Well today was my inaugural ride on my Williams 85 clincher set. I chose a windy day and a hilly 50 mile route. It took me a good 20 miles to get to where I could finally get used to really feeling the wind pushing the bike. After a bit though it wasn’t a big deal anymore. Still, i had to keep my head on straight. It was tough to get water/gu, because the wind was pushing while you were reaching. It’ll take some getting used to.
I felt faster, possibly a placebo… This was a new route so it’s hard to tell for sure. On flat stretches I was averaging 22mph, which is faster than usual. Still maybe a placebo.
I did notice something strange from the back end. I felt a bump bump bump like something wasn’t balanced or something. I’m hoping the wheel is true and it’s something else. Any ideas what it could be?
What wasn’t a placebo… I got two flat tires. One front and one back flat. I opted for the Willliams race tire and the Williams race tubes. Keith warned me that they’d wear and flat easier… welp, he wasn’t kidding. I think I’m not going to use those tires and tubes anymore. Two flats on the first ride? The front tire is toast, a good rip in it. I need something a little tougher. Any thoughts on what tire/tube combo I should get? Obviously I still want speed, but I want something tough as well.
Overall I was pleased with my first ride. It’s a work in progress, still a few kinks to work out on my end.
The wheels don’t play a large role in whether you have punctures, it’s mostly tires and tubes.
If you’re going to do a 50 mile training ride, why not use…say a continental gatorskin tire and save the race tires for race day ?
Yea I’m not blaming the wheels on the flats. Just stating that I might opt for something a little more beefy and sacrifice a bit of speed so I don’t get so many flats.
Try a wheel cover on the rear. It will stableize the bike in the wind. Any really deep wheel set can be a handful in the wind if both wheels are the same depth. A disc on the rear will move the center of pressure to the rear making it easier to handle the wind. It will also be faster.
Latex tubes are free watts, and ride a little nicer. I would not try swapping between training and racing tires though because latex tubes are really good at sneaking under the tire bead if not installed well.
I would guess you thump, thump noise is a poorly seated tire.
I use a heavier training tire during the winter and swap to race tires and latex tubes about March each year.
I have a Williams 85 rear and bought a wheelcover from Wheelbuilder and couldn’t make it work, contacted wheelbuilder and they said “yeah, we just put that wheel on the incompatible list.” So I just run mine without, still like the wheel. Had I known that it wouldn’t have worked, I would have bought a different wheel. Live and learn.
