Hello,
I haven’t received my economy stimulus money yet but I figure why wait, might as well get that economy moving right now! The two things I am interested in are a disc wheel and a watch.
As far as the disc wheel goes… I was going to wait to get one until my more important races come along later in the season, however, I found a race that suits me well in April. Most of the local sprints have a lot of turnarounds which destroys my time as I am not a very good bike handler yet. This race is an out and back with two turns so I should be in much better shape. Also, it is right along the beach which means there should be approximately a 5mph crosswind the entire race and according to HED yaw calculator that will lead to a 12-15degree wind angle. The specs on their disc wheel show the drag decreasing significantly as the yaw increases showing a 282 to 53gram difference at 15 degrees compared to a 28spoke wheel. (what is the conversion between grams and watts? I searched but couldn’t find any) Anyways, I am considering either the HED standard clincher or the Renn composite clincher. The Renn is 340g lighter which is appealing to me (WW). Is the torroidal shape of the HED worth the extra weight? Though I live in Florida now I am moving to Cali in may and will be dealing with hillier terrain. Also, the race is in 2 weeks so I would need it soon. Are either of these two backordered?
As far as the watch goes. Right now I have a garmin 305 and the problem I have is the lag in pace calculating. I live in south florida and the accuracy is pretty terrible at low speeds (compared to biking). I was wondering what your opinion of getting a watch that uses the shoe pod was so I can have my pace instantaneously. Also, I would want to be able to wear it during the swim/bike and have a decent amount of features. I haven’t used a watch with the shoe pod and was wondering what the drawbacks are. Should I stick with the GPS or go with the foot pod, and if food pod what is a good one?
The Renn is a great value IMO. I had the original Renn disc and now race on the 575 and have been extremely happy with it. It is fast, well made, and Frank offers great customer service. I’ll be riding the 575 this weekend at the Cali 70.3 which, if you’re moving to CA, should definitely be on your to do list for next year.
Can’t help you with the watch because I have a 305 and love it. With regards to your second question, I just ordered a Renn 575 last week and there is a 3 - 4 week lead time. And, for what it’s worth, Frank has been great with his customer service.
To me a disc is a disc. The 575 was priced right and relatively light (though of course it doesn’t matter) so it just seemed to be the right choice for me. Here’s a photo of my setup for this weekend. Obviously, I rebadged the disc to match my bars and H3 front.
wow you seem to know alot of technical stuff, you aare a beginer you say?/ anyways i got my disk on e bay for 500 bucks, sweet. i live in florida too. I love my garmin forrunner, it seems to work swell. i just wish i could swim with her
To me a disc is a disc. The 575 was priced right and relatively light (though of course it doesn’t matter) so it just seemed to be the right choice for me. Here’s a photo of my setup for this weekend. Obviously, I rebadged the disc to match my bars and H3 front.
Here is what my forerunner gives me when I am running at a constant pace…
I just find it aggrivating when my speed varies ± 1-2mph when I am trying to hold a pace += 1-2 seconds. I know the satellite coverage is terrible down here so maybe people don’t have this problem in other places? Also, I would like a watch I can use during the race to check my progress that isn’t as massive as the 305 but still has the same features that I can use when training.
As far is the technical data goes, I just don’t like how other people are going 25mph at 260w while I am fighting a 10mph headwind no matter what direction I am traveling it seems like.
