Mixing carbon aero 3 or 4 spoke rear with carbon rim front

Yellow Peril

For the purpose of TT'ing. Anyone any experience of this? Is it the worst of both worlds?

ugo.santalucia

Do you have it already or you want to buy it? The most cost effective and performing solution for the rear is to get a disc cover. As I understand they come at just over 100 pounds, which is incredibly good value, considering a disc wheel costs 10 times that

http://www.raltech.co.uk/Prod_3-Wh-Cov.html

Sir Velo

This is a combination that I sometimes use and seems to work ok. I already have a Tri-spoke wheel set so when I race with them I usually put another carbon front wheel in the car and then if I get to the race and the conditions turn particularly wind I might swop the front wheel to a non Tri-spoke.

SV

Yellow Peril

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Do you have it already or you want to buy it? The most cost effective and performing solution for the rear is to get a disc cover. As I understand they come at just over 100 pounds, which is incredibly good value, considering a disc wheel costs 10 times that

http://www.raltech.co.uk/Prod_3-Wh-Cov.html

I've seen the raltech covers however, I wondered if the aero spoked rears were less susceptible to cross winds than a disc.

maryka

madasahattersley wrote:

Reckon it would look a bit funny, trispoke rears aren't all that common at the moment. I don't know how much you're willing to spend but the disc wheel I just bought was £450 2nd hand for a half decent PRO one, just trawl the classifieds on timetrialling forum for a couple of weeks

Off-topic, but I just read your latest blog Luke -- your sig piqued my interest. Well-written, well-thought-out and should be mandatory reading for all young teenagers who want to become pros! Sorry it didn't work out for you but best of luck in the future. Hopefully after a short recovery period you will rediscover the joy of simply riding your bike.

OP, a disc actually seems to add stability when TTing in windy conditions. I wouldn't ride without my disc cover except on very hilly sporting courses where the extra weight is a huge hindrance. Never tried 3 or 4-spoked aero wheels so can't compare but my usual set-up is 60mm deep section on the front, disc cover on the back.

Pross

maryka wrote:

Off-topic, but I just read your latest blog Luke -- your sig piqued my interest. Well-written, well-thought-out and should be mandatory reading for all young teenagers who want to become pros! Sorry it didn't work out for you but best of luck in the future. Hopefully after a short recovery period you will rediscover the joy of simply riding your bike.

Seconded. I've reached that point myself albeit at a much, much lower level (just trying to hang in at regional level races). In my case the solution was a few weeks off the bike altogether and then getting out for rides with friends who just want to ride their bikes. No egos trying to be first to the top of the hill or to ride the rest of the club off their wheels. After a while doing that I remembered why I enjoyed riding. It's so easy to get fixated on racing that we forget the pleasure. I now race occasionally but prefer just riding the bike and enjoying the countryside.

It really isn't a glamorous way to make a living and I have a huge respect for anyone who can bring themselves to live out of a suitcase for 9 months a year in all weathers, getting injured to earn (in many cases) less than most office workers.

Grill

Yellow Peril wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Do you have it already or you want to buy it? The most cost effective and performing solution for the rear is to get a disc cover. As I understand they come at just over 100 pounds, which is incredibly good value, considering a disc wheel costs 10 times that

http://www.raltech.co.uk/Prod_3-Wh-Cov.html

I've seen the raltech covers however, I wondered if the aero spoked rears were less susceptible to cross winds than a disc.

Discs aren't a problem in crosswinds. It's the front wheel you need to worry about.