Anyone have any feedback on Nimble Crosswind wheels? Friend of mine said she has experienced great results so I thought I would see what the forum thought?
Thanks…
I had a set that I used from 1998 through 2005. They were a very good, durable, fast wheelset, I only sold them because I wanted a cool looking set of Zipp 808’s.
I use one as the front wheel with a disk in the back. Tubular, 700c. Its a nice wheel and with the hub kit you can change the hub and make it a rear wheel or a front wheel or Shimano to Campy. I contacted the Nimble company (www.nimble.net) a few weeks ago to see about switching the bearings from steel to ceramic but have yet hear from them.
I have used the wheel for over years now. I bought it used from the slowtwitch classifieds and have ridden it only about 150 miles. I prefer the Crosswind over my Zipp 404.
The Nimble website it dated as far as the aero comparisions are concerned. It only compares the crosswind to three other wheels. I would like to see more as to how it compares with some more recently developed wheels such as the Zipp 808, Xentis, etc…
There are some posts on the Crosswind on this forum if you use the search engine and type in Crosswind.
Yes…The rear was a bit too flexy for me.
I have a set in 650c tubular.
I have a lot of wheels. Zipp 404/disc, HED DEEPs, Lew Palermos, etc. I feel like the Crosswinds are the most versatile set in the bunch.
As with the HED 3 and other multi-spoke carbon front wheels, they should be used with a wide-blade aero fork for best results. Yes, it does make a very big difference.
Chris
I’ve been using nimbles all this year and really rate them. They replaced a set of Bonty Carbon Aeros as I wanted a wheel that I could pack easier in my bike bag when travelling. I can’t say whether they perform well in severe crosswinds but I used them at South Africa earlier in the year and they were fine and they climbed well at Ironman France. I used them on the dragstrip Busselton course as well w few weeks back but with a disc rear and again…no complaints at all…
My training partner had a pair until he broke his front in a road race crash. After that he borrowed my race wheels (pair of Easton Carbon Tempest II) for a TT the next weekend since his were being repaired and said he felt significantly faster on my wheels than he did on his. Nothing scientific, but he said it felt dramatic to him for whatever that is worth.
-Brandon
I bought a set several years ago and have used them on and off for TT’s and on the track. The hubs swap out, so it is very easy to switch back and forth.
Now I’m the the kind of guy that spends tons of $$$ going through a lot of equipment. I just get the best stuff I can at the time and ride it for as long as I can. So I can’t compare them to every other deep rim or tri spoke out there. What I can tell you is that they are very fast and add on a couple of miles an hour over my regular spoked wheel under similar conditions. I’ve turned in some pretty respectable 40K times with them on a road bike and they work well on the track too.
I can hardly wait to use them this season on my new Cervelo. I’m hoping to bring my 40K time under 55 minutes.
I think John Cobb discussed them, somewhere and found them less aero than H3 and 404s and more prone to problems in crosswinds…I think??
No I haven’t.
However have been doing a fair bit of training on my Xentis race wheels. With the the cross wind at the right angle and right wind strength, they are really humming. Haven’t read the rest of the thread but it seems like a windmill and they seem to glide along that little bit easier.
Do you have a link to that John Cobb comment, Doc? I bought a front and then a rear about 5 years and have always been intrigued that there don’t seem to be any figures available other than those of Nimble . Like many wheels there are loads of anecdotes out there but not much in the way of credible stats.
FWIW, I really like mine but wonder at how aero they are with the varying depth rim.
I’ve been using nimbles all this year and really rate them. They replaced a set of Bonty Carbon Aeros as I wanted a wheel that I could pack easier in my bike bag when travelling. I can’t say whether they perform well in severe crosswinds but I used them at South Africa earlier in the year and they were fine and they climbed well at Ironman France. I used them on the dragstrip Busselton course as well w few weeks back but with a disc rear and again…no complaints at all…
GREAT looking bike!