Hi,
I’m doing IMC again this year. I’ve been a long time owner of a Softride, but after 4 broken beams, I’ve finally given up, and just bought a Felt B2 (which I’m happy with so far). I decided not to buy race wheels this year, due to budget constraints and the lateness in the season, but thought I would rent a pair of Zipp 808’s for race day.
I’ll have them installed on Tuesday before the race, so I should be able to get a few rides in before Sunday, but I’m now wondering about handling and such in the windy Penticton environment.
Is renting a pair of 808’s five days before my A race a dumb idea or not?
How much are those wheels in comparison to what you have going to be improve your performance, vs the risk of racing with something pretty new to you. And if they or the tires on them fail will you know what to do and have the parts to do it?
In my opinion a lot of added risk, which for me adding those wheels, would be a modest return.
If you’re that concerned with wind…why not get some 404’s or 606’s.
I’ve rented twice from RDW. Once I got 909’s (404 front/disc rear) and once I tried some BW 100’s. For both races, I rode them once before the race…no problems whatsoever…
I’ve rented race wheels for every IM I’ve done - 404’s, 606’s and 808’s. In some cases I had the wheels a week in advance, in others I got them a day or two before. I didn’t experience any challenges as a result of having to get used to the wheels (including IMAZ '05 on 606’s and '07 on 808’s when wind was a huge factor).