Trying to decide on Zipp Clydesdale 808’s maybe 606. or Hed Jet 90 front and back or 90 back, 60 front. Leave out the price difference and opinions on who’s more aero etc. Which one would be stronger/durable for a 250lb rider. I called Hed and they said they can beef up a set to accommodate me. Also, I prefer to have a set with aluminum breaking surface over carbon. I’ve got H3’s- tubular. Considering the Zipps or Hed Jets as a windy day alternative. Would rather have clinchers on my alternative set so I don’t have to maintain a total of 5 tubular wheels. (I’ve got a Hed3D too… sweet!) Also the other reason I’m shopping is just because I want too. You know how that is I’m sure!
If you already have h3’s, I would probably do: 606 clydes, sell you rear H3 and buy a disc.
The Jets should prove to be stiffer and longer lasting considering their construction.
I don’t have any specific data to the Hed’s but the Mavic Cosmic Carbone’s which are of similar construction (al rim with carbon fairing) tested significantly stiffer than the 808s.
Shamless Bump.
i too am a bigger guy (200 lbs). i bought a zipp 404 cyclocross (was told my the lbs that is pretty much the same as the 404 clydesdale). i’ve got less than 200 race miles on it and the thing cracked. i posted here, and it set off small debate about performance vs. durability. some people seem to think you can’t get both. other’s say you should expect both for that price. whatever- all i know is the thing broke. i took it back into the lbs last saturday, and now i’m just waiting to see if zipp covers it under warrantee.
i guess when you pay that much, the thing i expect most is customer support. if zipp takes care of it, i’ll be a loyal customer. if not, and i have to replace it, you can bet i won’t be buying zipps anytime soon.
I’m also just over 200 lbs and I ride a set of HED tri-spokes. If isn’t broke don’t fix it. I love my tri-spokes, and the reason I don’t buy Zipps is that I don’t think they are made to withstand my weight, and the crappy road surfaces I ride on. The performance gain that you might get is minimal compared to other improvements you can make, and this improvement won’t do you any good in a race if you’re on the side of the road with a cracked wheel. If you’re big, go for bombproof before ultra-high performance.
Other wheels that I’ve found are relatively bombproof, but that still perform well are Mavic Kysrium SSCs and Cosmic Carbones. The Kysriums are a great road/training wheel, but I think the tri-spokes are a better performing wheel than the Cosmic Carbones. (My personal experience only - no data to back this up.)
I rode a lot of years (we, about 5…) on Zipp wheels with no problems. Didn’t even use the Cydesdale version. I’ve also had the Hed 3 wheels and they were great. Probably the best wheels for training and racing. It’s hard to imagine destroying them.
After reading some of the responses, I’m considering a set of the full carbon tri spokes. I don’t guess I can get a clincher in them but it would make for a lighter wt. set for the hilly courses. The more I think about it, I guess I’ve never had big problems with cross winds riding my H3’s.
Is Hed coming out with a “next generation” Tri spoke soon?
They just started using a new lighter rear hub.
I was considering some of the same wheel options you are as I am also a 200lb rider. Based on my email conversations with a HED Tech, the H3’s you already have are faster than their JET wheels. He made it very clear I would be foolish to give up the speed benefits of the H3’s, especially on terrain with rolling hills where their stiffness really come in to play for faster climbing. As far as windy conditions go, what are your concerns with the H3’s? I am 50lbs lighter than you, and I have never felt that I was out of control or had a loss of handling because of stiff cross winds. Maybe I’m incorrect on my assumption, but at your weight, I would think that a heavy cross wind would have less of an effect on your handling compared to a smaller rider in the 160-180lb range. Where I seem to loose speed and sap my energy is on a stiff head wind because I have a lot more mass to push through the air. I would imagine you experience the same. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is a wheel available that will shrink my Clydesdale body into a more aero postion.
tbro
Your right about the crosswind thing. I had responded to my own post saying that the more I think about it, I’ve never had issues with my H3’s and crosswinds. I’m thinking that the best upgrade would be the full carbon H3’s. Might be fun to have for the real hilly courses. It would seem kind of dumb in a way to have two sets of Tri Spokes though.
It would seem kind of dumb in a way to have two sets of Tri Spokes though.
You’re right. Please send one set to me.
If you’re dead set on new wheels, how about a carbon tri-spoke up front and a Renn disk in the rear?
I have owned h3’s in the past and currently race on 606’s–440’s and team csc’s. I just did IMLP at 260 lbs and yes I am 14 feet tall (proper BMI).
h3’s are totally bomb proof-period but heavy.
the 606 I have are laced with chris king hubs 28 spoke. 1500 grams for the set. I did imfl last year a bunch of tt’s and some road racing. Zipps are plenty beefy if laced properly.
My suggestion is to find a good hand builder and lace up a set of 808’s to 28 hole with dt-swiss 240’s or if you want to get sexy then the ceramic option 190’s. the wheels will be plenty durable if you do not run into stuff-light and fast as anything out there.
and they will probably be cheaper than over the counter zipps with better hubs.
k
SuperClyde, love the screen name by the way, I’m getting off my own topic here but what brand bike do you have? You said you were tall. I’m 6’6". Bought a Roark last September and have loved it. Just curious to know what other big guys are riding too.
I have a yellow '07 Dual with naked H3’s for that nice “stealthy” look. The only problem is, I can’t figure out how to get it into “Stealth Mode” like other STer’s have posted. Maybe it’s a “Back to the Future” type thing when Marty has to hit 80mph in the DeLorean. I guess I’m just not pedalling fast enough.
Your Roark sounds nice. Even though my bike is brand new, I find myself lusting for other bikes, especially titanium. Cervelo’s are great, but they have become the Trek of triathlon bikes. You can’t knock down a bike rack in transition without half of them being Cervelos. I like to have something different than everybody else. I’m jealous.
Do you have any pics of your Roark?
tbro
This might be my favorite topic next to wheels. I am not all that tall 6’0 to be exact but I currently ride
Tri or TT-- Guru Crono d/a
Long road comfort-- Serotta nove d/a
crit and climbing type stuff–Look 595 ultra record
I am currently lusting after a Parlee road bike
i would like to get rid of the look and build a 14 lbs parlee.
Kevin
I’ve got pics but they are on my personal Laptop. I’m using the work computer as I type here. I could e-mail you some, I think. Haven’t figured out how to post pics on the ST Forum.
It’s not as hard as people make it out to be. Tinypic works real well. Just publish the pics
you have saved on your computer. It’s a free service, and you don’t even have to create
an account. After you load your files in Tinypic, copy the url created by Tinypic, click the little
mountain icon in the upper right hand corner of the ST message screen, paste the link,
and hit submit. The picture should magically appear.
tbro
Why don’t you try another strategy first. And…you know what I am talking about.
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=4zldn4j
Wow! it worked. Thanks for the help!
This is a picture from last fall, as you can tell by the date. I changed to a Adamo saddle since this was taken. I’ll get some updated pics in a day or so. I’ll try to post those in a thread I started last fall shortly after I got the bike. I had posted my rave review of the bike with no pics. A no no I soon learned.