Is it okay to train on race wheels?

Triathlon Forum
1

Is it okay to train on race wheels if a rider is around 145lbs? Im looking at either a rear hed jet 90 clincher or hed stinger 90 tubular.

Thanks

2

It is okay, no matter what you weigh.

3

My current wheelset on my P2C is a 90 rear HED Jet and a 60 front HED Jet. And I ride on these out on the road everyday (and trainer since I live in upstate NY). Only thing to take into consideration is if you want to true them yourself or pay your shop to do it!

4

If you train on your race wheels then they aren’t race wheels.

5

My HED’s aren’t my race wheels any longer…just nice, aero, “training” / clincher wheels.

6

Depending on your mileage and maintenance habits, I’d be more concerned about your tires if those don’t get swapped.

7

I don’t see why not, I do it on a pair of 404 clinchers.

8

its just that many people will think you are a doofus

but people are dumb

if you can afford to put the nice wheels at risk for training, go ahead

Is it okay to train on race wheels if a rider is around 145lbs? Im looking at either a rear hed jet 90 clincher or hed stinger 90 tubular.

Thanks

9

x2…if you can afford to take the risk of everyday stress a wheel goes through, then do it. however most of the “good” cyclists I know (cat 1s on elite/pro development teams) train on bombproof 32/36 spoke wheels and save the light aero carbon wheels for race day.

10

yep, just a couple weeks ago I popped a spoke, but was able to finish the ride because I had a normal wheel on.

an ultra light/aero wheel may have stranded me.

a HED Jet 60 fat man build might make a nice training wheel though!

x2…if you can afford to take the risk of everyday stress a wheel goes through, then do it. however most of the “good” cyclists I know (cat 1s on elite/pro development teams) train on bombproof 32/36 spoke wheels and save the light aero carbon wheels for race day.

11

For $200-300 you can get relatively light bombproof training wheels. I used to train and race on my old Hed Jet 60’s. Then one day on a training ride the rear hub disintegrated. You’ve been warned.

12

Yes you could. As long as your race wheels are round :wink:

But why would you want to?

Even if you could afford it, there is some mental benefit of training heavy and racing light.
Definitely gives you a mental boost on race day.

But feel free to disregard that perspective if you feel the need to show your toys and/or your training is all the racing you will ever do…

13

I train on “race wheels”, but not my “race wheels”. I train on Jet90/90 on my tri bike and 404/Jet90 on my road bike. They are equal to race wheels but I race on BW100 and Zipp disc.

14

If money was no object, I would train on nothing but tubular race wheels. Life is short, and nothing beats the way a great set of tubular race wheels roll and feel. But, in my case, money IS an object so I don’t do this (unfortunately) ;-(

I know lots of guys that come to our group rides rockin’ their ZIPP deep aero wheels. Go for it. Just be able to back it up or you’ll be labeled a poseur.

~ AB ~

15

Is it okay to train on race wheels if a rider is around 145lbs? Im looking at either a rear hed jet 90 clincher or hed stinger 90 tubular.

Thanks

Why would you want to do so?

Sure, you can do it, but:

a) people will think you’re dumb

b) you’ll be one pot hole away from a big repair bill

c) you’ll be bringing an Uzi to a water gun fight.

16

could you make a short list of wheels that meet this description, im in the market for some training wheels and would like a little advice to get the best bang for my buck.

thanks

17

Sure you can train on race wheels but why make training easier?

18

My personal opinion is that you should do SOME training on the racers, that way you get to know how they handle in a variety of conditions.

19

I picked up a set of Mavic CXP 22’s with 32 hole Ultegra hubs on ebay for $215 shipped a few months ago. They are great training wheels, as are the Mavic Open Pro and DT Swiss RR1.2 or 1.2. A strong 32 hole wheelset with Ultegra hubs will give you years of trouble free training miles.

20

I’m a roady and use my ksyriums all summer long. For winter and off season, I use the following as training wheels:
Ultegra 10sp front hub, D/A 7800 rear hub (cheap from Nashbar at $65), front and rear are: Velocity Deep V rims. 36 hole, 3 cross, 14ga spokes, brass nipples, and Continental wirebead gatorskins and ultegra cassette. The wheels were around $275, built. Not counting tires, tubes, and cassette. These suckers are bomb-proof!

When I switch to the ksyriums, I drop a little over a kilo off the weight of the wheels. For a two hour solo ride, I pick up a full mile per hour on the average.

I use the trainers on the TT bike, too. But I usually switch to the 808s and a wheel cover for a couple of short rides prior to each TT, just to get used to the handling again.

I believe that the heavy training wheels really helps me. Put, it’s a feeling, the evidence is anecdotal and n=1.