Quick Lesson on Race Wheels Please
849
Member
245 days
TriSooner posted 4 weeks ago.
macker wrote:
The two most subjective questions ever posed on trifuel in the same post?! And you even used the highly-subjective terms huge difference and needed. Mass hysteria is about to commence. And imho, no and no, but it's your money.
does that make a huge difference? . . . and debating if hi-end race wheels are 'really' needed for an avg triathlete.
714
Member
781 days
tsilcyc posted 4 weeks ago.
From the Hed Cycling FAQ:
Q. Is it true that you have to be riding above 20 mph for aero wheels to make a difference?
A. The faster you go, the more power you produce. Efficient use of this power depends on how good your aerodynamics are. The time savings provided by aero wheels are always going to be proportional to the power of the rider. It doesn't matter whether you produce 300 watts or 150 watts. In fact, slower riders may not be going at the same speed as faster ones, but aero wheels actually save them an even greater amount of time over the same distance. The only exception is on hills with a grade of more than 6%.
More can be found here:
http://www.hedcycling.com/technical/faq.php
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Check out my Log: http://www.felog.net/users/teamsln/query_log.aspx
Check out my Blog: http://www.felog.net/feblog/
326
Member
211 days
jhudalla posted 4 weeks ago.
TriSooner wrote:
macker wrote:The two most subjective questions ever posed on trifuel in the same post?! And you even used the highly-subjective terms huge difference and needed. Mass hysteria is about to commence. And imho, no and no, but it's your money.does that make a huge difference? . . . and debating if hi-end race wheels are 'really' needed for an avg triathlete.
+100
Weary is the path that does not challenge.
4402
Member
1624 days
beads1985 posted 4 weeks ago.
So the fact that I go slower on the bike is more aerodynamically advantageous when using aero wheels?
I knew there was a reason to go slow ;-)
''Nothing to it, but to do it''
http://beads1985.trifuel.net/
16
Member
73 days
kaolelo posted 4 weeks ago.
the faster that you ride, the more advantage there is to using aero wheels. if you go to the weight weenies forum, http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=3, you'll see pages of discussion on this subject. good wheels are the best thing that you can do for your bike, but won't overcome a lack of fitness.
4402
Member
1624 days
beads1985 posted 4 weeks ago.
kaolelo wrote:
the faster that you ride, the more advantage there is to using aero wheels. if you go to the weight weenies forum, http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=3, you'll see pages of discussion on this subject. good wheels are the best thing that you can do for your bike, but won't overcome a lack of fitness.
So you are trying to say I just can't get the best wheels out there and never have to train on my bike?? That Sucks!! ;-D
I guess I better start training again.
''Nothing to it, but to do it''
http://beads1985.trifuel.net/
427
Member
336 days
Sully800 posted 4 weeks ago.
Aero wheels improve time savings the most at lower speeds because there is more time to take off. But there are many ways to improve speed at lower speeds, and most of them are more cost effective than buying wheels. If you race at 16 mph, better training might get you to 20mph. If you race at 25mph on slow wheels, chances are your training is already at a very high level....so buying wheels will make a relatively large difference to you and changing training methods probably won't.
1606
Member
987 days
tri-ac posted 4 weeks ago.
as i understand it, the deeper the aero section the better the aerodynamic advantage (all the way up to a disc) [even if it's microseconds]
the down side is that the deeper the aero section, the more difficult it is to keep control in a cross wind . and as we all know, the wind is never purely from the front (and never from the back either :) )...despite all that, the aero wheel still performs better than a real wheel in cross winds up to a point
someone more bikey correct me if i'm blowing smoke (this is my limited understanding)
1114
Member
882 days
UFTriGator posted 4 weeks ago.
tri-ac wrote:
someone more bikey correct me if i'm blowing smoke (this is my limited understanding)
It's pretty close. The steeper the angle the wind, the more benefit a deeper wheel will have. For example, a disc will be marginally faster than an 808 in the rear for a headwind, but with a little bit of crosswind, the disc is much faster.
______________________________________________
-Matt
Not fast enough.
427
Member
336 days
Sully800 posted 4 weeks ago.
As TriGator said, the best wind conditions for a deep section or disc are not directly head on, but with a slight crosswind (15-20 degrees I believe is optimal). Fortunately, this is also the most common wind condition you will see on the road, which is why disc wheels perform so well.
326
Member
211 days
jhudalla posted 4 weeks ago.
Person A could have the most aero dynamic bike ever built by nasa (or outsourced and built in china then imported and sold by nasa)
Person B could be Lance Armstrong on the average TT/Tri bike.
A and B race any distance in the land.
B will win. Because speed is about the engine.
Keep the money, fill up your car with gas.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++HOWEVER
If Joe Schmo A and J.S.B are relatively in the same exact shape and have the same abilities in the water, on the bike, and run. Sure, the fancy wheels will give Schmo A. a 'small' advantage. But it's not like he's going to be averaging 5mph over J.S.B.
*J.S.B. = Joe Schmo B
Weary is the path that does not challenge.
I know that race wheels are more aerodynamic, but can someone explain in lay terms how/why? For example, looks like ZIPP 808s are 'deeper' or have less open space than the 404s...does that make a huge difference? 1) i want to learn more about the differences/terminology
2) i am getting set to buy a new bike - and debating if hi-end race wheels are 'really' needed for an avg triathlete. - Thanks, macker
Macker