I made the decision to get a set of Head tri spoke wheels today, my bike is at the LBS for this at the moment, but i got last minute doubts: Should I go for the H3C tubular or the H3 clincher?, this will be my only set of racing wheels for now so I want to get it right; although they will be used mostly as race wheels I do intend to train with them every now and then just to get used to the feel of the 3-spoke and because honestly I don’t like the idea of a set of expensive wheels being used 4-6 times a year only (maybe I will change my mind later, but you never know).
So the question to all my fellow ST’ers is: are the H3C good for the occasional training session, or should I stick to the AL clincher H3 version?
If you don’t work on your own bike much, which I’m assuming is the case if you brought it in to have a new set of wheels put on, I would go with the aluminum rims so you don’t have to monkey around with changing brake pads when switching between training/racing wheels, or with tubular tires.
Good luck!
Actually the reason its at the Lbs is that I had them check my fitting, I then figured it was easier to pick up later with new wheels plus you are right I have not changed a tire ever as no flats!
Brake pads aside (which I read somewhere that with the H3C you don’t need to change?) any other views on the H3C suitability for the occasional training ?
My H3 clincher hasn’t come off the back of my bike in five years and 90% of the time the front stays on as well.
one more thing. I have heard about tri spokes having a bit of a wobble? the question is how much is normal? as they can’t be trued I am worry of any initial wobble that will affect the performance
one more thing. I have heard about tri spokes having a bit of a wobble? the question is how much is normal? as they can’t be trued I am worry of any initial wobble that will affect the performance
Yes, they wobble and I hate this. It is not a smooth ride. Compared to my Zipp 808 front wheel the H3 is “nervous”.
Frank
well i think it depends on how often “the occasional training sesson” on the new wheels is. If you’re going to ride them a few times before every race then the tubulars might suit you. If you plan on leaving them on the bike for a lot of riding definitely, without a doubt get the clinchers.
-first the clinchers are just so much easier maintenance wise as far as changing flats without the expense of changing an entire tire. With the benefits of tubulars so much in doubt these days I can’t imagine why you’d train on them unless you just want to look cool and have a monsterous budget for replacement tires.
-doesn’t sound like you’r eall that into bike work and with tubulars you need to periodically check the glue job and if and when you do get a flat it’s not just a 2 minute repair to get a new tire on there, even if you take it into the shop it’ll take a good day for them to reglue the tire and get it back to you, go with clinchers
-braking, you don’t NEED to change the pads for any carbon rims, but you’ll usually benefit largely if you do, carbon wheels, ALL carbon wheels also tend to brake like sh*t compared to a nice aluminum braking surface so for normal riding I can’t imagine you’d want to ride around on a pair of H3C’s although I’m sure after a while you’d just get used to it
-durability, H3 clincher is probably better
anyways, I’ve got a pair of H3c wheels showing up tomorrow as well which will get to moonlight as working wheels every race or so,in your case however, without a doubt get the clinchers.
I have the tubulars and have ridden the clinchers. The clinchers have a much better braking surface. Tire issues aside, I would buy the clinchers if I were given a “do over.”
So I am very happy with my new H3 clinchers, I raced last weekend on a Sprint race and really felt faster :-). I have a couple of questions though:
- When the rear wheel is moving I can see the cassette moving a bit side to side, I asked the shop and they told me all tri spokes have this horizontal movement, It doesnt seem to affect the smoothness of the shifter. Is this normal?.
- I can also see a slight uneven roll when placed on the bike stand, meaning the wheel is not perfectly round; again something I have not noticed when riding. Normal?
All in all the ride seems very good and makes me want to ride more and faster (so I guess they work) . I would like to post a picture but couldnt upload onto tinypic!
I’ve been riding HED3’s (clinchers) for many many moons. No problems. I ride them every day training and sometimes racing (I have HED front/Zipp disc for racing most of the time).
I had a HED3c front and rode it a few months before selling it. I did not like the feel of it. The aluminum felt better. I believe it was the weight of the rim. It did not track as well as the alum clincher version. Braking was not as good either. I would probably not buy it again…I’d stick with the alum version even if I went tubular again.
Both conditions are normal. If you get bored you can read some of the other threads about the nuances of the H3’s. On a side note, I noticed the cassette wobble shortly after I got my wheels and damaged the bearings slightly due to mechanical ignorance and am sending them back to Hed for some ceramic bearings this winter. I will let you know what I think of the bearings. Have fun.