IMFL Disc or not disc ? 8 days to go and forecast is wind of 15mph

Still 8 days to go and forecast is saying 70º - 55º with wind of NNE 15mph.
What wheelset you would go ?

My options are :
404 / Disc
404 / 404

suggestions…
tks

Always the disc.
the more wind the better the disc is.

Let’s try this one again: Wind only affects your steering axis. The depth of your front wheel matters in the wind. A disc does not. Why won’t this myth go away!?!?!??!?!

I laughed last night when a friend of mine said “you need to be going 23 mph before a disc works well”…what about 22 mph? what about 15 mph? Why 23? haha.

People…please remember that air is a fluid you are moving through. It’s the shapes that matter not the speed!

That’s why I always post my tri doubts here in ST, you guys know everything and helping me.
I’m always learning…
Thanks.

That’s why I always post my tri doubts here in ST, you guys know everything and helping me.
I’m always learning…
Thanks.

The best part is you get an extra advantage on windy days when other people don’t bring the disc!

**the more wind the better the disc is. **

Indeed, when you get the sail effect going on with the right wind, when you are riding a disc it’s an extraordinary feeling!

I’ve had that a few times and that’s a “wow” feeling right there. That’s about as close as you’ll ever get to real Free-Speed" on a bike!

Let’s try this one again: Wind only affects your steering axis. The depth of your front wheel matters in the wind. A disc does not. Why won’t this myth go away!?!?!??!?!

I laughed last night when a friend of mine said “you need to be going 23 mph before a disc works well”…what about 22 mph? what about 15 mph? Why 23? haha.

People…please remember that air is a fluid you are moving through. It’s the shapes that matter not the speed!

i have heard the magical numbers for discs to work too. I think it was 20mph otherwise its a waste of time. 19.9mph? pffff, may aswell ride some mavic aksiums :wink:

i think the disc mentality comes from them not allowed to be used in kona

The biggest problem most people have is visualizing that air is a fluid. You are moving through a fluid. Once they can understand that, they seem to grasp how aerodynamics work

Always the disc.
the more wind the better the disc is.

This. Always disc.

I think below about 10 degrees of yaw, if i remember, discs had little performance advantage over a good 90mm wide rim wheel like an 808. I was looking at my BBS predictions and when I switched to a rear disc, at my average speeds with light winds, it was pretty minimal, like 15 seconds in a 70.3… and maybe 1 minute in a IM. Not worth the hassle of crack pipes, and cost of buying another wheel or messing with a cover… IMO.

But on a windy day, absolutely. Just practice using them in windy conditions get used to the sensation of being blown around a little.

Still 8 days to go and forecast is saying 70º - 55º with wind of NNE 15mph.
What wheelset you would go ?

My options are :
404 / Disc
404 / 404

suggestions…
tks

Not sure what forecast you’re looking at. I’m seeing SE winds at 5mph, gusting to 10mph.

That being said, go with the 404 rear if you’re in M40-44, otherwise go with the disc.

According to http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/USFL0393
M40-44…not planning to qualify:)
.

Let’s try this one again: Wind only affects your steering axis. The depth of your front wheel matters in the wind. A disc does not. Why won’t this myth go away!?!?!??!?!

I laughed last night when a friend of mine said “you need to be going 23 mph before a disc works well”…what about 22 mph? what about 15 mph? Why 23? haha.

People…please remember that air is a fluid you are moving through. It’s the shapes that matter not the speed!

i have heard the magical numbers for discs to work too. I think it was 20mph otherwise its a waste of time. 19.9mph? pffff, may aswell ride some mavic aksiums :wink:

i think the disc mentality comes from them not allowed to be used in kona

Anyone know why they are not allowed in Kona??

Let’s try this one again: Wind only affects your steering axis. The depth of your front wheel matters in the wind. A disc does not. Why won’t this myth go away!?!?!??!?!

I laughed last night when a friend of mine said “you need to be going 23 mph before a disc works well”…what about 22 mph? what about 15 mph? Why 23? haha.

People…please remember that air is a fluid you are moving through. It’s the shapes that matter not the speed!

i have heard the magical numbers for discs to work too. I think it was 20mph otherwise its a waste of time. 19.9mph? pffff, may aswell ride some mavic aksiums :wink:

i think the disc mentality comes from them not allowed to be used in kona

Anyone know why they are not allowed in Kona??

The winds can be super gusty and come out of nowhere so the concern is that people will be blown off course. In reality, the front wheel means a whole lot more than the rear, but if you encounter 40+ MPH sidewinds it can push you and the bike a bit. Even a deep wheel and aero frame feels sketchy under those circumstances. I guess they are just being cautious. I think a lot of people would use discs if allowed.

On this course, disc and deep front, wind be damned. The only time you will be going super fast is down the bridge at 12 and 100. If you are worried, ride the horns down, I have done that once or twice there.

The rest of the course is pretty flat and for much of it you are sheltered by forest on both sides. I am not saying you won’t feel the wind, you will for sure feel it during first and last 7 miles.

On the long run north/south you will feel it to, but not much of a cross.

Hold on for dear life when you are between the opening between two high rise condos late on the bike.

OK, you guys are seriously talking about a wind forecast 9 days out?!??!?

At 9 days, your’e lucky if they get the temps within 5 degrees. Rain? Ummm, hopefully they’ll forecast it within about 24 hours of when it will actually start/stop. Wind? Not a chance. Especially when you’re talking about the classic 5-10 or 5-15 forecasts which are the catch-all “we don’t really have a clue yet but there aren’t any major systems that we’re concerned about which we think will affect it much” forecast for wind.

I sail a ton. A week out I completely ignore the wind forecasts. Three days: I begin to sort-of, a little bit, trust the wind forecasts, but still not really. 2 days: it’s almost believable, but might still change a lot. 1 day: ok, probably getting fairly accurate, time to start making plans based on it. Morning of: I’ll start actually doing things based on the forecast, but still allow for it to be wrong as the day goes on.

Bottom line, the wind forecast is the LEAST accurate forecast that is made for the weather. Especially for any timespan beyond about an hour.

Will

PS: Go with the disk

Still 8 days to go and forecast is saying 70º - 55º with wind of NNE 15mph.
What wheelset you would go ?

My options are :
404 / Disc
404 / 404

suggestions…
tks

Always use the disc if allowed and unless you are in hurricane type conditions with crosswinds. 15 mph is a gentle breeze. If there are gusts to 40 or 50 mph, anything might be a bit scary but it depends on wind direction and course. Out and back with head and tail wind use disc. Course where you encounter 40 or 50 mph winds from the side, consider something shallow.

On an unrelated (to IM Florida which is flat) note, I had a few people voice genuine concern at IMWI about my using a disc “with all those hills”. A few extra grams means nothing. People also forget that there are downhills and having a disc at those speeds is very good. I did not have one person pass me going uphill and seemed faster than people around me going down.

Always the disc.
the more wind the better the disc is.

Andy Schleck would like a word with you.

Maybe, but he might have been blown over without a disc too!

Always the disc.
the more wind the better the disc is.

Andy Schleck would like a word with you.

If you’ve got one, roll it…always. The majority of the wind on that course is the last 5-10 miles and it will probably be a headwind.