In my ongoing search for the best “bang for the buck” race wheel, I have had the opportunity to see a number of carbon wheel up close - Zipp 440, Hed Alps, Hed Jet 60, Hed H3, Mavic Cosmic etc. Now, I understand that the Cosmic is some sort of plastic (is this true?) which would explain why is looks so good, but the others don’t look anywhere near as “pretty” as in the magazines.
Am I being naiive here? Is there any difference bewteen the wheels being ridden by the pro’s and the one’s that are sold to us regular AG’s?
Also, if you could get either the Hed Alps or the Cosmic’s for exactly the same price, and you were racing Olympic distance on reasonably flat courses with wind not really being an issue (and you just cannot afford Zipp 404’s), which way would you go? I am tending toward the Alps, but I just cannot get the picture on Lance a couple of years back in the TT with a Cosmic front…
Having worked with composites for a couple of years, this is always the hard to answer question without getting a company to give away their processes. Some companies use more resin in their mixture, some leave more in while curing or through their moulding methods. Some may finish with epoxy, as it gives an extra layer to wet sand. Some forgo the fine finish processing altogether to save time and weight.
I would not go to the assumption that the Cosmic is made of plastic, though the carbon (if it is) on it works as a fairing (rather than structurally), not unlike the Jet. It could be a themorplastic, using chopped fibres, who knows? Zipp uses unidirectional carbon, so it will not have that pretty weave; however, uni is easier to mould and get compacted well with a high fibre to resin ratio. Uni also can net an extremely strong wheel. I don’t know if Zipp uses a pre-preg or wet layup, though it is more likely that since they did make Indy tubs, they have an autoclave, and pre-preg is best suited for an autoclave.
Where would I go? I would wait, as some very good companies are going to come out with some very nice wheels. I am also a huge fan of the Nimble Fly, as it is a beautiful rim (gorgeous woven construction), albeit a bit low profile for some peoples’ tastes. I think it is a fine wheel for many of the AG-ers out there, as it is a shallow enough rim for almost anyone to be able to handle, and can be built quite aerodynamically. It is a very high quality product at an extremely reasonable price, and light to boot.
One reason why what the pros are given and what we AG slobs get to buy can look so different: many pros are riding prototypical products, some of which will NEVER make it onto the shelves, as the processes, material, and even design can change drastically. Some of the prototypical products are hand-made, not being completely practical for production. Some protos that the pros ride can look like total crap, as well. The top pros will get some of the nicer stuff, and it could have been the second or third (or later) generation of the prototype. They could have trained on some of the roughest-looking pieces of junk before getting something that is near perfect or completely perfect (but not for production because of many issues) with lots of time spent on it in hand finishing. Remember this: a magazine can make something look ten times better than it looks in real life.
Some of the stuff I produce in the garage: totally crap-looking. Later stuff: awesome, but took way too much time for practical use in production. One would produce something in between.
So when are you going to make me a set of ultra light, ultra aero, ultra fast bunny wheels? OK, I may not be able to extract the maximum amount of exposure for Bunnyman Institute, but I would try really hard…
Otherwise, is Frank Rehn still toying with an non-disc race wheel?
I haven’t gotten to wheels, yet. I don’t know if I will ever do wheels, with the exception of maybe a fairing for my own personal use, and even that is unlikely. Wheels are as good as they can get, in my blunt opinion. Ada will probably end up producing a 380 gram, 700c all carbon tubular wheel very soon (at 3500 Euros per set or higher). Their manufacturing processes are something that is extremely difficult, and I will not even try to duplicate it. I don’t see anyone putting out a lighter wheel than 380 grams for a very long time without considerable expense.
Frank has something in the pipeline (as he has hinted). I don’t know what it will be, but it sounds like the long-awaited front wheel for his disc could come around in the near future.
FWIW, it is fairly common in the aerospace world to put a single layer of fabric over an otherwise uni-tape layup. Mainly for machining and damage tolerance concerns, but there’s a cosmetic component there as well. I’m pretty sure this approach has also been used in various bike parts and/or frames, with the weight-based elimination of the fabric layer only becoming socially acceptable in the last few years. I, for one, find the fabric-free look to be much prettier…but the unwashed masses still associate carbon with that fabric look so you’ll still see it in most non-top-end applications.
The trend that annoys me even more is this “white carbon” junk. What marketing genius came up with that one?
Hexcel (or Hexel) came up with the “white carbon” thing- which is actually aluminum oxide painted onto crow foot-weave fibreglass.
On my Campy Delta covers that I make out of carbon, I do one layer of woven (cut on the bias) over two layers of uni (with additional layers on the thicker areas). This does add to the carbon look of the current Record components (with the exception of the new Record cranks). I prefer the random fibre look that I finish with my proprietary process finish, but I know that the carbon weave look does look better (to others) in this application. I will have woven and non-woven examples available in VERY limited quantities available for public consumption, which is not usually part of the Bunnyman Institute’s policy. These do not save much weight (ten grams for carbon vs. 16 grams for aluminium), but they refresh the look of the Delta caliper and save a bit of weight on an otherwise heavy component.
I do find that the weave helps go over compound curves (especially when used as pre-preg and with a blow dryer) when put into a mould or even making a mould (as is the fashion for CART, Indycar, and F1 tubs and other chassis/body components). But the uni with no cosmetic layer is lighter, as it eliminates the superfluous cosmetic layer.
Fiberglass? Really?? Hexcel…I shoulda known. They’re coming out here next week to brief us on what they’ve been doing lately as far as SPC, R&D, etc. Somehow I doubt “white carbon” will on the agenda, but I’ve got some ??s for them if it does…
LOL…passing off fiberglass as carbon…it had to happen sooner or later.