Do you guys also wrestle bears on these rides?

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Road bike: Pinarello Dogma 60.1
TT bike: Trek Speed Concept

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4XxCZagAjk

No, but with a rig like this, Sedluk just outruns them!!!!

Change of planes. It is far too cold, and rain is in the forecast for RATL today. Looks like more favorable conditions for Zanesfield tomorrow. So I'll be there.

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Cervelo S2(5888g)
Trek 5200(7050g)

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1051507

Looks like a pretty good race; some good hills for the climber types and and a big downhill finish for the sprinters to try and catch up

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"But when you hit that asphalt down below nothing else matters, your pulse is skyrocketing toward 200"
Speed Concept
Colnago Mapei
S-5 VWD

Ok, that's nice.

We love being regaled with stories of the trials and tribulations of riding in Amish Country (he says, dreamily, wistfully thinking of an FMB double-flat, followed by a few days 'stranded' with Rachel Lapp before having to return to life 'amongst the English'), but we want to know about those Fernweg wheels!!!

I took the stickers off the wheels. The stickers weighed about 10 grams total. This brings the wheelset weight down to about 1,300 grams. I am not really all that crazy about having logos all over my bikes. I like a more industrial look. I like the wheels without stickers but if they had the traditional “Lightweight” painted on logos I would have kept them.

The wheels come with a warning card. To paraphrase it says do not hang the bike by the wheels or put any tension on the straps if you put it on a rack. While taking off one of the magnet stickers I had to scratch it with my nail pretty good to get it off. I later noticed a slight difference in the reflection; I had actually left a subtle imprint in the carbon sidewall with my finger nail. I may still hang the bike upside down but I will make sure the hooks are very well padded. It looks like the inside of the rims are thicker and of course the brake surface is strong. But the sidewalls of the wheels appear to be thin and somewhat fragile.

The wheels are very true. All of my Obermayer and Standard Gen III wheels were subtly out of true when new. Something like 1mm but I never actually measured. The great thing is that they never changed no matter how many miles I put on them. Some people expect them to be perfectly true when new, it never bothered me. It looks like they are upping their game on getting them true out of the box. It is not something that really matters to me. I have them to ride them.

My tubular Gatorskins fit into the wheel a little more than the other Lightweight wheels. It looks like the channel for the tire is a little deeper. One thing I found with the other Lightweight wheels is the tubular glue ( I use Vittoria Mastik ) really sticks to the surface. I have found that the surface of some other rims does not really allow the glue to stick as well. The surface on these looks the same but I will have to wait until I change a tire to be sure.

I would rate the stiffness to be more like a pair of Obermayers than Gen III. The Gen III wheels are the gold standard for wheel stiffness in my book. The Obermayer wheels are close but have a tiny bit more flex.

The wheels are quiet. I find that my Zipp wheels always sound hollow and rattle. I have some custom tubular 404’s built with high spoke count and DT Swiss 190 hubs. Most carbon wheels that I have ridden have a rattily sound. I bought a pair of the Easton TT wheels once. I think they looked cool. I rode them down to the coffee shop, returned and took them off. They were so flexible that I just sold them. I thought about adding more spokes but I think they were a lost cause. I bought a pair of Zipp 808 with the standard spoke count and did the same. I have a custom build Zipp 808 set with upgraded spoke count, 24 in the rear with a Powertap. I rarely ever ride them, you just notice them. You can tell that you are riding an aero wheel. They are heavy and they sound heavy and hollow.

I risk starting a long debate about wheel brands. I find it interesting that Zipp changed their Firecrest wheels so that they are less efficient than their old wheels when there is no cross wind. But they are more efficient than the old design in a strong crosswind. They are now sold as a more general purpose wheel. The rim on the Fernweg is the same width top to bottom. A little narrower than my Gatorskins, but probably a perfect fit for thinner tires. Probably super-efficient with no or light cross winds. This suits me fine because I generally would not be riding an 80mm aero wheel on a breezy day. And if it is really windy I will be riding a set of Venteux wheels.

The thing I felt the most was the wheels want to track in the same direction. You don’t hear them unless you are going up a hill. Then you get the same swish sound you get on the other Lightweight wheels. Other than that they just disappeared. You just ride along and you forget that you are riding aero wheel.

Wow, you've left me utterly speechless. Amazing on so my levels- and I agree with debadging the wheels since the graphics are horrible. You now have 4 Cervelos?

My goal is to have a sub 13 lb. aero built up by the end of the year as well- but on a budget... In short, I'm not afraid to say I'm über-jealous! Good on you for racing a machine like this- I'd be scared to death of crashing since I couldn't afford to replace it.

I also want to touch on your gripe about the seatpost- I'm on the low end for a 51 frame too and my seatpost was right at the insertion line too, they really dropped the ball on this one, but I did have an LBS that swapped them for free.

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Flickr
2012 Cannondale CAAD10

After spending a little more time with the bike I adjusted the saddle angle up just a touch (Looks cool the way it was in the picture though).

And I placed the saddle in exactly the same position as on my other bikes and the white insertion line is partly hidden inside the frame with just some of the white line now showing. So I think I will just stick with the small seatpost. But I never like to be at the limit, they should have made these are least a couple of centimeters longer.

...with frozen water hoses glued to your Lightweight wheels, I think even out running a squirrel would be challenging.
EM3

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My 2011 Cervelo R5

Wow, stunning machine, I didn't even realise Lightweight made wheels that deep, where have I been?! Bravo on the tyre choice, real world tyre choice, I run the Gatorskin tubs on my Bonty carbons and I swear by them, I'm seriously thinking of sticking a set on my Lightweights, most of my riding is done in rural locations and I'd rather not get a flat than be fractionally faster or lighter.

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Ti or dye!

The Weenie formally known as CAADHEAD

You are incorrect about Firecrest 808s- they have tested faster than any of Zipps other wheels by both Zipp and other testers (Tour comes to mind). They're also torsionally stiffer now as well.

You must have the legs of Chris Hoy, because I can't detect a bit of flex with a 1500 some watt spring on my current modle 808 FCs. Can't speak for the pre-2012s.

Thanks for the comments about the Fernwegs. Very interesting wheelset.

Coolness.

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Slam your stem.

Nice meeting you today sedluk. Can't wait to see you implement that idea we talked about.

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Cervelo S2(5888g)
Trek 5200(7050g)

Group ride to the death????

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Flickr
Tarmac SL3 Project Yellow
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