Is there any sort of chart that shows various wheels and how stiff they are? I’d like to compare, for instance, Dura Ace wheels with Ksyrium wheels, and all I get is subjective remarks from people “Oh, these wheels are really stiff” or “These are the stiffest wheels out there.”
Is there anywhere that publishes a measurement of wheel stiffness - some sort of objective data?
Thanks!
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=1201016;search_string=mavic%20;#1201016
its a chart from data collected by tour magazine.
What’s the significance of wheel stiffness? When does it come into play?
heavy riders? hilly road races?
In the context of tri, aero, etc.
I needs me sum edumacatin’ on this
By most cyclist standards, I’m a big dude. 6’7" and 185 lbs. A stiff frame and stiff wheels are important because when I am really hammering on the bike, I can feel flex. A stiffer frame alleviates the flex, as would stiffer wheels. I had a set of Shimano R550 wheels which would never stay true and I kept breaking spokes on them all the time, mainly due to the fact the wheel wasn’t stiff enough (and strong enough) to withstand the forces I apply to the wheel.
So I’m looking for stiffer wheels for durability and performance, since flexing causes a loss of power.
A recent issue of Velonews had a thing with Mavic talking about wheel stiffness and found that none of the professional testers could tell which whell was actually stiffer between wheels that looked exactly alike.