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Flo Alternatives...
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 2014-09-08 4:14 PM |
 DC |  Subject: Flo Alternatives...Hoping for recommendation: In terms of price/quality, where else can I look or what brands should I consider? |
| 2014-09-08 5:06 PM in reply to: Porfirio |
| Subject: RE: Flo Alternatives... Boyd and Williams are slightly more expensive but are slightly lighter due to being full carbon. Not sure if that matters to you though as weight is of little consequence in triathlons. Of course there is always the used route. Lots of options for used wheels under $900 (about what a brand new set of FLOs will cost you). If I were in the market, I'd probably go with FLO or a used set of HED Jets. The aluminum brake track on both wheels are key features for me. |
| 2014-09-08 5:20 PM in reply to: Jason N |
Pro  6582    Melbourne FL Gold member | Subject: RE: Flo Alternatives... Are you looking for full carbon or alloy/carbon fairing? Full carbon to get near the FLO price point you'll have to find used and be a wide U shape to get similar aero performance. There are some other alloy/carbon fairing like the HED Jason mentioned. There's also the new Shimano DA 9000 50CL but not near the $/q as flo, nor as wide and not sure of the shape, and haven't seen any wind tunnel data yet. There's Bontrager Aura 5's that are alloy/cf but not as wide or as aero. You can find sets of those for around $500-600 on eBay. They also have the full carbon Aeolus 5/7 D3's but your talking $ again. |
| 2014-09-08 5:33 PM in reply to: Porfirio |
Veteran 493 Cloverdale, BC | Subject: RE: Flo Alternatives... I recently picked up some decent Chinese SRAM S80 knock-offs from an EBay seller named speedcarbon11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzrQceQQVe4
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| 2014-09-09 9:46 AM in reply to: Porfirio |
Veteran 740 The Woodlands, TX | Subject: RE: Flo Alternatives... Flo wheels sell at a much lower price point than premium brands, but there's a variety of chinese manufacturers that sell wheels at much lower prices than Flo. There's a lot of debate about these manufacturers and the wheels they produce, but they seem to be gaining in popularity. Personally, I've noticed more and more of these wheels showing up at cycling crits and road races in my area. Two observations that may or may not be true......roadies as a group may have a little less disposable income than triathletes (seems to be a slightly younger demographic that races) and they may have a greater change of crashes during races that result in equipment damage. I know during the race I was in this past Sunday, at least 6 people crashed out of the field of 75. I busted a rear wheel on a group ride a few weeks ago (hit a big crack in the road) and decided to take a chance on a set of these chinese wheels. I got a number of upgrades, but ended up with an all carbon 60mm deep 23 wide U-shape wheel set for a little over $600. There are a number of these manufacturers out there, but you have to do a little looking for them. Some sell on e-bay, but others have their own web sites and sell direct. Drawbacks of this approach are that warranty claims may be tough to process and you don't have the confidence of a company who's history you know (not that Flo has a long history) standing behind the product. You can find some reports on-line about brake surface issues. Most of these reports seem to be a few years old. I live in one of the flatter parts of the country and don't envision doing any technical descents or prolonged braking. If I did, I would have gone with an aluminium rim rather than all carbon. |
| 2014-09-09 10:40 AM in reply to: 0 |
Extreme Veteran 1942 In front of computer when typing this. | Subject: RE: Flo Alternatives... I have a pair of Planet X deep wheels (101/82). They seem to be good and are really pretty (the most important factor)- I have had em for 4 years with no issues at all and have completed an IM, several halves and a bunch of shorter races with them, but I have never actually compared power output needed to maintain a speed of X with those wheels versus some other wheels. They are worth a look. Edited by louiskie 2014-09-09 10:42 AM |
| 2014-09-09 11:43 AM in reply to: 0 |
| DC | Subject: RE: Flo Alternatives... Thank you all for your suggestions. I was looking at a pair of Reynolds Assault sold by Performance Bike. Full carbon although not very deep, only 46mm (1,570 grams), but at $1,300 bucks, and with PBs team membership deal, I can essentially get a free aero helmet & other goodies as well. I'm very risk-adverse on the idea of buying used wheels. W/a new pair from PB, I can always take them back if something's wrong w/them. From the postings on BT, I was both excited & saddened by the prospect of Flo. Great price & great service but limited inventory. Of course I will try to pick some up. But if I can't, you think I can do better than PB? BTW: I'm not super fast, but I ride a one-hour 40K. Edited by Porfirio 2014-09-09 11:44 AM |
| 2014-09-09 1:03 PM in reply to: Porfirio |
Veteran 721 Naptown, IN | Subject: RE: Flo Alternatives... Performance Bike has always been good to me. I've got a set of the Reynolds Assaults on my road bike. I've used them almost daily for the past two seasons with zero problems. I had Reynolds Strikes (66mm deep) on my tri bike in 2012 and 2013 for races only with zero issues. I'm using Reynolds Storms (81mm deep) for tri races this season and haven't had any problems with them either. |
| 2014-09-09 1:35 PM in reply to: mobey |
| DC | Subject: RE: Flo Alternatives... Thanks Mobey. In another post, I inquired about why I was faster on my tri bike, i.e., aerodynamics &/or stiffer bike. The overwhelming answer has been the former. In THIS thread, someone made a good point: weight isn't as important on a tri bike. With these two observations, I'm wondering why not take a serious look at the Vuelta Corsa Carbon from Nashbar? Not "light" at 2039g for the pair. BUT, they are 50mm in height. And only $600. Haven't found reviews on them on line, but Vuelta's other roadie race wheels seems to get the same review: Not light, but fast & dependable. Do you guys, in all you might & experience, think it's a decent option? http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_566764_-1___204727... |
| 2014-09-09 2:03 PM in reply to: Porfirio |
| Subject: RE: Flo Alternatives... Unless you plan to do some road racing, why not just get a front wheel and get a disc cover for the rear. That should expand your options for the front wheel as the disc cover will only cost you $100.
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| 2014-09-09 2:17 PM in reply to: Jason N |
| DC | Subject: RE: Flo Alternatives... Originally posted by Jason N Unless you plan to do some road racing, why not just get a front wheel and get a disc cover for the rear. That should expand your options for the front wheel as the disc cover will only cost you $100.
Thanks Jason N. I have considered this option. Thing is, the set of these cheapo Vuelta's are still less expensive than what I would pay for one front wheel. You say, "Unless you plan to do some road racing." Do you mean that these cheapo Vueltas would not be a good option for road but an OK option for tri's? Having trained entirely on my roadie & mountain bike this year, & then hopping on my tri (Trek TTX w/DA), I really got perspective on the effectiveness of aero. |
| 2014-09-09 3:11 PM in reply to: 0 |
| Subject: RE: Flo Alternatives... Originally posted by Porfirio Thanks Jason N. I have considered this option. Thing is, the set of these cheapo Vuelta's are still less expensive than what I would pay for one front wheel. But not as aero. There's a difference between a wheel being deep, and a wheel being aerodynamic. If your goal is to spend money to improve aerodynamics, you should be looking at the ratio of how many dollars spent results in how many seconds saved. Not how many dollars spent gets you how many mm deep on your wheels. And even if the ratios come out equal, you'll have to ask yourself if 1-2 years down the road you would have wished you spent more money to get those extra 20 seconds you're leaving on the table with the cheaper set. ETA: It's very possible that a set of FLO 30's (30 mm deep) are more aero than those Vuelta wheels. Not to mention the FLO 30's are cheaper, and about 500 grams lighter. My comment was based on the fact that you wouldn't want to use a disc for road racing. At one point I thought disc covers were actually illegal for road racing, but I think you may be able to use them. Even so, the handling issues while riding in a pack are not worth the minor improvements in aerodynamics. Also, the added weight could be a penalty as road racing has a lot more accelerations to respond to, and wheel weight could impact that. For triathlons, which is much more of a steady effort, wheel weight is of less consequence. Edited by Jason N 2014-09-09 3:14 PM |
| 2014-09-09 3:33 PM in reply to: Jason N |
| DC | Subject: RE: Flo Alternatives... Originally posted by Jason N Originally posted by Porfirio Thanks Jason N. I have considered this option. Thing is, the set of these cheapo Vuelta's are still less expensive than what I would pay for one front wheel. But not as aero. There's a difference between a wheel being deep, and a wheel being aerodynamic. If your goal is to spend money to improve aerodynamics, you should be looking at the ratio of how many dollars spent results in how many seconds saved. Not how many dollars spent gets you how many mm deep on your wheels. And even if the ratios come out equal, you'll have to ask yourself if 1-2 years down the road you would have wished you spent more money to get those extra 20 seconds you're leaving on the table with the cheaper set. ETA: It's very possible that a set of FLO 30's (30 mm deep) are more aero than those Vuelta wheels. Not to mention the FLO 30's are cheaper, and about 500 grams lighter. My comment was based on the fact that you wouldn't want to use a disc for road racing. At one point I thought disc covers were actually illegal for road racing, but I think you may be able to use them. Even so, the handling issues while riding in a pack are not worth the minor improvements in aerodynamics. Also, the added weight could be a penalty as road racing has a lot more accelerations to respond to, and wheel weight could impact that. For triathlons, which is much more of a steady effort, wheel weight is of less consequence. Well said!! Thank you for the clarification. |
| 2014-09-11 11:23 AM in reply to: Porfirio |
Pro 6582 Melbourne FL Gold member | Subject: RE: Flo Alternatives... |
| 2014-09-11 12:10 PM in reply to: Jason N |
Expert 2355 Madison, Wisconsin | Subject: RE: Flo Alternatives... Originally posted by Jason N Unless you plan to do some road racing, why not just get a front wheel and get a disc cover for the rear. That should expand your options for the front wheel as the disc cover will only cost you $100.
^This The cover gets a bit annoying to put on/off, but only if you race a lot. |
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