for those of you that run a disc wheel. do you train with it or just swap it in for races?
I’ll take it for a training ride before an upcoming race where I will be using it.
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I mostly ride inside, but for outside I only have the disc wheel. Its fine, its fun, the only thing scary is to transport it, not to train with it.
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I train with my mine on long rides during the last block or two before a race. I try to emulate race day as much as possible so I use race day everything, including nutrition, aero helmet, tri suit, and disc wheel. A fair amount of triathletes live in my area, so it’s not uncommon either. Plus, I paid a lot for this stuff so I might as well use it.
I only have one set of wheels on my TT bike, 90/disc. So, when I ride outside, I ride with disc. Though, I mostly ride my TT on the trainer and regular outdoor rides on my road bike. I do outdoor rides on the TT bike leading up to a race, and that is always in full race configuration.
In the summer I like to do at least couple of rides with the disc, partly just because it is fun and you sound fast! But I use a rim brake bike otherwise I probably would use the disc all the time!
I purposely train without the disc wheel because I already look enough like an astronaut without it.
And with the TT bike I’m already too fast for most of the roads in the area (unless I go on major roadways full of cars) so I actually prefer being a little slower.
Besides you feel the wind more without the disc wheel so you train better handling without.
But I chose a disc wheel that is easy to swap (same brand) with my other rear wheel but that’s maybe not as much of an issue if you have disc brakes.
I do make sure I try it at least once before races.
Only if you want to show off or scare somebody, making a lot of noise, when passing them in training 
which is why HED Disc Wheels are boring …
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Yes it’s very pedestrian sounding.
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One of my tri bikes only has a Hed H3+/Disc+ combo. I don’t have any other rim brake wheels left.
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You can train with the disc all the time. There are 2 main drawbacks. The first one which is most annoying is that it can be annoying to get the pump head into the cutout. This gets annoying quick with latex tubes which require reinflation daily. The other one is that you might need a different length stem tube than your typical backup, since discs require the short-stem - thus if you’re keeping a 80-100mm stem tube as your backup, you have to carry a separate short stem tube in case of flat. Or you can just carry the short stem but have a long extender.
For me, the difficulty with inflating the disc daily (latex tubes) got annoying enough that I chose to save it mostly for race day.
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never.
I set it up preseason and ride it around the block, take it off, stick it in the closet and every few weeks add air and spin it. Maybe add sealant halfway through the season.
Then usually put it on the day before the race, ride it around the parking lot or block to make sure everything is working.
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No.
I never train on a race-only wheelset (Zipp Super9, 808 front).
I expect my race wheelset, tires, cassette, etc. to be in like-new condition for race day.
There’s way too much risk vs reward training on a disc.
I dont want to flat or prematurely wear tires.
I don’t need a flying rock from another cyclist’s or car tire compromising the wheel.
I’ve been using the same DuraAce race day-only cassette for several seasons as it has such minimal wear.
I do cycling time trials to get accustomed to the slightly different handling with the Zipps. But this is probs more psychological than anything else.
No input on this thread but do have a semi related question:
How do disc wheels handle with cars? I’m debating using one next year for a long 200mile+ ride which will have traffic. I’m not worried about the normal handling but unsure if cars passing may cause inconsistent handling.
Depends a lot on your weight. IMO a wider front is what gets you “sucked in” by bypassing cars, trucks & busses (the worst)
I ride a lot on a flat highway, where cars & truck pass by at 90-100kmh at reasonable distance (say 2.5m+) and have no issues with a disc wheel.
I would´t train or race anywhere (and with any setup) where cars would pass me at a closer distance.
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You’ll notice an 80mm front wheel before you notice the disc with the wash from cars
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I don’t train with race day wheels. HED Vanquish disc rear/DT Swiss front. Will put on couple days before race day and short ride to ensure all working ok. Do not want to put wear and possible tear on both wheels and tires. Thats what training wheels/tires are for.
You can’t true a disc wheel
Spoked based ones you can.
