Lighter wheels?

37monkey

My current wheels weigh 1,817g (pair) what options are there for going lighter? and are there any downsides to going for lighter? btw I'll be using them just for crit racing.

redballoon

Unless you are super thin, losing 4.5 pounds of body weight will be equal to aprox 1,800g. Lighter wheels do not, in my opinion, make much difference next to the weight that sits on the bike.

Red Balloon

Anonymous

redballoon wrote:

Unless you are super thin, losing 4.5 pounds of body weight will be equal to aprox 1,800g. Lighter wheels do not, in my opinion, make much difference next to the weight that sits on the bike.

Red Balloon

Two things I have issue with here...

1 - What if he a) can't reasonably lose any more body weight or b) loses the weight as well as gets the light wheels?

2 - Light wheels feel like they respond quicker to accelerations and handling is improved (I have no hard data to back this up) however in a crit I would rather go for aero over weight, although both is nice...

carrock

redballoon wrote:

Unless you are super thin, losing 4.5 pounds of body weight will be equal to aprox 1,800g. Lighter wheels do not, in my opinion, make much difference next to the weight that sits on the bike.

Red Balloon

Hmmmm. see my thread here http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12734872

Pokerface

redballoon wrote:

Unless you are super thin, losing 4.5 pounds of body weight will be equal to aprox 1,800g. Lighter wheels do not, in my opinion, make much difference next to the weight that sits on the bike.

Red Balloon

Weight on the bike is important - there is no denying that. But wheel weight is one of the most important places where you want to shed weight on a bike. Rotating mass and all that.

Lighter wheels make the bike a LOT easier to handle and make for quicker accelerations.

Pokerface

NapoleonD wrote:

in a crit I would rather go for aero over weight, although both is nice...

In a crit you are constantly accelerating and decelerating - so the aero benefit is probably less important than the weight. Think of you racing from one street corner to the next, etc. You aren't spending much time cruising.


You might be thinking of a circuit race where you spend more time cruising along?

neeb

I think you'd notice a big difference in responsiveness with a 1500g wheel set compared to an 1817g one.

There are no significant disadvantages as long as the wheel is equally strong, and it's this combination of strength and light weight that you are paying for with more expensive wheels.

Lighter wheels do not, in my opinion, make much difference next to the weight that sits on the bike.

The problem with this is that the weight that sits on the bike is generally not being spun up to X revolutions per second and decelerated again on a regular basis, unless perhaps very briefly after something gets stuck in the spokes... The angular momentum of heavier wheels is definitely very noticeable.

PenguinWithHair

37monkey wrote:

what options are there for going lighter?

Not strictly within the subject, but I rather think tyres are a significant consideration too.

bendertherobot

Let's put it this way.

My summer bike has RS80's. Prior to that Mavics. Bike weight around 7 kg. Wheels 1500g.

My winter bike has Rodi Stylus. Bike weight around 9.2kg. Wheels a whopping 2250g.

If I lost 2kg more of personal weight that summer bike would still be faster.

Anonymous

Pokerface wrote:

NapoleonD wrote:

in a crit I would rather go for aero over weight, although both is nice...

In a crit you are constantly accelerating and decelerating - so the aero benefit is probably less important than the weight. Think of you racing from one street corner to the next, etc. You aren't spending much time cruising.


You might be thinking of a circuit race where you spend more time cruising along?

Yes. that.

andy162

Mavic Kysrium SL's are light. I use mine as an everyday wheel on my summer bike. Train, race, sportive duties etc...never had a problem with em either.

37monkey

PenguinWithHair wrote:

37monkey wrote:

what options are there for going lighter?

Not strictly within the subject, but I rather think tyres are a significant consideration too.

I've already decided to use Vittoria open corsa evo cx for their low rolling resistance and I'll be using latex inner tubes if I don't use tubs, but yes well worth thinking about

markos1963

From my limited experience of crit racing this year i would say go for a handbuilt lightweight wheel. Something like an Ambrioso Nemisis rim on DA hubs or something like that, nice and stiff for the constant accelerations and braking. Tubs definatly for feel and pinch puncture resistance.

racingcondor

37monkey, there are many options but without knowing your budget I don't think anyone can advise properly.

Looking at lightness over all other things though Wheelsmith will do you a sub 1000g set for around £850 (the Planet X carbon 20mm rims on Tune Hubs) or for a cheap, light option the Planet X version is 1,250g for £400 (heavier hubs and spokes). Since you're only using them for crits Tubs shouldn't be a big hassle, no idea if they're stiff enough for you though (probably, they're ex Fast Forward rims). I've been looking at these for a while, just can't justify them...

Velonutter

Pokerface wrote:

redballoon wrote:

Unless you are super thin, losing 4.5 pounds of body weight will be equal to aprox 1,800g. Lighter wheels do not, in my opinion, make much difference next to the weight that sits on the bike.

Red Balloon

Weight on the bike is important - there is no denying that. But wheel weight is one of the most important places where you want to shed weight on a bike. Rotating mass and all that.

Lighter wheels make the bike a LOT easier to handle and make for quicker accelerations.

+1 Yep nicely put Pokerface