Rear Disc/Aero Cover in Windy Race Conditions

Thanks Chris.  I've heard the same thing that the rear disc will act like a sail and actually give you more stability.  Its the gusts coming at us at a 90 degree angle that I am a little worried about.

I ride a FLO 60 up front and the wheel cover is on a FLO 90 rear.

The disc should help stabilize your handling in windy conditions.  You want the wind to blow your rear wheel more than it does your front wheel the front wheel is where all of your handling is.

I'm around 160 pounds and have raced with a disc in 20 mph steady winds with gusts up over 35 mph.  Not once did I think of getting out of my aerobars.  Yes, you will get blown a little, but again, your front wheel choice is a bigger factor.  I probably would not opt for a 90 mm deep front wheel in those situations.

The two races that I know ban discs are Kona and Cozumel.  I'm not familiar with Cozumel personally, but have raced at Kona (both full and half IM) and understand why they ban discs there.  The gusts up in Hawi can exceed 40 mph and sometimes they blow out of little valleys where you may not have any crosswind one second, and get slammed by a 40 mph crosswind the next second.  Combine this on a descent where you can hit close to 40 mph and it's just a safety concern knowing that you have over a thousand athletes on the course and you don't want them getting blown into each other.  I actually think experienced athletes could handle a disc on that course just fine...but not all triathletes are experienced bike handlers.

North/South bike course this weekend - you racing Milton?  As for the disc I would keep in mind that some RD's will say no disc on a pretty windy day - although they'll let deep front wheels on the course without question.  Happened in Guelph a few years ago, so you may want to bring along your standard box rim wheel for the front if you're forced to remove the cover, cause you wouldn't want to ride the 60 up front and standard box rim on the back (assuming that's what the cover is over).

Keep in mind as well that if you are racing Milton the route is really protected once you're up on the Escarpment.

Racing Woodstock on Saturday.  The forecast has changed over the last 12 hours and is now predicting only 20 km/hr winds in the morning so it should be fine.

The only race where I've seen them actually ban discs was Wasaga Beach a few years ago, but the wind gusts were 60+ km/hr.