First time poster, so be gentle with me. I’ve got a disc/HED 3 combo for racing, which I like. However, the HED 3 makes me very nervous in gusts of wind. (Also, when trucks pass me at 60 mph while training on the wheels.) I’ve also got a rear HED 3 and I want to get a nice shallower front wheel for the front for training and very windy races (like Hawaii-type conditions.) I’ve thought of the Alps and Zipp 303. I want something more stable than the HED 3 but better than a really shallow rim. I don’t mind training on my racing wheels. Thoughts or suggestions? Thanks.
If you aren’t white-knuckled by the H3 and just want to back off the steering force a bit when it’s windy ALPs or ZIPP 400series would probably suit you just fine. I doubt you’d have to go down the the 303 unless you are really light, or have a twitchy setup to begin with.
Oh, one more thing: Welcome!
No need to change the disc. It’s the always the front wheel that is the problem. I’ve even noticed a big difference on windy days going from disc/Hed 60 to disc/Campy Shamal(38mm dish).
I’d suspect these two wheels are about the same in the wind tunnel but Hed does publish their aero specs on the website and the Alps is a very quick wheel, slower than the 3 but if more confidence inspiring that will more than make up for it.
Keep the trispoke for perfect conditions and get an Alps for windy days.
Matthew, one more thing. I used to run the H3 front/disc rear combo. After a search of Hed’s website, comparing deeper rimmed wheels to the H3, considering the apparent wind direction during actual riding conditions and factoring in a decrease in wind speed at the ground compared to at the level of the rider, I decided the H3 might not be as good as Hed’s deeper rimmed wheels. But, Hed’s deeper rimmed wheels are currently sort of, well, not attractive to me for various reasons. So, I tried the ZIPP 808, and I can tell you it definitely has less steering force in the wind than the H3. It MIGHT even be faster…if you believe Hed’s published wind tunnel numbers and all those factors I mentioned above. I just did two races where the wind was 20-30 mph with some higher gusts…I’m glad I didn’t have the H3 on the front on those days. Anyway, I eBayed my H3 for 3 and a half hundred, and bought the 808 on sale…out of pocket costs were less than a new ALPs, and now I have a front wheel I can ride in any condition that I’d consider to be rideable.
That’s why I say at least consider the 400 series over the 303…or, go with the ALPS…I think it has a deeper rim section than the 303…so, the ALPs is probably faster.