Looking for some guidance from all your ST smarta$$es today.
I’m gearing up for the '14 season and want to make sure I’ve covered my bases for “free” speed. My current setup is a '12 shiv rocking the 404/808 FC CCs. I just put the specialized quarq spider on the rig. I’m planning to get my fit tuned up in the spring and am excited to measure potential changes in power output as part of that process.
Aside from dragging myself down to North Carolina from NYC for wind tunnel time, what is going to give me the most bang for a buck?
- Upgrade front to 808? Upgrade rear to Super 9? (doing both would be too pricey). What would be the estimated time save for IM with each of these choices, 30seconds - 1 minute? i think my wingspan gets solid #s, and I ride well with it. I may look into the new aero kits with sleeves. Am I missing anything else?
Goal race is IMAZ, with aspirations of putting myself in a position to go sub 5 (given good conditions) and run the 26.2.
Well if you want to replace one of the wheels you could replace the front with an 808 front, and get a disc cover for the rear wheel. Another option is to sell your current wheel set and buy the new one you want. Could alway look used as well too.
But really if you just bought a PM, already have that wheel set, and looking to get wind tunnel time why would you be worried about spending more money to get both wheels?
Sorry not sure on the time difference. Could check out Zipp’s website and go off their numbers. Good luck!
I did IMAZ last year with a HED Jet 6 upfront… And frankly there were 2 or 3 brief moments when the gusts made the bike feel pretty wobbly… Not sure how i would feel with a 808 upfront.
Upgrade your kit to the PI Octane or the Castelli stuff.
Upgrading from 404/808 to 808/808 or 808/disc will give you meaningless gains. And cost you a shit load of money.
ETA: and no your wingspan doesnt get solid numbers. Upgrade your helmet and kit.
More Edits: are you using latex tubes and fast tires? If not, that change alone will give you more time than the change to 808/disc.
Yeah it seems like once you have “fast” wheels, they are “fast enough”. Marginal gains at best between 404/flo 60/etc and whatever the fastest combo is.
Seems like once you have race wheels, it’s time to spend money elsewhere. I did buy a Flo 90/disc, but that was less to gain speed and more to move away from tubulars. I really don’t think my setup is measurably faster than my 10 year old 404/900 tubulars.
Yeah it seems like once you have “fast” wheels, they are “fast enough”. Marginal gains at best between 404/flo 60/etc and whatever the fastest combo is.
Seems like once you have race wheels, it’s time to spend money elsewhere. I did buy a Flo 90/disc, but that was less to gain speed and more to move away from tubulars. I really don’t think my setup is measurably faster than my 10 year old 404/900 tubulars.
^ This. New Aero Helmet (not aero road), Race Kit, and Good Tires at this point.
Upgrading both 808/Disc from 404/808 might get you 45 seconds ~1 min. The faster you go the less benefit as your average yaw angle will start decreasing (more or less of course depending on the conditions of course).
Your best bet at this point is probably to field test positions and equipment. Also, you can probably do better than your Wingspan in the helmet department.
Definitely planning to go latex & through Conti GT4000s on them.
I am reluctant to touch the kit or the helmet without testing it in the tunnel and I don’t want to shell out $ for somehting that will make me slower if it doesn’ fit. I don’t know of any driveable test venues from Tri State Area - do you (or anyone)?
For the helmet, I thought the wingspan is more “do no harm” and better than most aero road helmets but may not be as good as a long -tail, if you have good head position. Definitely something I am open to, and honestly didn’t realize the potential differences until reading through the Aero Camp thread.
Good points on the wheels by all. I’ll save the $.
Edited to add: a quote from Jim@EROsports on the wingspan:
The Wingspan seems to perform well for a good many people, too. Even when it doesn’t pass the “eye test” for an individual athlete, it seems to work. It really surprises me sometimes. I’ll admit, there have been several times when I’ve seen a client begin riding laps with a Wingspan and I thought to myself based solely on how it looks, “No way will that test fast.” Then the numbers start coming in, and damn if that thing doesn’t work. I can’t wait to try the new one from Rudy Project (no we haven’t tested it yet, but soon!)
I’m hoping the wingspan isn’t a bad choice, if it definitely isn’t the best.
But you were ready to drop thousands for potentially unmeasurable gains? Hell, you could book a trip to the tunnel for the cost of the wheels you were throwing out in your original post.
As far as the kit goes, if it doesnt fit, uh, return it. But the two kits mentioned above are known to be faster, and by a significant degree. What exactly are you racing in now? Is it skin tight? Does it have pockets on the back?
What you quoted from Jim is a bit old. And lots more has been tested since then. You obviously followed the aero camp thread. There are 3 other helmets you could pick up and would be faster than the wingspan. Of course not with 100% certainty but the trend shows the Wingspan as very middle of the road across the board. And being faster than a road aero lid is not something to go on about really.
I’m having hard time following your reluctance in regards to spending on kit and helmet when you can return both - never mind why you wouldnt just book a trip to the tunnel if you were ready to shell out so much for a set of wheels.
I was willing to shell out for 1 wheel, not both. If the A2 wind tunnel is the closest option, @9 hours away, it gets pretty pricey @ $495 per hour.
What I made out from the aero camp thread re: helmets
- LG P-09 is the best 80% of the time, but is unavailable as of now
- Specialized Mclaren is also great, also unusable in the US
- Giro Selector/ Bell Javelin/ Giro Advantage2 are all decent - good, it depends. Wingspan may or may not fall into this category.
Re: aero kit. I’ll see if I can get my hands on the castelli top.
The P-09 will be available before November.