Should I get a 3-spoke carbon front wheel?

brit66

Next year I want to get into TTing. I want to do this on a budget so I’ll be adapting an existing road bike with aero bars – that’s all!

I already own a set of 50mm carbon clinchers, which I’ll only use for TTs. However I need to buy a new front wheel as my old got damaged and is no longer useable.

I’m therefore thinking of buying a carbon 3-spoke front wheel rather than another deep section wheel. Are the performance gains noticeable or too minuscule to be worth considering?

Perhaps if I like TTs I’ll buy a TT frame and add my current wheels but at the moment I want to keep it cheap – working on getting my position as low as I can through the winter.

Thanks

singleton

I'm not sure what the gains may or may not be, but if you don't like TT then having a set of 50mm clinchers will be more suitable to regular road use than a 3 spoke carbon wheel.

ugo.santalucia

Performance gains... depends how much you need to improve to be where you want to be... might be a matter of 20 seconds over 10 miles to go under 20 min or a matter of 5 minutes... for the latter, I wouldn't bother with a trispoke but rather work on your position and training

cougie

I'd not get a trispoke. They aren't cheap and as you say you might not like TTS..

Get a normal wheel as you can use that for everything and maybe a wheel cover? About 50 quid or so?

Grill

1. Not all trispokes are created equal
2. The tyre/tub selection is essential to make sure they're fast
3. The fork of your frame may not have the most favourable interaction
4. Without testing any wheel you buy may or may not be fast
5. I like lists

webboo

The cheapest option would be to just enter one and see if you like it or borrow some aero bars and do the same. Once upon a time people had one bike and they rode it for everything.

supermurph09

Have you got a good skin suit?

brit66

Thanks all. That was the confirmation I needed that such a wheel is not going to make a significant difference.

ugo.santalucia

brit66 wrote:

Thanks all. That was the confirmation I needed that such a wheel is not going to make a significant difference.

To make a difference you need a baseline... if you don't know where you are, it's difficult to know where to improve... enter a 10 mile TT with the bike you have and take it from there

ajmitchell

brit66 wrote:

Next year I want to get into TTing. I want to do this on a budget so I’ll be adapting an existing road bike with aero bars – that’s all!
Thanks

There is no real "need" to buy one yet but eventually you might want to! Its perhaps best to have a baseline first. You dont need an event for this, just find a suitable 5 or 10 mile course and time yourself (ideally with GPS on strava). That said If you google "trispoke or Hed H3 and wind tunnel CDA" you will find some interesting but conflicting/confusing data. However the fact that nearly all the top pro TT riders in the grand tours have trispoke front's says alot, and sometimes they cover the branding for contractual reasons but still use one. In my own (admitted imperfect test) the trispoke saved me 3-4watts over a deep wheels (80mm carbon) but there is no guarantee your gains will be the same...gains in watts are greater for stronger (ie faster) riders because air resistance is so influential at high speeds. But they also help beginners (esp in terms of time saved). If you hold time constant then they do help....see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P63k0_A2ABk . For a beginner 3-4 watts might be gained in a few weeks of training so its not much but remember thats the saving over deep spoked not open pro mavic style.

Not all trispokes and not all deep carbons are the same but there is more variation in the latter than the former. Indeed the very latest deep fronts namely Spec Roval CLX64 and Zipp 808 NSW Firecrest front claim more savings than a trispoke in their own company wind tunnels although these wheels are insanely expensive. A couple of manufacturers have 90mm or 1000mm or 1080mm front depth and I have one coming and will be comparing these soon. Regarding price chinese trispokes look good and are aero but quality is often lacking and price is between £200 and £300. I have had two one was fine, one was suspect. The dutch FFWD trispoke is currently on sale in some places (ie discounted) but is still £700 which is a crazy price for a front wheel even though the Roval CLX64 and Zipp 808 NSW Firecrest fronts are about the same!

There are lots of gains that can be made for much cheaper eg really good aero bar position, helmet, skinsuit, even shoes covers that give more gains per ££. Also the gain from training more is free of course!