I am a roadie… and older guy by most standards (47 years old). I ride 6 days/week, race occasionally… and have some nice equipment. I ride a Madone 2011 6.9 with Di2. I ride my Zipp FC 808’s every day.
I understand that they are expensive… and crashing would be big money… but it also doesn’t really make much sense to me to spend 2K plus on a wheelset and use them only a few times/year.
I love to go as fast as I can on my group rides… so having my fastest wheels on the bike makes the most sense to me.
I ride mine every day that I take the TT bike out, which is most of the time during race season. But in the rear, I run an Open Pro (with a PT and wheelcover), so it’s not like I’m putting a mega-expensive disc back there. And on the front I run a Hed 3, which can seemingly handle any pounding you can put it through.
I’ve waffled on this, and so far have only laced up the trusty Zipps (808 f/r) for races, however…
Next season, I think I’m gonna leave 'em on all summer - I’ve got my fave go-to training routes down to some reasonably quiet & clean places, so I’m gonna rock the Zipps full-time outdoors. Ghetto wheels stay on for winter-time trainer hell in the meantime…
doesn’t really make much sense to me to spend 2K plus on a wheelset and use them only a few times/year
x 2 on this. Was always my argument even if I did not have Powertap laced in too.
I did 1 x IM, 2 x HIM, 1 x Oly and 1 x Sprint this year. That total 420kms of bike racing. I want more use out of them than that. I have Hed Jet 6’s, they are good all round, feel really nice to ride, look really sweet. Why not leave them on?
People are probably snickering behind your back with the whole “more money than fitness” line. I bet they’re just jealous though. Personally, I like the feeling of not racing on race wheels - and normally, when there isn’t a race left in the tread, I’ll spin through it on gentle recovery rides. When disc brake equipped road bikes are more common, I bet you’ll see super wheels on training bikes a lot. The wear on the braking surface is the only really point that I’d be concerned about.
People are probably snickering behind your back with the whole “more money than fitness” line. I bet they’re just jealous though. Personally, I like the feeling of not racing on race wheels - and normally, when there isn’t a race left in the tread, I’ll spin through it on gentle recovery rides. When disc brake equipped road bikes are more common, I bet you’ll see super wheels on training bikes a lot. The wear on the braking surface is the only really point that I’d be concerned about.
I like “the more money than fitness line”… they only snicker until I pass them… then it is not so funny any more :).
I ride my H3s all the time now. I waited 10 years to finally get my dream wheels - thanks to the ST Classifieds I now have them - so I am going to ride them every damm ride I can.
I ride Jet 6’s on my bike all the time. I like it because from a handling perspective (ie how they behave in the wind) it is a better representation of how my bike will handle in different conditions on race day. I feel it gives me a better chance of making correct wheel choices for race day. It also looks bad ass while not so deep to be obnoxious.
My girlfriend uses a Jet 6 rear with a PT and runs a 4 in the front. Then throws a disc cover on the rear for races and decides which front to use after that. (Hed3, 4, 6, 9 etc)
My girlfriend uses a Jet 6 rear with a PT and runs a 4 in the front. Then throws a disc cover on the rear for races and decides which front to use after that. (Hed3, 4, 6, 9 etc)
Haha, to be honest, the decision is more for my peace of mind. If there is even a flicker of wind, it’s a 6…if there is any wind at all, it’s a 4…
Trust me…every time she is at a race SHE WANTS THE 9. ( because in her words “I like the big one cause it looks badass”)
9! always the 9!
My girlfriend uses a Jet 6 rear with a PT and runs a 4 in the front. Then throws a disc cover on the rear for races and decides which front to use after that. (Hed3, 4, 6, 9 etc)
i’ve been riding zipp 303 w/ wireless powertap everyday since around 2007. I am not quite sure of the mileage as I was swapping wheels between computers for a while. These are great wheels. The only thing is now I do ride 700x25 tires at 90-95 psi in the rear. 80-85 front. This doesn’t make them all that aerodynamic. I hit the most ridiculous pothole in NJ once and it cracked the 303 which cost me $400 for a new rim+rebuild. Had been complaining about this pothole for years to the town and apparently nobody cares.
My wife runs a Jet 9 rear and Jet 6. Strangely when it is windy, even really windy, she reports little or no issues. I have been riding non aero wheels and felt a tug while she follows on her deep set and reports nothing, even down the arse end Richter Pass on the IMC course on a windy day. They are 650’s on a tiny 2011 Felt B10.
Going back to the thread, she runs them 24-7 because ‘they look cool the men know not to piss me about’ … fair enough!
Same with my girlfriend…maybe they are just better riders than us…lol. That pic above, I tried to get her to use a 6 because I rode the day before and there were some sketchy sections in the wind with Cactus lining the road.
She talked me into the 9 and said she had issues…except when a dump truck passed her…I’m just paranoid I guess.
