Ride quality of wheels: Spoked vs disc vs composite spoke (Hed3)

Triathlon Forum
1

I’m curious if anyone has any strong opinions or hard knowledge on the ride quality of the three main types of road wheels we talk about:
-Spoked (Zipp 404)
-Disc (Any REAL disc- not a CH wheel cover)
-Tri spoke composite (Hed, Specialized, Corima, etc)

It seems to be common knowledge that a disc rides hard. There are no spokes. No vertical “give”, if you will. I have never used a tri-spoke wheel, but I assume it would ride similarly hard. From my experience, pretty much any wheel with traditional spokes rides better than a disc. Well, with the exception of a Mavic Ksyrium SL- those make any bike ride like a tank.

So what I’m really getting at is this- I’m wondering if the added fatigue of a disc wheel negates the speed advantage over a long course event (1/2 IM and up). I’m doing the Muncie Endurathon (1/2 IM) next month, and I’m wondering if I want to use my disc or a rear 404. I’ve been using my Renn disc for all my races this year; I probably should have tried one with the rear 404 just to see if it makes any noticable difference. I have a P3 which already rides hard enough. What thinks you?

p.s. I race on Continental Attack/Force tires (700x22 front, 700x23 rear) at 115 psi

2

Short answer- anything that is not a traditional spoked wheel (save the Spinergy Rev X) rides harsher.

3

-Spoked (Zipp 404)
-Disc (Any REAL disc- not a CH wheel cover)
-Tri spoke composite (Hed, Specialized, Corima, etc)

I use all three, the HED is by far the stiffest, but not too harsh, the disc is very stiff as well, the 808 rides nice
.

4

My quasi hypothesis is that for long events the added harshness of the disc will fatigue (and slow you down) more than the aerodynamics will help you. Thoughts?

5

Not necessarily. A softer wheel could, in essence, slow you down because it would deform easier over road surfaces. But there could be differing opinions.

6

Run a disc with a 22mm tire at a reasonable pressure and it’ll be fine for comfort over long distances.