Hi gang
I’ve been really torn about this and tried to somewhat test it out but with all the variables it’s quite hard to gauge. I’ve got a stock pair of Shimano R500 wheels on my Cervelo P2 and recently got a pair of aero 80mm carbon wheels. The rear R500 weighs 61oz (1730 grams) and the carbon weighs 64oz (1815grams ). I’m guessing the front carbon wheel is also 3oz (85grams) heavier so in total, I’m carrying around 6oz more in weight for the advantage of an 80mm aero wheel.
My goal race this year is the Muskoka 70.3 in Huntsville, which is generally hilly but mostly rolling. (elevation map: http://c205273.r73.cf1.rackcdn.com/2010/09/bike.jpg) and although I know on a flat course, the more aero the wheel the better, I’m wondering if i’m cancelling the aerodynamic effects by lugging these wheels up some steep hills.
So generally speaking, on a hilly or rolling course, does the aero advantage of an 80mm deep dish carbon wheel beat out the weight issue?
R500s are dogs… any difference (minimal) you experience going uphill because of the weight will be more than made up going down, unless you ride brakes.
Hey Jackmott… thanks for the site… which of the toolkit widgets would I use to find that out? At the end of the day, you post kind of answers it… and it’s not like I’m in tip top weight all the time… losing an extra 6oz for race day isn’t all that hard to do.
Hey Jackmott… thanks for the site… which of the toolkit widgets would I use to find that out? At the end of the day, you post kind of answers it… and it’s not like I’m in tip top weight all the time… losing an extra 6oz for race day isn’t all that hard to do.
The answer to this question is ALWAYS: **Go with the deepest wheels you own; or can beg, borrow, or steal. **
Always.
There is likely no hillier multisport event than American Zofingen. I have used a Jet90 front and disk cover rear for the last several years.
I seem to do OK there. All the other fast doodes do likewise with their wheel choices.
The negligible and meaningless “weight penalty” while climbing is MORE than made up for on the descents and flat(ter) sections.
I wonder if we could beg Damon to do a “col de tipping point” for wheels like they did for frames.
The kind of climb it took for an S3 to be the same speed as an R3 was absolutely mad. and that was uphill only.
The answer to this question is ALWAYS: **Go with the deepest wheels you own; or can beg, borrow, or steal. **
Always.
There is likely no hillier multisport event than American Zofingen. I have used a Jet90 front and disk cover rear for the last several years.
I seem to do OK there. All the other fast doodes do likewise with their wheel choices.
The negligible and meaningless “weight penalty” while climbing is MORE than made up for on the descents and flat(ter) sections.
Eh, personally I’d run the aero wheels…but maybe bring the other set in case its forecast to be super windy the day of your race. I’ve raced in conditions I wished I had my regular profile wheels on for. A day where it was 25 knots gusting to 35 at an angle to the course comes to mind. I raced on a set of borrowed 1080s that I had been using for a couple of weeks. Anyway, I found out for me a partial tail/crosswind is the worst direction to have strong wind from. That was the whole return trip on the course. Not safe or effective at least at my skill level to be on 1080s there…and I was a junior and cat 4/5 racer for a few years way back when so I am not a complete novice rider. Anyway, I was spending most of my time on the pursuit bars and was all tense from the intermittent big blasts coming across the road. Any extra speed I was getting was pretty useless I’d say. I am sure some of it depends on the rim profile too but clearly the 1080s weren’t a good choice for me that day.
That said, I did see another guy on a 1080/disk combo who did just fine (or said he did) managing on the same day (guy smoked the field if I remember correctly). I know my limits, I’ll be bringing backups to events where high wind is a possibility. I bought a 1080/808 combo and I can run it up to about 20 knots of wind pretty comfortably (maybe a little more if its steady or straight head/tail to the course), any higher and I go to a rolf conventional front wheel.
