Bike wheels
230
Member
914 days
fpugsley posted 1 year ago.
I think disc wheels just sound cool, especially when I am passing someone on my road bike with my not so aero Ksyrium SL's.
Really, if its going to be windy, you will get blown around on deep rims and a disc. Why not just go with a set of moderately deep Zipps? You have to be doing like 24mph to get some real aero advantage anyway right?
I would just get what I thought was the coolest and get out there and race!
2729
Member
1282 days
Anton posted 1 year ago.
I'm in with fpugsley...Racing with what you like has a big effect on how you do...
If you can only get one set of wheels...get some Zipp 404's or Bontrager Aoelus...great wheels. HED's are always a good buy. Skip the disc. Windy conditions make them a horror to deal with. Personally, I don't see as many disc's as I used too...sort of like 650 wheels.
"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?" - Vincent Van Gogh
My Blog: http://anton.trifuel.net
1125
Member
899 days
UFTriGator posted 1 year ago.
I actually don't have any trouble riding a disc in a crosswind. The thing about a disc (like fpugsley said) is that you need to be going a certain speed for the aerodynamics to overcome the flywheel effect that would slow you down (I've heard 23 mph, he's heard 24), so if you're averaging 21 or 22 in your races, don't get a disc. Otherwise, I love riding discs.
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-Matt
Not fast enough.
33
Member
394 days
Tri4thlete posted 1 year ago.
ya i can averaged about 21-22 mph with my old kilo... but now that i have my new bike prob. about 22-23? but ya i kinda wanna get a disc cuz of the cool factor, but what about mild winds? are they just as bad with any wind? oh, also, whats the difference between clinchers and tublars?
1125
Member
899 days
UFTriGator posted 1 year ago.
That's a pretty big difference in speed actually. Unless your Kilo was falling apart, I don't know if it'll make that big of a difference. Riding a disc in crosswinds is all about how comfortable you are on the bike. You'll feel the push to the side, but it's not going to knock you over, and the only way it's going to slow you down is if you let it freak you out. It also depends on how much you weigh. I weigh almost 170, so the wind doesn't affect me much at all and I won't even feel a mild crosswind. If you're under 150, it might be a bigger deal.
If you're just starting out with tris and plan on getting serious about them, go ahead and get a disc because you'll drop a lot of time in your first year or two of training. If you've already been doing tris for a couple years, I think you'd be better off with something like 808s.
Clinchers have a lip on the inside of the rim and the tire is U-shaped with beads at the ends that seat inside the lip to hold it on. The tire and tube are separate and a flat is usually fixed by just replacing the tube ($5) Tubulars are also called sew-ups since the tube is sewn inside the tire. There is no lip and no bead. The tire is glued straight onto the rim. That means that the whole wheelset is a couple hundred grams lighter. Flats are harder to fix, so a lot of people will just replace the whole tire ($40+). Almost everybody trains on clinchers for this reason, but a lot of people (like me :D) race on tubulars.
The argument for tubulars being better is that they have lower rolling resistance, handle better, weigh less, and can be pumped up to higher pressures. However, clincher technology is getting a lot better and most of those are becoming less and less valid reasons for having tubulars (except for the weight....that is still a pretty significant difference). They still have the cool factor, though. Racing on tubulars is definitely cooler than racing on clinchers. :D
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-Matt
Not fast enough.
alright i just bought myself a 2006 quintana roo seduza and i love it! im now looking for wheels to use for racing. It's a lot harder than i thought cuz certain wheels should be used for the rear and some are better in different conditions but if some one could give me some advice on different types of wheels? Im looking to get either a zipp front wheel with a disc rear or a HED stinger 90 front wheel and a superlite disc back, but are discs the thing to get? thanks for your advice!