A couple of days ago I went out for the first ride on my new bike. As it turns out, I picked quite a day for a first ride, with sustained winds of 30mph with gusts of 50mph. It was my first time riding with a disc and a true deep dish front wheel (Hed Jet 90) and, in those winds, it was pretty twitchy. I ended up riding a fair bit up on the bullhorns and was constantly adjusting for gusting winds.
In the past I’ve put in most of my miles on box section rims and raced on a set of 404s. This was a whole different experience altogether and I felt pretty uncomfortable. Would this be typical, given the winds and wheel selection, or does this mean that:
a) I should adjust my set-up on the bike to make it more stable; or
you shouldn’t be riding deep wheels on a day like that. Even if it were a race riding a wheel that deep in the from cna cost you time in gusty winds because you are constantly fighting to keep the bike in a straight line.
Wait until the wind dies down before you start monkeying around with position.
Yeah, I’ve been planning to hold off adjusting position until I have a ride or two in less extreme conditions. I was riding the new race wheels because I have some races coming up and wanted to get in a few miles on them.
Whoo! 50 mph gusts… I weigh 144 and am 5’11", so I get tossed around like a fish in a washing machine. Most people would be spending lots of time in the bullhorns with those winds, even on training wheels. Try 'em out on a nice day, and you’ll notice a huge difference.
Glad it wasn’t just me being soft! Hopefully the weather will cooperate for tomorrow’s ride and I’ll be able to evaluate position and wheels a bit better. No wonder you get tossed around at 140lbs. I’m a little bigger (a touch over 6’ and 163lbs) and I was getting thrown around quite a bit.
Northern England actually. On the way out the door for the ride, I passed one of my neighbours, an elderly guy, on his way into the building. He just looked at me like I was crazy and said, “Hope you like wind.”
I’m 120lbs, and ride an aero bike with flat tubes. On a windy day (25mph+) in crosswinds, it feels like it’s about to be pulled out from under me, and that’s without deep rims. I’m planning on getting some race wheels, and I’m a little nervous of how I’ll handle on them…
Went for a ride on the American River yesterday. HOLY CRAP it was windy. Great when it was at your back, not so much going into it. My wife decided to “hang out” behind me for most of the ride home. I am a big guy and I was being moved around quite a bit, so I can imagine what it would have been like if I was actually the ideal weight for my height. Decided to run today instead of riding. I am hoping that the winds die a bit for tomorrow because I already committed to a ride with a couple of guys.
I went for a ride today in 10mph winds and the bike handled like a dream. The position felt solid and power numbers were good. It looks like it was just the ridiculous winds that made the bike feel less than optimal.