Okay it seems that there is a consensus that a disk is the best rear wheel but what is the best(fastest?) front wheel??
Trispoke(which one??) Zipp 808??? Zipp 404??? Other??? This is assuming reasonably flat course with light to moderate wind-average flat to rolling course-up to 40km long.
If you buy into the drag figures published on the Hed Cycling website an 80 mm deep front is just a trifle faster than a Hed 3.
I like either Zipp 999’s (disk rear and 808/ 80 mm deep front) or a Hed 3C and I am looking forward to trying the new Hed Carbonlite Disk when it becomes available.
Okay it seems that there is a consensus that a disk is the best rear wheel but what is the best(fastest?) front wheel??
Trispoke(which one??) Zipp 808??? Zipp 404??? Other??? This is assuming reasonably flat course with light to moderate wind-average flat to rolling course-up to 40km long.
Whichever one is on Lance’s bike. Going fast is almost all about the engine.
so that would be Bontrager? lol or do they have Nike labels now?
Doesn’t matter what Lance rides – the 808 is the fastest non-disc front wheel money can buy. Most importantly, it is the fastest wheel under all the real-world wind conditions you are likely to encounter.
The tri-spoke is dead technology.
I wouldn’t say “dead”…Ash…they (H3s/Trispokes) still have their merits. But they’ve finally been definitively surpassed.
I wouldn’t say “dead”…Ash…
You accusin’ me of exaggeratin’?
808
.
Are there any estimates on how much faster the 808’s are over the 404’s, if any??
Are there any estimates on how much faster the 808’s are over the 404’s, if any??
Why, as a matter of fact, I have been examining just that question this very day. Zipp has a paper here:
http://www.zipp.com/tech/documents/ANoteonRimWidth_002.pdf
What this means is that they are very close. 10-15-20 seconds over 40k, depending on your speed. At wider yaw angles, they appear to converge to the same drag. But, the 5 to 10 degree angles are of most interest, and the 808 is a little faster, according to Zipp.
The tri-spoke is dead technology.
I love my HED 3carbon. I’m not buying that an 808 is very much faster, if at all.
I’ve been wrong before, though.
I love my HED 3carbon. I’m not buying that an 808 is very much faster, if at all.
I’ve been wrong before, though.
They are quite close. See the Zipp link above (a few handsfull of seconds per 40k). I certainly wouldn’t switch wheels over it. But, if you don’t have a front race wheel, and you’re buying your first one…
If money is no object, what about the Mavic IO?
"what about the Mavic IO? "
no braking surface in the IO
if money is no object, get a 909 rear and 808 or H3C front
Funny thing is that when I was watching IMAZ, I saw plenty of guys with super aero bikes, super low, super fancy wheels, but terrible position on the bike and not staying in the aerobars when coming back into the wind.
Besides, I am not all that convinced that aero wise there is a significant difference between all these wheels, if at all…however, if you look at the bearings, then we may be onto something
and the fastest front wheel for a TT is like the rear one, it’s a disc.
but you gotta be able to handle it.
I bought the Hed 3C to go with my Corima disc. I got it primarily for next weekend’s Pole Pedal Paddle (Bend,OR) where there is a 24 mile leg with 2300’ vertical drop. If it’s really windy I’ll use my Reynolds DV-UL’s (which I highly recommend as great all-round race wheels). If I didn’t already have a pair of spoked wheels I might have considered the 808, but opted for something different…
PS: I scored an 18 and have a diagonally striped shirt. A customer thinks I’m gay as I wore a purple shirt with French cuffs!
ullrich paid for some expensive wind tunnel and velodrome testing in order for t-mobile to let him use the equipment he wanted last year…stella azzurra maris beat out everything else they put on his walser…don’t know if they had tri-spokes.
anyway,
jerk
I think this you are onto something here. I also have my doubts about front wheel differences/crosswinds/and all that blah blah blah. I think any differences are minimal between the various front wheel designs that are touted as fast, and I certainly think that in the real world for 99% of all triathletes it makes bugger all difference anyway. But, I think wheel manufacturers should be looking at other aspects, including bearings, but also looking at pawl design and power transfer in the rear wheel. And what happened to internal hubs?
Most technology, including almost all ‘new’ frame design, seems very derivative and designed only to sell bikes rather than actually allow people to go faster. I mean, IM times are static at best at the moment.
Having said all this, I ride a deep dish front, a rear disc, and a 5 spoke rear when in Kona, so I’m as much a consumer fool as anyone else.
Does that apply to all wind conditions though ? surely going byu their differences one is better is some yaws then others ?
Deads a little harsh. Maybe a different kind of option…