Seeking advise on wheelset

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NovemberDave
Posts: 231
Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 11:42 am
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by NovemberDave

AJS914 wrote:
NovemberDave wrote:With a few caveats, yes, close enough.


So basically, nobody but a top pro needs to spend thousands on a set of carbon wheels because the 12 seconds over a 40k TT at 30mph is practically meaningless for the vast majority of riders - unless you are maybe Peter Sagan nipping Mark Cavendish on the line.


Well, I generally get chased around by people bearing pitchforks if I say that type of thing. I will say that that basic sentiment has strongly influenced a lot of my company's product decisions in the past year.

Wheel aerodynamics are not irrelevant but from what I see, people generally expect more benefit than is there to be had. If you take Zipp's example of their FC 808 saving 96 seconds over the benchmark aluminum wheel set in the 30mph 40k TT (link above), then you're going not quite 1mph faster with the 808s than you are with the benchmark. But remember that this is a worst to best comparison, and it's calculated at what's now accepted to be an unrealistic yaw angle which heavily favors the deeper wheel. Using the same methodology, a 404 makes you go about .75mph faster than the benchmark at wide yaw. Compared to a set of 101s, the 808s let you go about .4mph faster and the 404s are just under .25mph faster than a set of 101s.

But that's all at 30mph, at a maximized yaw angle that's wider than what data shows actually happens, and is in a TT environment with no drafting. Slow down to 25 (which is still very fast) and that decreases. Get in the draft and it cuts it by a third. And despite improvements in cross wind handling, the well shaped 30ish mm set is going to exert significantly less steering input in cross winds. And it can easily be at least 150g lighter than a mid-depth carbon and 300g lighter than deep carbon. At roughly 1/3 to 1/5 the price of major brand carbon. With more reliable braking. And no latex tube exclusions - which of itself alone can erase that aerodynamic gap.

evan326
Posts: 480
Joined: Wed Sep 14, 2016 8:51 pm
Location: RVA,USA

by evan326

You guys are dropping some serious knowledge here, thanks!
So it sounds like you guys think of the kinlin rims, the xr31 is worth the slight weight penalty for slightly more aero profile? I don't think I'm ever going to be fast enough to really worry about aero too much though. I assumed the lighter option would be better if I'm on a fairly wooded path most of the time. The 9000 c24s look nice, but for that price I could just have one of the WI builds. I've read about people having some gripes about the spokes on shimano wheels. I'll check out the altamont lite too.
Thanks again for the insight everyone

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AJS914
Posts: 5392
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

Well, I generally get chased around by people bearing pitchforks if I say that type of thing. I will say that that basic sentiment has strongly influenced a lot of my company's product decisions in the past year.


Dave, I have enjoyed your blog immensely. Keep up the good work. I haven't needed wheels in a while but when I do, you guys will be at the top of my list.

NovemberDave
Posts: 231
Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 11:42 am
Contact:

by NovemberDave

AJS914 wrote:Dave, I have enjoyed your blog immensely. Keep up the good work. I haven't needed wheels in a while but when I do, you guys will be at the top of my list.


Thanks!

nemeseri
Posts: 794
Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2015 5:40 pm

by nemeseri

evan326 wrote:*The 9000 c24s look nice, but for that price I could just have one of the WI builds. I've read about people having some gripes about the spokes on shimano wheels*


I own both the c24 and a custom built wheelset with T11 WI. The White Industries hubs are beautiful and will catch the attention of other riders. They won't be better or worse than the DA hubs in the terms of performance. And there is nothing wrong with the spokes on the shimano wheels.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to push you in the direction of the c24 and at this point you can't make a mistake. Everybody is different and it's up to you which wheel will deliver the best balance for your riding, and these wheels are very close in performance.

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