Wheels choice - 60cm

[TiPX]

Hi,

I'm looking for opinions on what are the best ~60cm carbon wheels, for rim brakes / clinchers. Something aero with the best lateral stiffness possible.
I only have experience with Zipp wheels (808 on a TT bike) but want something for my road bike.
I was considering the 404, 404 nsw or WTO 60.
I'm a bit concerned as different reviews seem to say these wheels lack lateral stifness, and I wanted something stiffer than my 808 wheels.
Do we have anyone here on this forum that tried these different wheels and could comment ?
Are there any better alternatives out there, maybe reynolds or dt swiss?
I'm looking for opinions as it's going to be impossible for me to try these wheels before buying.

Thanks,

[Hexsense]

You mean 60mm?
A standard 12 inch ruler is 30cm long. 60cm wheel would be huge.

You should also state the required tire size. Most rim brake wheels are narrow and fit best with 23-25mm tires.
404 rim brake isn't wide enough to be optimal for modern 28 tires. The disc version is wider. WTO is okay for 25 but not good with 28 too.
If HED and Reynolds is at a good discount then consider it.
Also consider Light-Bibycle AR56, if you don't mind the very long wait time (2 months +). It is 30mm wide so it fit great with 25/28 tires. The only rim I know that is nearly as wide for rim brake bike is Roval (CLX50 or CLX64). But Roval is more expensive. One good thing about LB is that, if you want ultimate stiffness. You can ask them to lace 28 large spokes on it. It'll surely be stiffer than 24 thin spokes.

[TiPX]

Thanks for the feedback, you are right, 60mm indeed, my bad.. And I plan to use 25mm tires (I'm still on 23 right now).
I'll take a look at the options you mentionned (I didn't think about HED, good idea, I'll have to check what they do these days).

[rides4beer]

+1 for Light Bicycle. I have AR56s w/DT240EXP hubs, 1455g for the set, CX-Ray spokes up front, CX-Ray/Sprint on the rear to make it stiffer. I'm 84kg and put down good power and there is no flex at all. They're a lil over 30mm wide (mine measured at 30.25mm), but they also have a 28mm wide version, it's just not listed on their site, you have to email them for that one. You can also get other custom options, like no holes in the rimbed, so no tape needed, and a satin finish, I got both options.

[alcatraz]

Can you post a picture of the 808s you've ridden? Some versions of them are stiffer, some are flexier.

Is it cornering or accelerations first and foremost you want to improve compared to the 808s you rode?

[TiPX]

Here it is:


This is a model from 2016.
To be honest, some flex probably comes from my Cervelo P3, as it gives me a different feeling when I put the wheels on my tarmac sl5.
I can feel it when cornering at high speed (like >50 km/h), the rear feels weird, like it's not on a rail anymore, it gives the feeling I'm loosing some control and it forces me to be careful. (But I didn't experience that on the tarmac).

Based on that, I guess a set of Zipp 404 would be just fine, but as I never tested other wheels (except some old reynolds) and I want to do some sprinting with them, I was wondering if another set of wheels would be worth the try.

[alcatraz]

Is this wheelset the exact same model? Please confirm.

Just figuring out where you're coming from so we could estimate what would be considered an upgrade.

Some 808 have the construction of racing wheels and some (like this one) is more like time trial focused. Low spoke count, light spokes, crossed on one side only, etc. Stiffness wise it would be among the more flexier wheelsets out there.

[TiPX]

Interesting, I didn't know that!
I checked mine, the rear wheel has the spokes crossed on both sides, so I guess they are standard ones.
18 spokes on the front wheel, 24 on the rear wheel.

[alcatraz]

Picture of the rear wheel and hub?

Do you want more stiffness primarily for the purpose of confidence during fast cornering or for acceleration, climbing, sprinting?

[TiPX]

Here is the rear wheel:


And the hub:


I hope that helps.
My main goal would be fast acceleration and sprinting. I'd like something that feels solid when you are sprinting hard (and aero for the rest of the ride ). Cornering shouldn't be an issue.

[alcatraz]

The wheel looks pretty good except for the spoke thickness and maybe the spoke count.

The best way to get a solid upgrade from this is to build a 20/28 spoke wheelset. Use internal nipples, straightpull bladed spokes of 5 or 6gr weights. Ideally 6gr in the back and 4/5gr in front. I would love to recommend a good 28h hub for sprinting but nothing excellent comes to mind. Dtswiss make good freehub mechanisms for strong riders, but the flanges aren't that generous. Still it could be the better option.

Or buy a lightweight (branded) wheelset.

If you're on a budget maybe a hub like this with 6gr spokes will offer a little bit more stiffness than those 808s. It's not spectacular but ticks some important boxes.

[jlok]

Get i9 1/1 J-bend rear 28? Better bracing angle vs straight pull spokes?

[alcatraz]

Yeah J-bend hubs often have better flanges at lower prices.

Ideally you'd probably want a straightpull, but as you said there are many situations where a J-bend simply is the best choice (availability, quality, price etc).