How much difference do a good set of wheels make?

[K50 DEL]

I had Zipp 404s on my old Bianchi... the new Ribble is coming with Rodi Airline 5s
Interested to see if I can tell the difference.

[Raven Flyer]

okgo said:

Riding at a constant speed on a turbo with power to see watts required I would imagine, suppose it would work if all things were equal?

The spoke drag is completely different on a turbo as the spokes are travelling at 'bike speed' all the way round the circle.

Because twice the speed equals drag squared and because a stationary spinning wheel has a rotating air vortice in the spoke zone, the drag will be higher on the road than it will on a turbo.

[okgo]

But we are talking bearings here? Also its a disc so spokes not a factor in that way I suppose?

[Raven Flyer]

okgo said:

But we are talking bearings here? Also its a disc so spokes not a factor in that way I suppose?

On a disc wheel, completely correct.

On a spoke wheel, the two measurements wouldn't be comparable.

[ED209]

Took the plunge and went for a set of Mavic Ksyrium Elite's from probikekit =, came in at just under £350 with a discount code and quidco cashback. Seems a reasonable deal compared to other sellers.

Edited by ED209 on Tuesday 2nd August 16:08

[Barchettaman]

Aero bricks, but should be robust.

Mitigate their poor aerodynamic performance with latex tubes and Conti GP 4000 Black Chilli tyres.

Best of luck!