Front Wheel selection for lighter rider (60mm or 40mm)

Triathlon Forum
1

I have a set of HED 90 and find racing in windy conditions very difficult to stay in the TT position. I wanted to get a front wheel for windy days
and my choices are a used Zipp 303 (40mm) or a new HED 60mm stinger. I weigh 140 lbs and race Half to Sprint Triathlons.
Which would best serve as a windy race wheel?

2

I think the Zipp 404 would be best, but the 60mm HED rim will be fine also. The Zipp 303 is lighter than either, but not as aero. (I’m about to post a FS ad in the classifieds for a brand new 404 built on a DT Swiss 240s hub, by the way.)

3

Brian, clearly the best wheel for a windy day would be the 40mm wheel over the 60mm wheel. There’s less surface area so in the cross winds you won’t get pushed around as much. Once you’re under 50 it should feel far more manageable for you - there’s a Hed Jet 50 made that’s great too. And…yes…you’ll loose a touch of “aero-ness” which is a crime against nature in this forum but you’ll probably find greater relaxation, comfort and the ability to put more power into making the bike go forward over keep it upright.

Ian

4

Go with the Hed 60mm. 40mm is a road race wheel. I road 58mm 404’s for years, and never once had a handling issue.

5

With the all the talk about deep wheels, both male and female fastest times at Kona were on 50mm Heds. In fact, isn’t it Brett Sutton who made a statement about AG’ers slowing themselves down with deep wheels? Depends how windy. really windy I’d go with 40mm. You can pick up something like Real Design 40mm quite reasonable on ebay.

6

I would take a look at your position and your handling skills and figure out why you are having trouble with the 90. Heck of a lot cheaper and faster to just figure out how to ride the 90.

Here’s the flaw in your logic. You assume that going from a 90 to a 40mm or 60mm will magically fix the problem. I would suggest that you will still have a problem staying in the TT position in windy conditions, because the problem is not the front wheel depth.

7

I’m a fairly smaller/ligher rider.

I used a Jet 90 rear and a HED3 front in some very windy conditions in '08.
This year I’m purchasing a Jet 60 for the front but for a different reason. I’m really looking for a lighter wheel for climbing.

jaretj

8

I would take a look at your position and your handling skills and figure out why you are having trouble with the 90. Heck of a lot cheaper and faster to just figure out how to ride the 90.

Here’s the flaw in your logic. You assume that going from a 90 to a 40mm or 60mm will magically fix the problem. I would suggest that you will still have a problem staying in the TT position in windy conditions, because the problem is not the front wheel depth.
Spot on. If you can’t hold position on a 90, then reducing the fairing depth is probably not the solution. Two things to remember: (1) over the course of a ride the aerodynamic advantage of a deep rim can be completely negated by a comparatively short period of crosswinds, and (2) the least aerodynamic thing about a bike is the rider.