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Lightweight wheels ride report
 

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greglepore
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 1724
Location: SE Pa, USA

9/14/17 2:53 PM

Lightweight wheels ride report

Two rides on these now. Tubular Gen 2 or 3 (not sure, only difference is spoke material).

So yeah, as told a thousand times, these things are light (1080g for a wheel that's almost 50mm deep) and STIFF. My first ride impression was how jarring they were. However, after a bit of time now, I get the buzz. On climbs of any sort, they have a responsiveness like nothing else I've experienced. The combination of the light weight and the stiffness really makes a difference uphill. Downhill and in turns the stiff translates to precision, but they are sort of like racecar suspension, very reactive. Precise but unforgiving.

On the flats, they seem aero enough but the light weight may almost seem like it works against you as they don't carry momentum.

Avg speed on a known course on a wind free day was in my highish range without unusually high normalized power, so I guess they're fast.

These are not wheels I'd ride every day. Too demanding. But for an event (Dan-perfect for the Kanc) or a fast hilly ride, yeah, they're cool. I don't know that they're worth the ridiculous cost given that mavic ccu or reynolds rzr's are similar in attributes and much less money used, but I'm rocking bling at less than I paid for my last set of handbuilt aluminum wheels.

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dfcas
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 2815
Location: hillbilly heaven

9/14/17 3:24 PM

I want them.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

9/14/17 4:15 PM

"I want them."

Glad I did not have coffee in my mouth when I read that. LOL

When at my fastest, probably 16 years ago, I felt that the Zipp 404s I had felt like that at 1600ish grams. I especially noticed the response when pushed from 25+ MPH upon hard accelerations. Something I only do to get to 25 MPH anymore...

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sanrensho
Joined: 20 Feb 2004
Posts: 835
Location: North Vancouver

9/14/17 8:05 PM

I ride a sub-1,000 gram wheelset as my everyday wheels. (Extralite hubs with Enve/Farsport rims.)

I was previously riding a 1,300 gram Kinlin clincher wheelset (low profile). The more aero wheelset does make it much easier to hold speed.

I don't live in a particularly windy area, but I've only felt that I was being blown around on one occasion. I'm very happy with my 38/45 mm deep wheels.

I would like to try 50 mm rims for my next wheelset.


Last edited by sanrensho on 9/14/17 11:24 PM; edited 1 time in total

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

9/14/17 8:20 PM

My Scott Addict in my initial build/iteration had 1138gr tubulars. I felt like I was chasing them all the time. ;)

My 'Aero' wheels are clyde built HED 50 front with an 80 rear Deep. They weigh maybe almost twice your sub 1000 wheel. I love them on flatter and mild rolling long rides where no real accelerations occur. Some inertia come in handy occasionally. ;)

I can start a thread, Not Lightweight Wheels Thread. ;O

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greglepore
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 1724
Location: SE Pa, USA

9/14/17 8:52 PM

50S in a toroedial shape are fine, like open pros.

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PLee
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 3712
Location: Brooklyn, NY

9/15/17 12:00 AM

I still ride my old aluminum Campag Ventos. Too heavy for hills, but you can definitely feel the aero difference at speed. Crosswinds can be rough, though.

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dfcas
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 2815
Location: hillbilly heaven

9/15/17 6:45 AM

I had a set of Spinergy Rev X eons ago. They were heavy, but really rolled downhill. I didn't have enough power to get them up to speed. I got blown across a road once on them and never rode them again.

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dan emery
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 6884
Location: Maine

9/15/17 6:49 AM

Lightweights for the Kanc

Man, I couldn't do that with a straight face....

Another problem is I couldn't use them in Merckx tts.

Dan, I also had Spinergys. I can't even remember why I stopped riding them.

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5096
Location: Nashua, NH

9/15/17 7:37 AM

A while back...

...I built some 50mm carbon tubulars in the 1100 gram range and I really enjoyed riding them. Unfortunately the quality of the rims was horrible and they failed quickly, so I ended up getting my money back for the rims. I still have the hubs and spokes, so maybe someday when light carbon rims come down to a reasonable price...yeah, like THAT'S going to happen!

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walter
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 4391
Location: metro-motown-area

9/15/17 9:07 AM

"I got blown across a road once on them and never rode them again."

some years ago, i did my spring time double century in extremely blustery conditions...riding my <a href=http://brown-snout.com/cycling/bikes/archive/time_vxrs/walter_vxrs_official_weight.jpg target =_blank>Time VXRS with AmClassic 420 wheels</a>.

i got blown all over the place that weekend...not enjoyable at all. never figured out which contributed most to gusting side-wind instability -- frame geo or wheels -- but both got a good enough taint of bad ju-ju that i sold them not long after.

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greglepore
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 1724
Location: SE Pa, USA

9/15/17 9:14 AM

Carbon rim pricing is going to fall, particularly with the introduction of filament wound rims-https://www.bike-components.de/en/bc/Flechtwerk-45-Evo-Road-Carbon-Wheelset-2017-Model-p56206/ as an example.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

9/15/17 10:05 AM

I am big and hard to blow around. It has to be pretty blustery for me to get blown about to the point of anoyance.

But being a clyde, braking performance of the carbon/cork type pads just looses me in the stopping confidence dept markedly. I need to stop when i grab a handful. Not just stop ok.

My 404s back when, and my old HED/Deep have AL rims in the construction. I will take the weight for the stopping power personally.

When i read some tech has improved carbon rim braking surface stopping performance i may try again. But honestly i dont ride fast enough anymore for aero benefits per se...

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Jesus Saves
Joined: 16 Jun 2005
Posts: 1150
Location: South of Heaven

9/15/17 10:26 AM

> It has to be pretty blustery for me to get blown about to the point of anoyance.

Agreed, but if you ride much in the NYC area, the one thing that comes immediately to mind is it is a big white-knuckle experience and annoyance for high elevation bridge crossings with narrow bike paths.

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PLee
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 3712
Location: Brooklyn, NY

9/15/17 10:58 AM

Or when a truck blows by you on a rural road . . .

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April
Joined: 13 Dec 2003
Posts: 6593
Location: Westchester/NYC

9/15/17 11:00 AM

How do you do a loop without cross wind?Or do you reserve the deep rims for windless days?

Being a "light weight", I would love anything that will help me on th FLAT. But having tried some semi-deep rim at cross wind, I don't feel like it's something I want to deal with that either.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

9/15/17 11:04 AM

Not having ridden in NJ since 2002, ;) There is one steel I bridge here which the walk is uber narrow and each steel upright every 12' or so come into the walkway as if it was not narrow enough. A PED and bike can not pass without stopping. It is windy usually being it traverses the Columbia River, a veritable funnel of gorge wind pinched down. About the only 'dangerous' spot I have encountered I can recall here.

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greglepore
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 1724
Location: SE Pa, USA

9/15/17 11:40 AM

Re spinergies- absolutely the worst crosswind wheel ever. Those wide spokes...
even worse was leaning into a crosswind and having a truck pass-the sudden loss of the wind coupled with the steering input would weave you towards the truck.

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5096
Location: Nashua, NH

9/15/17 1:16 PM

The Flechtwerk wheels...

...look pretty interesting; they're definitely worth keeping an eye on.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

9/17/17 4:03 PM

Worlds Mens TTT 1st off Team Fixit.no, I'd swear one of the team had a front Spinergy, the old 4 paired spokes?? Is this even possible?

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Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5096
Location: Nashua, NH

9/18/17 5:40 AM

No

There are other companies make 3 and 4 spoke wheels, which allegedly have an aero advantage over regular spoked wheels. I think that it comes from the fact that they can be narrower at the hub.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

9/18/17 10:24 AM

I saw plenty of modern 3 and 4 single spoke fronts. I'd swear that one wheel was either a spinergy old style or someone is doing that again. Not seen one of those one a bike is well over a decade. Pairs pop up on the local craigslist now and again for 300-800 space bucks. 800.00, yeag... right. ;O

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