Triathlon Wheel 60/80 or 80/80

The 80 combos you saw on the following athletes were the Mavic CXR 80's: Fred Van Lierde (men's winner), Starky (fastest bike split), Tim O'Donnell (top American finisher) and Leanda Cave (defending women's winner).

These particular wheels are very stable in crosswinds. If you're interested, here is a test I was fortunate to complete in Kona on the Wednesday before race day out on the Queen K with one of Mavic's engineers gathering yaw angle information out on the race course (http://www.engineerstalk.mavic.com/yaw-angle-measurement-in-real-conditions-on-kona-ironman-course/).

The ride took place on Wednesday of race week which turned out to be a more severe weather day than what the pros experienced on Saturday however by many accounts the winds really picked up when the majority of age-groupers were out on the course.

To more directly answer your question about Ironman Florida, Starky followed up his fastest bike split in Kona with an Ironman record setting ride in Panama City (4:02:xx) with a Mavic CXR 80 front and a Comete disc.

There was a pretty wide range of wheel choices both last year and this year at Kona. Among pros and top Agers. I'm not sure where you got the impression that everyone was using 60/80 last year and everyone was using 80/80 this year.

Your wheel selection is basically going to come down to your ability to handle the wheel set in the wind. Some wheels react different than others, and some riders have a higher tolerance based on their position and handling skills.

In general though...someone of your size can probably handle a 80/80 set. Unless you're a BOP rider...where a shallower set may help due to the increased yaw angle of the wind you'll experience.

Thanks for the info. I think I will go with the 80/80. I'm wondering what is you guys info about the made in China brand. I don't have a lot of money to spend on these wheels and you can buy both wheels on e-bay for about 500$ any thoughts on that? I know it can't be compare from the real brand but I'm pretty sure it's better than my Cannondale Slice 5, 2011 stock wheels.

Thanks!

The difference between stock (box) wheels and high quality aero wheels can be significant. The difference between aero 60/80 vs 80/80 combos is very small and 80/80 may not always be better. I would get which ever looks best to you on your bike and ride the heck out of them.

The Chinese wheels may be fine, or they may not be so great. You can get great wheels from Orr, Flo, Williams, or Boyd and at least have someone to talk to if you have issues. If you are willing to take the chance to save money, go Chinese.

Disclaimer. I have to admit, I have purchased a bunch of Chinese knock-offs including water bottle cages, lights, pedals, heart rate straps, speedometers and cadence monitors and have only been burned a couple of times. I have never bought Chinese wheels