I race a size 48 P2 with 650c wheels, mostly over Olympic distances. I have the choice between older Zipp 404’s and Hed 3 Trispokes. I have a wheel cover for the Zipp. I almost always use Michelin Pro3 23mm tires. A couple of questions for those of you that know a lot more about these things:
My hunch is the Trispoke on front and the Zipp with cover on back would be the fastest, all things being equal. But that is just a guess. Is one set or combination vastly superior?
650c seems to really limit tire selection. I gather the HED really does its best work with a 19mm but I don’t think that is available. What is really the best all around 650c tire for the Zipp or the HED?
I ride 650c but with HED Jet 60s and I have been using the Continental Grand Prix 4000, 650x23 - primarily doing HIM & IM distance. I’ve never seen a 650x19 but I also haven’t looked.
Personally I would use the 404’s with the cover but it’s really splitting hairs between that and the HED 3 front.
The Michelin Pro 3 is a good tire but not the best. I like the way it mates up to the rims. The Pro 4 is also a good choice.
Of today’s choice of tires I would use a Conti GP4000SII front and back on the 404’s. They are really big tires compared to the PR3 and PR4 and you will have to adjust the rear axle stops so the tire will have enough clearance at the seatpost cutout.
If you decide to use the HED 3 then I would put either an SII or a PR4 on it. Again that is really splitting hairs though. Another tire choice for the HED 3 is the Vittoria Corsa CX320
Another thing you can do is use a latex tube in the tire. There are several of us that use a 700C latex tube tucked inside of itself to make it the right size.
An interesting tire I have not tried yet is the Schwalbe Ultremo ZX. It will probably be next year’s training tire to try out.
We just set my wife’s 650c sized Felt up with a power tap rear (training rim, wheel builder aero cover) and new HED Jet 60 front, and Ultremo tires (ST recommendation). Good aero, race day combo.
Is there anything else available in the 650c world that I should be considering that would not be splitting hairs at the Oly distance? I have considered the 700c latex trick but assumed the gains would not be appreciable considering a few seconds would probably not make or break my race.
Bontrager Aero TT 650X23 (if you can find them)
Conti GP 4000SII (big tire, low rolling resistence, very good all around tire)
Michelin Pro Race 650X23 (I have used the 3’s and 4’s very good all around tire)
Vittoria Corsa CX 320 650X21
Conti Supersonic in the 650 is not as good as it’s 700C brother as far as I’m concerned.
I have yet to ride on the Schwalbe Ultremo ZX but they look good.
Another tire I would like to try is the Bontrager R3. It appears to have the wings like the Aero TT but I have not ridden on them.
The latex tube thing is easy but other tubes I like are the Performance brand Forte tube which is really really thin and the Michelin ultra lite tube