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Aero advantage on 45mm front and 60mm rear?

10K views 18 replies 13 participants last post by  nightfend 
#1 ·
Is there really an advantage staggering the depth?
 
#7 ·
Crit is punchy in nature, lots of hard accerlation out of corners. If you don't have the brute strength to accelerate like the big guys, then you're better off using lighter wheels so that you can accelerate with them. You save at least 20% of your energy drafting them you will ever will by using any aero wheels.

I'm a lightweight (130 lbs) and there is a crit course here that has a segment that is about 1 mile long straight away with a backwind and slightly downhill grade (1-2%), and the big guys will hit 38-40 mph for this stretch every time. There is no way I could hit this speed by myself every time without cooking myself up (aero wheels or not!), but by drafting the big guys, I can go with them with gas to spare in my tank, and I'm only using the Dura Ace C24 wheelets (shallow wheelset).

Road race, same thing. Most of the time I stuff myself right in the middle of the pack (or any pack) and cruise along with them.

Smart racing beats aero wheels any day. Only time it really counts i time trial as you're all on your own.
 
#8 ·
Crit is punchy in nature, lots of hard accerlation out of corners. If you don't have the brute strength to accelerate like the big guys, then you're better off using lighter wheels so that you can accelerate with them. You save at least 20% of your energy drafting them you will ever will by using any aero wheels.
Why reinvent the wheel. Alex's Cycle Blog: The sum of the parts

Smart racing beats aero wheels any day.
And has it been your experience that putting aero wheels on your bike makes you stupid?
 
#9 ·
The idea of using a shallower wheel in front is to improve handling in the wind.
 
#12 ·
I found myself thinking about this last summer, when I was out at the velodrome a lot.

I'd take that .5 mph. :D It doesn't matter how much sooner I get my hub to the line - just that I do.

For me, I found that part of "racing smart" was knowing when to do something really stupid - attacking off the front and seeing if I could "get away with it." Having some fancy wheels to help, if only a little, makes a difference in that circumstance.

That said, I'm still just doing 32-spoke wheels for now. I'm not even sure if I'm going to get to race track this season, let alone in a position to throw a bunch of money at aero.
 
#13 ·
I think not only getting a higher top end speed but also the ability to keep that speed is well worth the extra grams.

I can drop 5 pounds in a week and that would probably suffice any weight gain on equipment.

I really appreciate the real world input.

One thing for sure though, if any of us are worried braking parts then why race? That's the least of my worries. Priority #1: Try to win. Priority #2: If avoidable, don't be a part of any wrecks. Avoid trying not to brake parts....not on my list.
 
#15 ·
You can get light and aero, I had this debate with myself till the LBS made me an offer on a set of Mavic CCU's I couldn't resist. 45mm and weight was 1095 without skewers, lighter than posted on their website. I however have no knowledge on how they perform over my DA 50mm clinchers.
 
#19 ·
For road races and crits, I really think the shallower carbon wheels in the 40 mm range are the way to go. You want a fairly light (under 500 gram) rim to keep the accelerations quick.

You can do more for aerodynamics by adjusting your bike fit so you are more horizontal on your bike during the race. There is a reason pro's ride long stems with plenty of drop between handlebars and saddle.
 
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