Racing wheels advice needed

[jay clock]

I am reposting this here as I got little response in "what bike and kit etc"....

I have a BMC racemaster SLX01 which has Easton Circuit wheels on it. Great general purpose wheels. I use it as an all round road bike but do triathlons so erring towards the TT style of riding. I am doing another Olympic distance race soon and want to beat my PB so something faster would be good! However next year I am moving up to Ironman distance (Austria so hilly but not excessive) so comfort and all round ability is also important

It seems that the more aero I go the less weight I save....current wheels are 1700g allegedly and about £250 to £300 new. I do not want to spend a few hundred quid for zero benefit and equally buying a £400 pair, I might as well stick with the Eastons. Any idea what time benefit more aero wheels will give me on an undulating 40k course?

Things I am looking at are

Mavic Cosmic Carbone SL £750
Dura Ace WH7850 £900
SRAM S60?

I have decided I want clinchers with aluminium braking surfaces. I am on the solid side (86kg and 5'10)

All tips ideas and comments welcome

Jay

 

[Keith Oates]

I can't answer your question about the time savings with the various wheels but I do know that the Shimano wheels are very good and there is no weight limit that I'm aware of. I have Shimano Wheels on my TCR (not the Dura Ace ones though) and have found them very good and I always get the feeling that the bladed spokes make a big difference. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[PpPete]

I've no experience of TT or Triathlons but would not have thought the wheel aerodynamics are going to make that much difference to the total aerodynamic package of rider + bike.
I've always thought aero rims & spokes are pure "fashion" and that especially on an undulating course weight is going to be more important.

You may have gathered from previous posts I am a BIG fan of handbuilt wheels. Just been reading about the new Chris King R45 hubs (link). They'd save you a bit of weight that you can put back into heavier "aero" rims if you want.
For the Ironman distances I'd be very conservative about spoking... just for the comfort point of view. 28 or even 32 spoke....in a conventional 3X pattern.

 

[montage]

No experience here, but why not have a look through the austria ironman 2009 photos (or 2010 if it is done already) and see what the best finishers used? I'd have thought that they all use aero for a big reason - it saves time. Even if you aren't going for a world record, less time = fresher legs for the run etc.

Glad to know you are still going strong with the triathlon!

 

[515mm]

All the 'testers I know use aero wheels.

However, correct (aero) body position on the tri-bars first, silly helmet second, aero wheels third, time trial frame/forks last.

Personally, I'm drawn towards the HED Jet6s. A wide rim to inprove the tyre profile and contact patch with the ground for better handling, an alu braking surface and no heavier than your current wheels. If you want seriously aero wheels, look at the impressively slippery H3 trispoke jobs. They do look a bit silly on anything other than a bike sorted for time trialling though.

 

[lukesdad]

I Dont do many TT s but I have got the S60s And also the Dura ace Scandiums. The weight difference is about 400g, I d only use the Dura ace s on the steepest rides they re a great wheel, But that just shows how good I think the S60s are. I got mine from fudges on line, I think they were £750 one of my best buys ever I d say. Dont let anybody tell you a light weight wheel is faster than an aero, it ain t true. Especially for TTs.

 

[tigger]

I'm no expert and I don't TT or anything, but I did quite a bit of research recently on wheels and looked at the Aero v Weight thing. For the life of me I can't find the link but I did find a site that gave projected times based on different weight wheels, rider weight, aero wheels etc.

The bottom line was, unless its a really steep long climb, aero wins everytime for general riding and TT.

So if your course is unbelievably hilly and you're heavy and weak uphill then maybe the lightweight. But remember the aero is much quicker downhill and on the flats. Just do some google searches, guaranteed 9/10 articles and threads say you want aero.

 

[tigger]

Edit - still can't find the link but have a read here, no idea of the credibility but if its true that 200g weight saving on wheels only gives you 30 yards advantage at the end of a 9 mile 8% climb - who needs lightweights!!?

http://www.ultracycling.com/equipment/wheels.html

 

[lukesdad]

Edit - still can't find the link but have a read here, no idea of the credibility but if its true that 200g weight saving on wheels only gives you 30 yards advantage at the end of a 9 mile 8% climb - who needs lightweights!!?

http://www.ultracycl...ent/wheels.html

Not quite the full story Tigger. Lightweight wheels acclerate faster as well on a climb.

 

[lukesdad]

Crosswinds are another consideration.

 

[jay clock]

thanks for all the help. That RAAM article was excellent. Basically I would save about 25 secs on a 40k tri ride (obviously this is a guesstimate) and that sounds like a pricey gamble! I think for now I will stick with my Eastons!! Many thanks for all the help

Jay