Easy to use aero wheel calculator?

[AJS914]

I use to use Analytical Cycling but the site is old and not easy to use and the wheel data provided is 10 years out of date. Is there anything more modern?

I want to plug in a modern aero wheel (say a Pacenti SL23 or a Campagnolo Shamal) and compare it to something like a Zipp 303/404 or a Bora.

My hunch is that at "real life" riding speeds of (under 20mph) the aero difference would be negligible and certainly not worth paying $1500-2000 for a set of wheels.

[Grill]

Wut? Unless you have relevant data on all the wheels you're looking at (same tunnel, test protocol, yaw angles, using your bike as different forks react differently with wheels), this is a futile exercise.

If you're not racing, the only good reason to buy nice wheels is because you want them. You don't seem too fussed so may as well leave it.

[AJS914]

It doesn't seem futile. The models and data are out there but I haven't found an easy to use calculator. I'd like to plug in two different wheels into a model and see the result. The Analytical Cycling site would be fine if it had more wheel data.

[Grill]

It is. The variance in data between different tunnels and test protocols is massive. Faster, for example, has some of the least reliable data I've ever seen. Also, different tyres as well as forks will provide different results (especially with wider rims) and without knowing what yaw angles you encounter most of the time, you'll have no idea of what is actually relevant to you.

Bad data is as good as no data. I could just pull drag figures out of my posterior and they'd be just as useful.

[wheelsONfire]

Make sense. I also noted while reading, forks had an impact. This again made me wish i had a more aero fork.

Maybe it's the nerd in me, but it would be cool.

[bm0p700f]

Calculators like that are useful to gauge the relative advantage of one type of thing over another not one product over another. You get a sense of the king of time saving you might get from an aero wheelset under ideal condition not the time saving you get in the real world.

Dragging drag figures from your posterior sounds uncomfortable Grill.

It is quite easy to spot the wheels that are not very aero from those that will be fairly good at being aero. That is a better guide. Hint Mavic Kyserium is hopeless at being aerodynamic (as good as a 32 spoke wheelset) almost anything is better.