Which Aero rim?

Burnsey#23
Burnsey#23 Posts: 29
edited June 2013 in Road buying advice
Ok so pretty much as the title says...I have narrowed it down (due to budget restraints) to Brand new Planet X tubular50mm/Planet X clincher 52mm or Shimano RS80 50mm!! Or finally second hand Mavic Carbones off of Ebay!!

I will be using them on the relativley flat rolling roads of the Wirral Peninsula and putting my Giant/DTswiss rims on for any hilly trips into Wales.
Any one got any experience/advice on these Brands?

Cheers

Comments

  • cycleclinic
    cycleclinic Posts: 6,865
    Aero rims are fro TT's or fast racing. simple Physis dicates they only work for those who sustain speeds above 25mph (the higher the better). At 25mph a 38mm deep rim peforms as well as a 50mm deep rim. At lower speed 20mph or lower you are wasting your money.

    So be relaistic about your abilities, physics does not changes ust because you have bought "aero" wheels.

    For the above reasons I am riding on shallow 22mm deep rims for TT's. My average speed is 21-22mph so I would be wasting my money with aero rims.

    Also tubular carbon rims are a better bet than carbon clinchers for a variety of reasons. For clinchers stick to alloy rims imo.
    http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.
  • smidsy
    smidsy Posts: 5,273
    I doubt the OP wanted them based on physics. More likely because they look good.

    Personally I would not even buy new Mavics, let alone second hand ones.

    For the money the PX ones represent good value and seem to perform just the same as more expensive items.
    Yellow is the new Black.
  • dawebbo
    dawebbo Posts: 456
    Look good and sound good when rolling. And despite mr simple physics' claims, they will still offer some aero benefits at 20mph...

    Why the mavic hate? I had a pair and they were great. The hubs on them are very robust. If you find some in good condition for a good price, then why not.

    Personally I'd pay the extra for the shimano v the px, as the px hubs are really bad and wear out quickly.
  • pkripper
    pkripper Posts: 652
    Aero rims are fro TT's or fast racing. simple Physis dicates they only work for those who sustain speeds above 25mph (the higher the better). At 25mph a 38mm deep rim peforms as well as a 50mm deep rim. At lower speed 20mph or lower you are wasting your money.

    So be relaistic about your abilities, physics does not changes ust because you have bought "aero" wheels.

    For the above reasons I am riding on shallow 22mm deep rims for TT's. My average speed is 21-22mph so I would be wasting my money with aero rims.

    Also tubular carbon rims are a better bet than carbon clinchers for a variety of reasons. For clinchers stick to alloy rims imo.

    Simple physics will disprove your assertion of minimum speed required because its not correct. You may have different benefits at different speeds, but the minimum speed suggestion is not correct per simple aerodynamic theory. If you wish to make that argument you should also clearly state the parameters within which you are stating it.
  • thegreatdivide
    thegreatdivide Posts: 5,802
    pkripper wrote:
    Aero rims are fro TT's or fast racing. simple Physis dicates they only work for those who sustain speeds above 25mph (the higher the better). At 25mph a 38mm deep rim peforms as well as a 50mm deep rim. At lower speed 20mph or lower you are wasting your money.

    So be relaistic about your abilities, physics does not changes ust because you have bought "aero" wheels.

    For the above reasons I am riding on shallow 22mm deep rims for TT's. My average speed is 21-22mph so I would be wasting my money with aero rims.

    Also tubular carbon rims are a better bet than carbon clinchers for a variety of reasons. For clinchers stick to alloy rims imo.

    Simple physics will disprove your assertion of minimum speed required because its not correct. You may have different benefits at different speeds, but the minimum speed suggestion is not correct per simple aerodynamic theory. If you wish to make that argument you should also clearly state the parameters within which you are stating it.

    This.
  • simon t
    simon t Posts: 132
    I have a set of Shimano Dura ace 7850's tubulars i'm thinking of selling. Better quality than Chinese/Planet X
  • cycleclinic
    cycleclinic Posts: 6,865
    well the benefit do decrease with speed so the benefits at 20 mph of " aero" rims are so small it is not worth worrying about, that is what I mean. My orginal statement is fine. At 30mph aero rims perfom better. At 25mph is has been shown a 38mm rim perform as well (nearly as a 50mm rim) and at 20 mph the difference between aero rims and shallow rimmed wheels are small and not worth worring about. At slower speed then there is no real world advantage at all.

    Aero rims show there benefit not for the extra peak speed they give but for the energy saved when pedalling at higher speeds. Significant energy saving's can only be made at high speed allowing the rider to sustain high speed for longer. I do not believe I have said anything wrong here. So pick a rim depth that suits yor average speed.
    http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.
  • MattC59
    MattC59 Posts: 5,408
    Aero rims are fro TT's or fast racing. simple Physis dicates they only work for those who sustain speeds above 25mph (the higher the better). At 25mph a 38mm deep rim peforms as well as a 50mm deep rim. At lower speed 20mph or lower you are wasting your money.

    Utter horse sh1t.
    Science adjusts it’s beliefs based on what’s observed.
    Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved
  • Burnsey#23
    Burnsey#23 Posts: 29
    Jeeez!! Only asking if anyone has used the above wheels!!
    I would actually argue about minimal gains in aero performance (even at 30mph) are not gonna have as much affect as the 'look good feel good play good' factor of owning a nice pair of wheels or nice bike or even a nice pair of football boots when it comes to sporting performance.
    I'm not asking your permission to buy aero wheels, just advice off of anyone who has owned or has experience of the ones mentioned.....cheers :-)
  • pkripper
    pkripper Posts: 652
    Of all of those I'd go for mavics as they're a very well regarded wheel. Plenty on eBay, but I'd try somewhere like here or a time trial forum where peoples reputation is a bit more reliable
  • 2oldnslow
    2oldnslow Posts: 313
    Do get a bit "sniffy" about deeper section wheels for purposes other than racing on here don't they ;)
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,172
    The other day there were 4 sets of Zipp in the sales section of this forum.. if you beleive the brochures, there is no better rim... :wink:
    left the forum March 2023
  • 2oldnslow
    2oldnslow Posts: 313
    "The other day there were 4 sets of Zipp in the sales section of this forum.. if you beleive the brochures, there is no better rim... "

    Horses for courses I suppose. The set of wheels I just picked up this week temporarily replaced a set of Vision T42 (42mm deep) are 32 hole low profile rims on cheapie Miche hubs expertly put together by Mr P. Hewitt. Although I've only thus far put about 100 miles on them they are without a shadow of a doubt more "comfortable" on the sort of roads we have around here than the Visions. Mind you that might well in part be down to the Challenge Open Grifo XS tyres (my road bike is a cross bike).

    All that being said whilst I do like the old school look of the new wheels, for the bike I've just ordered as a birthday treat (A Genesis Fugio) I'm still tempted to go deep just for the "look" But if I do it will be tubs as (like you I suspect) I find carbon clinchers are just too engineeringly challenged.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,172
    To the OP...
    Fancy a bargain?

    This is probably the best money can buy

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lew-carbon-tu ... 4ac525b5c1
    left the forum March 2023
  • smidsy
    smidsy Posts: 5,273
    pkripper wrote:
    Of all of those I'd go for mavics as they're a very well regarded wheel. Plenty on eBay

    And you do not see the irony of this. :roll:
    Yellow is the new Black.
  • kafkathedog
    kafkathedog Posts: 242
    FWIW I have a pair of the 60mm carbon clinchers on my TT bike. They look good, are pretty stiff and are aero enough for me as I don't go as fast as the really big boys so couldn't justify spending any more.
    I got them early last year at £399 and whilst they haven't done that many miles (as they mostly live on the TT bike) they have been trouble free and still are perfectly true.

    They (or at least my pair) do have the worlds loudest freewheel though, luckily that doesn't come in to play much in TTs

    They do make the nice carbon rumble noise.
  • cycleclinic
    cycleclinic Posts: 6,865
    Ride what you like at the end of the day I also like deep rim for the look though as the benefits to me personally would be negliable asI can't fast enough for long enough. When I say deep rim are for TT's and fast racing is to say that that is were the real benefits lie. Heck it was not meant to start a argument and I am being sniffy the responces are even more so.
    http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.
  • pkripper
    pkripper Posts: 652
    smidsy wrote:
    pkripper wrote:
    Of all of those I'd go for mavics as they're a very well regarded wheel. Plenty on eBay

    And you do not see the irony of this. :roll:

    There are plenty of other wheels on eBay too - draw whatever conclusions you want from that as well. Oh, and cervelos, bmcs, s-works, Scotts, cannondales etc because its a large marketplace.
  • xscreamsuk
    xscreamsuk Posts: 318
    To the OP...
    Fancy a bargain?

    This is probably the best money can buy

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lew-carbon-tu ... 4ac525b5c1

    You nasty man! I have some Royce hubs on Excellights, these would make a great TT training wheel to go with them. Ebay watch set up.
  • Burnsey#23
    Burnsey#23 Posts: 29
    Simon T, I can't PM, pop me an email with details of the shimano's when ya selling!! I've got to wait 2 more weeks for my cycle scheme voucher to come through and I've sold my Ribble (school boy error) so I'm in no rush (serious bike withdrawal symptoms) :cry:
  • 2oldnslow
    2oldnslow Posts: 313
    C-C my sniffy remark really wasn't aimed at you or indeed anyone in particular and was intended to be tongue in cheek. So apologies if you were offended by it.

    There is I think however an important point here, which is why not chose aero rims for "the look". I've just ordered a Genesis Fugio frame-set which despite being a cross bike will spend most of it's time on the road plus occasional bike paths and bridal ways. It's disc only I am am sooooooooo tempted by the look of something like the Planet-X disc CX tubular wheels. OK common sense dictates it should be something like H-Plus Son Archetypes 32H but I'm ohhhhhhh so tempted. Perhaps I'll get a set of Novatec disc hubs and some 38mm tubular rims from ebay ahhh but the planning/choosing/researching process is all part of the fun of a new bike isn't it. Hmmm Sapim D-lights I wonder.