Talk to me about wheels, please
Discussion
My local bike shop, who have always seemed pretty good and straight, have told the mrs ahead of her first Ironman 70.3 in a couple of weeks that the best upgrade she can make to her existing bike (a Meek 2k Poggio - cost about £750 i think) is to the wheels. They have various sets on sale but have suggested a carbon set from Vision for about £500. I know very little about such matters, will new fancy wheels make much of a difference? The wife is an experienced ultra-marathon runner but relatively inexperienced in triathlons but has been training fairly hard. All thoughts and advice much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
If it's on Shimano R500s (as it was sold on Wiggle) then depending on the design of the aero wheels, how fast she is, the type of course, the precise shade of blue in the sky etc etc, realistically over 90km she could hope to save perhaps 2-3 minutes with some decent aero wheels. Whether that's good value is a personal decision.
I like the way that aero wheels look, so they are worth it to me.
If they are allowed in the event and she doesn't already have them, my opinion is that she would likely save more time by using an aero helmet and clip on aero bars.
I like the way that aero wheels look, so they are worth it to me.
If they are allowed in the event and she doesn't already have them, my opinion is that she would likely save more time by using an aero helmet and clip on aero bars.
Wheels are a good idea but I'm not sure about vision, I had a set of vision alu wheels and the rim design made it very hard to change a tyre and impossible to get the tyre back on when I got a flat 40 miles from home in December! The lbs struggled to get the tyre on, tried a new folding tyre, checked the wheel was the right size then used a 2ft bar to finally get it on
pembo said:
Wheels are a good idea but I'm not sure about vision, I had a set of vision alu wheels and the rim design made it very hard to change a tyre and impossible to get the tyre back on when I got a flat 40 miles from home in December! The lbs struggled to get the tyre on, tried a new folding tyre, checked the wheel was the right size then used a 2ft bar to finally get it on
Planet X? IIRC that was a bad "batch" (or since-addressed design flaw), and you're certainly not the only person to have had that problem. FWIW Vision are "just" FSA. They're OK, but I can't help but think there's better out there for £500. IIRC that's Shimano RS81 money.
"just FSA"....Why do people have this impression that FSA components are second rate or inferior in comparison, their entry level stuff is just as good/bad as anyone elses and as for their top end stuff, if its good enough for Cav.... If it were me I'd spend the money on something from Campag as I think their hubs are second to none and just roll and roll and roll and roll.... I'd look at the Campag Bullet 50mms which are £600 from Wiggle but I'm sure she's worth it!... 
Remember though that the supposed aero advantage gained from deep rims only comes in to play around 30-35km/h so dont discount something like Zondas if its a lumpy course or she just isnt that fast.
Remember though that the supposed aero advantage gained from deep rims only comes in to play around 30-35km/h so dont discount something like Zondas if its a lumpy course or she just isnt that fast.Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 27th May 21:18
pablo said:
and as for their top end stuff, if its good enough for Cav....
Perhaps not the best example...http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/ma...
I bought new wheels for my Giant and I think they made a biig difference. It felt like a different bike to me. In short, I would recommend a new wheelset, but you don't have top spend £500. For a start a LBS will be expensive, so have a look online.
Something like the Campag Zondas or Shimano RS81s are pretty good. The Shimano Ultegras are pretty good value are £230 and sometimes less if you get a discount code
Something like the Campag Zondas or Shimano RS81s are pretty good. The Shimano Ultegras are pretty good value are £230 and sometimes less if you get a discount code
I've just swapped out my Shimano R500s for Fulcrum racing 3s, which are basically Campag Zondas.
Sub £300 from wiggle. The best mod I've made to anything. They roll for miles and on steep climbs any energy spent pedalling is instantly transferred to forward motion. With the old wheels it felt like you were pedalling to swing a pendulum round on the back.
On the first sportive I done after fitting them I'd see people in front roll down a hill then have to start pedalling at a certain point when they got on the level, whilst me and my mate (who has Zondas) would still just be rolling along at the same speed behind them. The amount of energy they must have saved me over 60 miles was worth every penny.
I don't want deep dish as I do windy hilly rides and the cross winds are a pain. I love the look. Of them though.
Do it!
Sub £300 from wiggle. The best mod I've made to anything. They roll for miles and on steep climbs any energy spent pedalling is instantly transferred to forward motion. With the old wheels it felt like you were pedalling to swing a pendulum round on the back.
On the first sportive I done after fitting them I'd see people in front roll down a hill then have to start pedalling at a certain point when they got on the level, whilst me and my mate (who has Zondas) would still just be rolling along at the same speed behind them. The amount of energy they must have saved me over 60 miles was worth every penny.
I don't want deep dish as I do windy hilly rides and the cross winds are a pain. I love the look. Of them though.
Do it!
At a sportive last year I tried some Reynolds Aero 58s
Wow!
First carbon rims I'd tried and as it was a test I went for the best / most expensive but bloody hell did they make a difference!
It was like having a pair of gyroscopes under me, the momentum they carried was phenomenal
I didn't notice any additional weight / difficulty on the climbs but picked up so much speed so quickly as I crested every hill.
Only a slight feeling of movement in crosswinds too.
Plus, they made me feel a million dollars, and they looked amazing. That good feeling contributed as much to an improved time as the performance. Got several comments from other riders on how good they looked.
I ride a Ribble R872, so the wheels would cost about twice what the bike cost me. Still, if I had the spare cash I definitely would.
(Apologies for lack of technical detail and coming across as an over enthusiastic fan boy)
Wow!
First carbon rims I'd tried and as it was a test I went for the best / most expensive but bloody hell did they make a difference!
It was like having a pair of gyroscopes under me, the momentum they carried was phenomenal
I didn't notice any additional weight / difficulty on the climbs but picked up so much speed so quickly as I crested every hill.
Only a slight feeling of movement in crosswinds too.
Plus, they made me feel a million dollars, and they looked amazing. That good feeling contributed as much to an improved time as the performance. Got several comments from other riders on how good they looked.
I ride a Ribble R872, so the wheels would cost about twice what the bike cost me. Still, if I had the spare cash I definitely would.
(Apologies for lack of technical detail and coming across as an over enthusiastic fan boy)
Light wheels are very overrated, I would definitely not recommend light over aero, especially for tri. There are easier ways to save weight.
As someone else mentioned R500's, yes, they particularly don't roll terribly well. Plenty of reasonably priced options that are better (aero or not), I'll second flo wheels.
Aerobars - best value for money, with caveats: you need to change your whole bike setup to suit (shorter stem, saddle up and forward). Perhaps not the best thing to be doing right before a race.
Silly hat (I'd recommend a in-between option like a specialized evade) is also pretty good VFM.
As for a power meter, it's the best speed you can buy (for medium/long distance tri), not just for training, but for pacing your race. Does need time to understand the numbers and refine pacing targets however.
As someone else mentioned R500's, yes, they particularly don't roll terribly well. Plenty of reasonably priced options that are better (aero or not), I'll second flo wheels.
Aerobars - best value for money, with caveats: you need to change your whole bike setup to suit (shorter stem, saddle up and forward). Perhaps not the best thing to be doing right before a race.
Silly hat (I'd recommend a in-between option like a specialized evade) is also pretty good VFM.
As for a power meter, it's the best speed you can buy (for medium/long distance tri), not just for training, but for pacing your race. Does need time to understand the numbers and refine pacing targets however.
In response to the requirements (i.e. 70.3 in a couple of weeks) yes wheels will be the most valuable and instant upgrade.
Plenty of articles around like this one which estimates ~2% time saving with the optimum set up. A mate of mine switched to 60mm front/disc rear for the 70.3 Worlds a few years back and he reckons it shaved ~3 minutes off his bike time.
Plenty of articles around like this one which estimates ~2% time saving with the optimum set up. A mate of mine switched to 60mm front/disc rear for the 70.3 Worlds a few years back and he reckons it shaved ~3 minutes off his bike time.
I can highly recommend Shimano RS80's...now replaced by the RS81 (which must be at least as good!). I had fulcrum racing 7s on and got the RS80 wheels for £325, they retail at around £500. I noticed a fairly significant difference.
Biggest, cost effective upgrade if it hasn't been done already? A proper bike-fitting service (typically will take 2 hours+
My pace shot up immediately.
Biggest, cost effective upgrade if it hasn't been done already? A proper bike-fitting service (typically will take 2 hours+
My pace shot up immediately.
Dammit said:
If it's for an event and its soon then buying some speed in the form of aero is a bit more practical than getting a power meter.
Aero bars, aero helmet, skinsuit, shoe covers, 90mm front/Disc rear, in that order I would say.
I'd order the wheels from Flo if there is time.
Couple of hundred quid on a wind tunnel session would save watts too.Aero bars, aero helmet, skinsuit, shoe covers, 90mm front/Disc rear, in that order I would say.
I'd order the wheels from Flo if there is time.
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