Wheels and Crosswind.

skooter

I'm just waiting for the Jan sales to get a pair of wheels but I was just wondering which gives better crosswind protection, deeper rims or aero blade spokes or both?

Cheers

Moonbiker

What do you mean crosswind protection?

Deep dish Aero wheels are to reduce drag & higher speeds but not ideal for use in strong crosswinds unless you like getting blown off your bike, best stick to regular wheel in a strong crosswind.

ugo.santalucia

I think you got the argument the wrong way round

skooter

I had an older road bike a year or two back and it was bad when the wind was blowing, actually it was down right danerous, I've since sold it and now have a newer bike but with very heavy wheels so I'm getting a pair of new ones but I dont wont to buy them and have the same trouble as before.
I do have a Bad Boy 2 with Maddux 3.0 rims on and that seems fine but I do know that aero blade's do work, so I just want to know which way to go when buying.

andrewjoseph

as the others have said, in strong crosswinds you don't want deep rims, I don't know how much bladed spokes will catch the wind, but I suspect it is more than normal spokes.

so to avoid being blown around, don't ride Aero wheels in strong winds.

just had a look for your bike, and it seems to be a hybrid. if it has disk brakes like the one shown here:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/can ... e-ec042955

then you won't get Aero wheels to fit. I think you may need a new bike if you want to go fast with Aero wheels, you will be throwing away money trying to the hybrid to be a TT bike.

cougie

If you think about it - aero spokes and deep rims offer more surface for the side wind to hit.

They're faster thru the air - but you will get buffeted around on windy days.

I have 50mm deep rims on one of my bikes and I'd not use it on the gustiest of days.

skooter

andrewjoseph wrote:

as the others have said, in strong crosswinds you don't want deep rims, I don't know how much bladed spokes will catch the wind, but I suspect it is more than normal spokes.

so to avoid being blown around, don't ride Aero wheels in strong winds.

just had a look for your bike, and it seems to be a hybrid. if it has disk brakes like the one shown here:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/can ... e-ec042955

then you won't get Aero wheels to fit. I think you may need a new bike if you want to go fast with Aero wheels, you will be throwing away money trying to the hybrid to be a TT bike.

Sorry I didn't explain well in my last post..
I do have a Hybrid but the new bike is a road bike a Specialized Allez Comp with heavy wheels, the hybrid has 30mm rims so i was thinking along that size perhaps.. ie Fulcrum 1 which has 26mm and 30mm wheels.. I dont know if aero blades work the same..
Thanks for your reply.

skooter

skooter wrote:

andrewjoseph wrote:

as the others have said, in strong crosswinds you don't want deep rims, I don't know how much bladed spokes will catch the wind, but I suspect it is more than normal spokes.

so to avoid being blown around, don't ride Aero wheels in strong winds.

just had a look for your bike, and it seems to be a hybrid. if it has disk brakes like the one shown here:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/can ... e-ec042955

then you won't get Aero wheels to fit. I think you may need a new bike if you want to go fast with Aero wheels, you will be throwing away money trying to the hybrid to be a TT bike.

Sorry I didn't explain well in my last post..
I do have a Hybrid but the new bike is a road bike a Specialized Allez Comp with heavy wheels, the hybrid has 30mm rims so i was thinking along that size perhaps.. ie Fulcrum 1 which has 26mm and 30mm wheels.. I dont know if aero blades work the same..
Thanks for your reply.

skooter

cougie wrote:

If you think about it - aero spokes and deep rims offer more surface for the side wind to hit.

They're faster thru the air - but you will get buffeted around on windy days.

I have 50mm deep rims on one of my bikes and I'd not use it on the gustiest of days.

I think your right I didn't want to go that deep but I'm not sure if 24mm might not be enough..

Bobbinogs

Aero wheels have two main benefits AFAIK in that above ~25mph they give aero benefits and they can make ordinary cyclists look like they are pro. The drawbacks are a heavier wheel and poor handling in crosswinds.

So, what makes an aero wheel?? Bit subjective but I reckon 24-30mm rim is an all rounder and anything more is getting aero. Personally, I favour 24mm rims as I don't average 25mph and I do a fair bit of climbing...downside is I don't look pro but I have come to terms with that

BTW, I also have some 30mm wheels as they were a cheap and decent option for winter training and I haven't noticed any more of an issue in crosswinds (or benefit in aero).

skooter

Bobbinogs wrote:

Aero wheels have two main benefits AFAIK in that above ~25mph they give aero benefits and they can make ordinary cyclists look like they are pro. The drawbacks are a heavier wheel and poor handling in crosswinds.

So, what makes an aero wheel?? Bit subjective but I reckon 24-30mm rim is an all rounder and anything more is getting aero. Personally, I favour 24mm rims as I don't average 25mph and I do a fair bit of climbing...downside is I don't look pro but I have come to terms with that

BTW, I also have some 30mm wheels as they were a cheap and decent option for winter training and I haven't noticed any more of an issue in crosswinds (or benefit in aero).

Great bit of info Bobbings..

I need better wheels for climbing a well as the one's I'm getting rid of come in at 2200 gms and I'm looking at about 1500gm ish, so 24mm to 30mm sounds good balance.
The two sets of wheels I'm looking at come in the bracket.
Cheers

Cheers

Bobbinogs

You could do a lot worse than RS80s or Ksyrium Elites...

Monty Dog

You really need to be getting bigger than 40mm deep rims to be considered aero plus to get them to feel fast, you have get them fast - you'll notice it above 40kph, but less so when slower. Many of those I see riding appear to be focused on the placebo effect of aero wheels i.e. if the bike looks fast, I must be fast ;-)

skooter

Bobbinogs wrote:

You could do a lot worse than RS80s or Ksyrium Elites...

I like the Elite S too and I will look at the RS80s ...are they like the RS81 C24's.
With the sales due in a few weeks time the Shimano dura ace 9000 or the Fulcrum 1 could come into the reckoning if the discount is right.
Budget of about £500 ish..

skooter

Monty Dog wrote:

You really need to be getting bigger than 40mm deep rims to be considered aero plus to get them to feel fast, you have get them fast - you'll notice it above 40kph, but less so when slower. Many of those I see riding appear to be focused on the placebo effect of aero wheels i.e. if the bike looks fast, I must be fast ;-)

I dont want to go that deep..

jspash

I run Fulcrum Racing 3's with bladed spokes, and I get whipped around much more with those than my stock wheels which have standard round ones. Or maybe it's all in my head.

markhewitt1978

skooter wrote:

I will look at the RS80s ...are they like the RS81 C24's.

They are basically the same except the RS80 has an 8/9/10 speed hub and the RS81 takes 11 speed (will also take 8/9/10 speed)

With the sales due in a few weeks time the Shimano dura ace 9000 or the Fulcrum 1 could come into the reckoning if the discount is right.

As I understand it the Dura Ace rims are identical to the RS80/81 but with lighter / better hubs.

I run a set of RS80 C24s and don't like the crosswinds one bit and they aren't even an aero wheel, so hate to think what it would be like with C60's.

skooter

jspash wrote:

I run Fulcrum Racing 3's with bladed spokes, and I get whipped around much more with those than my stock wheels which have standard round ones. Or maybe it's all in my head.

It must be in my head as well then..

edscoble

Masturbate more often with both hand and you'll be fine in crosswind.

Or ride a Moulton.

Both will work.

skooter

markhewitt1978 wrote:

skooter wrote:

I will look at the RS80s ...are they like the RS81 C24's.

They are basically the same except the RS80 has an 8/9/10 speed hub and the RS81 takes 11 speed (will also take 8/9/10 speed)

With the sales due in a few weeks time the Shimano dura ace 9000 or the Fulcrum 1 could come into the reckoning if the discount is right.

As I understand it the Dura Ace rims are identical to the RS80/81 but with lighter / better hubs.

I run a set of RS80 C24s and don't like the crosswinds one bit and they aren't even an aero wheel, so hate to think what it would be like with C60's.

Would a wheel with aero blade spokes make any difference do you think?

edscoble

Maybe, or forget about the wheel and concentrate on riding during a crosswind, or buy a touring bike.

skooter

edscoble wrote:

Maybe, or forget about the wheel and concentrate on riding during a crosswind, or buy a touring bike.

Not so easy to forget about a crosswinds when you live on a mountain and a touring bike is way too heavy?

markhewitt1978

If you live on a mountain where you have crosswinds and lots of climbing then aero wheels are not for you.

keef66

jspash wrote:

I run Fulcrum Racing 3's with bladed spokes, and I get whipped around much more with those than my stock wheels which have standard round ones. Or maybe it's all in my head.

I noticed the same with my RS10's which only have a slightly aero rim and relatively few but bladed spokes, so I don't think it's all in your head.

Got some R501's with plain, round spokes for winter...

andrewjoseph

skooter wrote:

edscoble wrote:

Maybe, or forget about the wheel and concentrate on riding during a crosswind, or buy a touring bike.

Not so easy to forget about a crosswinds when you live on a mountain and a touring bike is way too heavy?

a touring bike would probably be much the same as your hybrid.

As has been said earlier, if sidewinds spook you, don't get Aero wheels, they will only make the problems you have with your bike worse.

skooter

markhewitt1978 wrote:

If you live on a mountain where you have crosswinds and lots of climbing then aero wheels are not for you.

Dead right mate I'm not getting aero's.. I sort of have a reverse problem.

I dont have a problem with crosswind the bikes I have just a wheel weight issue on the road bike (DT Axis 1.0s..2200gms) but I dont want to buy a wheelset and have a crosswind problem afterwards.

Hope that makes sense..

edscoble

skooter wrote:

edscoble wrote:

Maybe, or forget about the wheel and concentrate on riding during a crosswind, or buy a touring bike.

Not so easy to forget about a crosswinds when you live on a mountain and a touring bike is way too heavy?

Touring bike geometry make it easier to ride in cross wind especially.

Weight make little difference.

skooter

Just googled my old wheels of my old bike and it seems they were Giant PR 2's that weighed 1900gms with a 24-28 rims size.
They were crap, so I suppose you can just get a bad set of wheels?

andrewjoseph

skooter wrote:

markhewitt1978 wrote:

If you live on a mountain where you have crosswinds and lots of climbing then aero wheels are not for you.

Dead right mate I'm not getting aero's.. I sort of have a reverse problem.

I dont have a problem with crosswind the bikes I have just a wheel weight issue on the road bike (DT Axis 1.0s..2200gms) but I dont want to buy a wheelset and have a crosswind problem afterwards.

Hope that makes sense..

not to me, your inital post is about getting Aero wheels to help in windy conditions, your second post said the wheels you had were dangerous in windy conditions. now you're saying you don't want Aero wheels and you don't have a problem with crosswinds.

I don't know what it is you want anymore.

skooter

Please read my post again..
I said deeper rims or aero blade spokes, I wouldn't deem a rise in rims from 24mm to 30mm as aero wheels..

junglist_matty

Fair enough if you race and you are able to shave 30-60 seconds off your average hour pace on a "flat" course..... I read something a while back about aero wheels not being of any benefit if your average speed is less than *approx* 25mph; the weight penalty of the aero section counteracts any aerodynamic gains when travelling below that speed, (but maybe I'm wrong).

If your a climber or live in a hilly area, aero wheels aren't going to help much, but they might not be too much a hindrance either (unless of course its quite windy) it's literally marginal gains, weight saving, areo benefits etc.... Having one over the other for most people on most peoples average ride isn't going to make a blind bit of difference.