I’ve had a few post about disc wheels here recently and received some good info. I’m happy to say I’m now the proud owner of a 2008 Williams Disc wheel which is a non dimpled Zipp (I’ll be selling my rear PX 101 soon) So my next question is on the front wheel. Right now I’m using a PX82 wheel as well as I have a 60mm carbon clincher I can use for ultra windy days.
Step one was the disc, step tow is thinking about selling the PX82 front and replacing it with a Tri Spoke Front. My question is…will this make much of a difference? If not, I’m happy keeping and using the PX wheel but if I can still have something to gain switching to a tri spoke front - I’ll gladly make the switch.
I run a Trispoke up front and if you look at the charts on HED website you will see deeper wheels only have an advantage under very limited circumstances. 90% of the time the H3 will be the faster choice.
Plus as Jack Mott would say: “A disc is always faster”. So always use that disc.
I run a Trispoke up front and if you look at the charts on HED website you will see deeper wheels only have an advantage under very limited circumstances. 90% of the time the H3 will be the faster choice.
well maybe in 90% of yaw angles but if you spend 75% of your time in that 10-12 range…
I used to run HED3’s up front. I now run either a PX101 or a Reynolds 46. Depends on the course and the weather. I like the deep spoked wheels better then the HED3’s for 2 reasons. Most of my riding around here is very hilly and the HED3 does not work well with all the climbing. Second, the spoked wheels are much more compfy, I find I no longer need to “move around” on my bike to stay compfy. The HED3 was a harsher ride. Not moving around saves time! I think it saves more time then the spokes lose.
OH, Don’t sell the 101 rear. I use mine when the disc is not the “best option”. Wind during high speed descents or turns, climbing, switchbacks. There will be times you’ll wish you had that 101 rear. I ran it in a race recently and I beat a guy that normally beats me when I run a disc. I put near 6 minutes into him in 15 miles using that 101 rear. The race was windy and very hilly…7 miles up and 7 miles down. Speeds on the way up were about 6-10 miles per hour. No way I’m pulling that disc UP 7 miles. I think running the 101 on that day on that course in those conditions was the right choice.
Paul, your comments on the disk vs. the 101 were interesting. I seem to remember Zipp claiming the non-dimpled disc was 1080 grams, so I cheked the sites. PX101 is 1092 gms and the Williams disc is 1100. I doubt that 8 gms is noticeable on the hill and suspect that the disc is more aero.
My guess is that either the handling in the switchbacks is better, the spoked wheel is more comfortable, your nemesis had a bad day, or you had a great day.
Paul, your comments on the disk vs. the 101 were interesting. I seem to remember Zipp claiming the non-dimpled disc was 1080 grams, so I cheked the sites. PX101 is 1092 gms and the Williams disc is 1100. I doubt that 8 gms is noticeable on the hill and suspect that the disc is more aero.
My guess is that either the handling in the switchbacks is better, the spoked wheel is more comfortable, your nemesis had a bad day, or you had a great day.
What do you think?
I’m not Paul…but I think that your facts are getting in the way of a good anecdote
All I can say is that the 101 has improved my race times twice over the same route as the disc. YOU can take facts about weight and claims of aerodynamics and , I believe, for the regular guys, and throw lots of it away. There are plenty of other factors to consider when making a wheel choice. Its not all about weight and aerodynamics for the masses of triathletes. For me…taking into consideration lots of factors, as I’ve mentioned before, and the 101 will be faster then my disc, on my bike, on that one day.
In that race, I mentioned above, I had my disc in the car and decided to leave it there. No way did he have that bad a day and me that good a day. He will ride away from me, normally slowly: ), even with my disc and he does not use one. On this day, I gained over 5 minutes in just 15 miles.
