Aero versus lightweight?
Hi all,
I am planning a new bike project and am on the search for suitable wheels...I do not race but ride regularly, including some long distance events (100 - 200Km) as well as plenty of miles in the Adelaide hills.
I am basically at the point of trying to decie between the aero advantage of a deep dish wheel versus the less aero but weight advantage of a lower profile wheel e.g. Dura Ace C35 (35mm carbon/alloy) at approx 1600 grams versus Dura Ace C24 (24mm carbon alloy) at approx 1300 grams.
Taking price out of the equation, I am interested what riders out there think as the relative merits of going with a heavier, more aero wheel versus a lighter, less aero wheel, keeping in mind that this will be my only wheelset and needs to work in the hills as well as fast riding on the flats as well as long distance (100km +) endurance rides - a lot to ask i know!
I look forward to anyones thoughts on the subject.
Cheers,
Lachlan
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Rob (Chewbacca) on -
For me....long distance involving hills go for the Dura Ace C24 if it were just a choice between the Dura Ace C24 or C35 wheels. The Dura Ace hubs on these wheels are really nice :)
If you want trouble free cycling go for some Mavic Open Pro rims with traditional 32 spokes laced X3.....if you break a spoke you can still get back home no problems. Low spoke count rims usually distort significantly when a spoke is broken making the bike unrideable.....set of wheels like this can be built to around 1500 gm which is light for a couple of hundred dollars :)
Hope I havent confused the issue for you too much
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Permalink Reply by Lachlan on
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Thanks Rob. I have considered the handbuilt option and may go this way. Unfortunately it seems Mavic is clamping down on selling their Open Pro rims online, this is what I would have chosen.
cheers
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Permalink Reply by James Jordan on -
I would be careful with the Open Pro's they are not as good as they use to be.
The shop that I work in has started seeing a number of rim failures due to cracking and pulled spoke holes.
If you are looking for hard use rims I would stick with Velocity or Shimano.
The other wheels to look at are Fulcrums. Similar strenghth to Shimano with cup and cone hubs, but alot lighter.
C35 and C24 in the clincher version are really heavy for what you get.
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Permalink Reply by Gus K on -
Use DT Swiss 465 rims, the same if not better then Open Pro. With some 28 hole hubs ( you can choose what you want but mine are a no name but light set) mine came in at under 1500g and ultimately cheaper than a factory set if you go the hand build option. Ask your shop or there are local wheel builders.
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Permalink Reply by Alasdair McLellan on -
The general rule is that you can have one or the other. Aero wheels (at a given price point) aren't very light, and light wheels at the same price point aren't very aero.
Of course, this rule breaks when you get into Lightweight or Reynolds RZR territory. Then again, $3500 for a 47mm aero wheelset that weighs 1075g is probably somewhat excessive.
for my money it depends what kindof rider you are. If you're heavy and powerful, go aero. If you're light and climb like a bastard, go light.
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Permalink Reply by Simon Lownsborough on -
C24 - less compromise for the most riding fun. Still good on the flat, and therefore less compromise on the flat. A deeper dish wheel might be more of a compromise in the hills? Unless of course you spend mega$ and get some Zips or Bontragers or similar. :)
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Permalink Reply by Frank on
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Forget weight unless you are a weight weenie, go for reliability if you crank up the miles.
Get a wheel that will go the distance, I would even do custom and get hold of Gemma K on here and get a power tab for the back.
Apart from that, the C24 is a great all rounder but I dont really touch Shitmano, similar would be Fulcrum zeros(campy made) or Campagnolo Shamals or Neutron Ultras which are my all time favourite.
Good luck and happy shopping!
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Permalink Reply by Clive Palfrey on -
Power Tab?
I noticed that Durian Rider mentioned the same or something similar.
So what is a Power Tab?
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Permalink Reply by Tim B on -
Think its actually a Power Tap http://www.cycleops.com/
Its basically a power meter built into the hub of the rear wheel which tells you how hard you are pedalling which is thought to be a better way of training compare to heart rate as many factors can influence heart rate, but power is power regardless.
One of the most popular in the Pro ranks is SRM who use a crank based system and Polar /Look are coming out with a pedal based system soon as too is Garmin. The advantage of a pedal based system is you can swap it from bike to bike fairly easily.
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Sorry, power tap, it's a wattage meter built into the rear hub, shows you exact watts put out to the rear wheels!
My mate has one and he now rides to that, his times and riding style have changed for the better.
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Permalink Reply by James Jordan on
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I have never understood the appeal of the power tab hubs now that there are a number of really good crank based units which are about the same price and far easier to use.
I have had a Power2Max since December and its great. I can swap between bikes and not limited to one wheel per hub.
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