Will a Hed Alps front wheel make me faster than riding my normal wheels which are Mavic Ksyruim’s? I know there is an aero difference in the wheels and I will be using them with a carbon road bike set up with clip on’s. Is getting a Hed Alps wheel worth it? I am undecided on the rear at this time. Any thoughts? (Hed Alp’s or stick with Ksyriums?) The reason I ask is that I am hesitant to purchase aero wheels like the Hed Alps due to reading some postings on this forum that say they don’t feel a huge advantage. Any advice is appreciated.
I just got a set of Ksyrium ES wheels, while not the lightest set made, they are bombproof and race proven, and I want a wheel that can take a beating in training and perform on race day.
Same with my Litespeed Vortex, not the lightest, but bomproof and proven.
- gary
Wells,
From a handling standpoint, it is not a great idea to put a wheel on the front (steerig end of bike) that has a large amount of surface area without at least doing the same to the rear wheel. An aero wheel (with significant surface area) on the front will be buffeted by wind while your rear wheel will not. This will create major handling issues unless you only ride in calm wind conditions.
For example, you will almost never see a rider with just an aero wheel on the front and non aero wheel on the rear. What you will see is disc wheel on the rear and aero wheel on the front.
Using the Hed3 trispokes as an example, a trispoke on the front will handle better with a disc on the rear (more surface area) that it will with another Hed3 trispoke on the rear. A trispoke on the front with a standard wheel on the rear is the worst handling set-up.
What kind of event?
If about an hour on flat roads, probably about 30-45 seconds, assuming speed about 23-24 mph. Is that huge - depends on where you are at now.
re: front versus rear - I do that all the time (super aero front and normal (powerTap) in the rear) and never notice. It’s only when it’s really windy that it really effects handling. Rear wheel doesn’t affect aerodynamics as much since it’s already in turbulence and shielded by the seat tube. The typical estimates are about one minute for a deep dish aero front versus a box section front and half a minute for a disk in the rear versus a box section rim in the rear.
These are excellent examples of why I asked this question. The handling I had not given a whole lot of thought, but I should think about a rear wheel set up like a tri spoke, disc or another Hed Alps on the rear if I do get the Hed Alps in the front which I think I may. Gary, I definitely agree with you as far as bombproof things go. I have had my Mavic’s for about 2-3 years now and they are the best wheels I have ever had. I have been buying Mavic wheels for a very long time and think they are all around the best wheels for durability. If I did not have any wheels I would probably buy the Mavic Ksyrium Elites for the money they are a great wheel. I just wanted to get some more aero wheels like the Alps. They seem like the best for the money that I can find. Should I just keep it simple and get another Hed Alps for the rear?
The Alps are pretty much the value play in bombproof aero wheels. There have been a number of discussions in this board recently about them; you might want to do a search. If you are going to go Alp front, you should either go Alp rear or tri-spoke. Both very good combinations in terms of aero and quality handling.