrink my Clydesdale body into a more aero postion.

tbro

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Your right about the crosswind thing. I had responded to my own post saying that the more I think about it, I've never had issues with my H3's and crosswinds. I'm thinking that the best upgrade would be the full carbon H3's. Might be fun to have for the real hilly courses. It would seem kind of dumb in a way to have two sets of Tri Spokes though.

You're right. Please send one set to me.

If you're dead set on new wheels, how about a carbon tri-spoke up front and a Renn disk in the rear?

I have owned h3's in the past and currently race on 606's--440's and team csc's. I just did IMLP at 260 lbs and yes I am 14 feet tall (proper BMI).
h3's are totally bomb proof-period but heavy.

the 606 I have are laced with chris king hubs 28 spoke. 1500 grams for the set. I did imfl last year a bunch of tt's and some road racing. Zipps are plenty beefy if laced properly.

My suggestion is to find a good hand builder and lace up a set of 808's to 28 hole with dt-swiss 240's or if you want to get sexy then the ceramic option 190's. the wheels will be plenty durable if you do not run into stuff-light and fast as anything out there.

and they will probably be cheaper than over the counter zipps with better hubs.

k

SuperClyde, love the screen name by the way, I'm getting off my own topic here but what brand bike do you have? You said you were tall. I'm 6'6". Bought a Roark last September and have loved it. Just curious to know what other big guys are riding too.

I have a yellow '07 Dual with naked H3's for that nice "stealthy" look. The only problem is, I can't figure out how to get it into "Stealth Mode" like other STer's have posted. Maybe it's a "Back to the Future" type thing when Marty has to hit 80mph in the DeLorean. I guess I'm just not pedalling fast enough.

Your Roark sounds nice. Even though my bike is brand new, I find myself lusting for other bikes, especially titanium. Cervelo's are great, but they have become the Trek of triathlon bikes. You can't knock down a bike rack in transition without half of them being Cervelos. I like to have something different than everybody else. I'm jealous.
Do you have any pics of your Roark?

tbro

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This might be my favorite topic next to wheels. I am not all that tall 6'0 to be exact but I currently ride

Tri or TT-- Guru Crono d/a
Long road comfort-- Serotta nove d/a
crit and climbing type stuff--Look 595 ultra record

I am currently lusting after a Parlee road bike
i would like to get rid of the look and build a 14 lbs parlee.

Kevin

I've got pics but they are on my personal Laptop. I'm using the work computer as I type here. I could e-mail you some, I think. Haven't figured out how to post pics on the ST Forum.

It's not as hard as people make it out to be. Tinypic works real well. Just publish the pics
you have saved on your computer. It's a free service, and you don't even have to create
an account. After you load your files in Tinypic, copy the url created by Tinypic, click the little
mountain icon in the upper right hand corner of the ST message screen, paste the link,
and hit submit. The picture should magically appear.

tbro

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Why don't you try another strategy first. And....you know what I am talking about.

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http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=4zldn4j

Wow! it worked. Thanks for the help!
This is a picture from last fall, as you can tell by the date. I changed to a Adamo saddle since this was taken. I'll get some updated pics in a day or so. I'll try to post those in a thread I started last fall shortly after I got the bike. I had posted my rave review of the bike with no pics. A no no I soon learned.

Huh?

think about it!

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Actually it did not work. ;-)

You need to use this link instead: http://i12.tinypic.com/4zldn4j.jpg

The head tube on that frame looks like it's a foot long!!! The geometry on your bike is very interesting. It has a very
"stretched" look to it with the long head tube, seat stays, seat tube, and little chain stays. It is a very nice bike, and
looks fast. How was the Roark buying experience?

tbro

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Proud Member of the Cervelo Mafia

Yes, that's one big head tube. It's 27 cm long, which is about 10.5 inches. It does look stretched because it is! lol I'm 6'6" with a proportionally shorter torso, so the frame is stretched up, more than horizontal. The top tube is about 59.5 cm.

The "experience" was absolutely great. I went to Indianapolis and had a bike fit by Roark's goto guy Verne LeMere. I figured if I was going to spend the money, I was going to do it right. I've got some great bike shops where I live with very capable people, but I felt that using someone that Roark works with on a regular basis would be better. I'm sure Roark has had wonderful results working with local bike fitters though. Roark really built the frame with me in mind, from the geometry to the tubing selection. I was actually ready to purchase their full aero model which is more expensive, but they felt the the regular aero would be stronger for my size. When I did my bike fit I weighed about 280, now about 265. The bike turned out plenty stiff yet not harsh. The bike has enabled me to ride longer, more comfortably, faster. Riding more has helped my running too. Because I can ride longer, I've been able to drop weight without the pounding on the knees and ankles. So, that eventually lets me run more often and longer. The whole process builds on itself. When I'm down to my target weight of 240-250 I'd love to go bake and get a full aero bike, just for the cool factor!
Oh, another note on Roarks attention to detail or should I say to show how much they care about what they make. I got the bike last September. Kevin from Roark contacted me a few days before Memphis (where I live) in May Tri this year (where they have a booth at the expo) and told me to bring my bike by the booth because he had some bigger decals for my down tube. He said he wasn't fully satisfied with the ones he put on originally.