General Discussion Triathlon Talk » First Aero Wheelset - Impressions/Review - for Prospective Wheel-Buyers! Rss Feed  
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2016-08-21 2:01 PM


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Subject: First Aero Wheelset - Impressions/Review - for Prospective Wheel-Buyers!
I want to write this because when I was determining whether to get my first set of nice aero wheels, I was having a hard time figuring out what to expect (both in overall feel and performance benefit) given the high cost of wheels. There are reviews out there for specific wheels, but they were more about the product and not about the overall expereince of upgrading to aero wheels, which I just had no experience with. With everyone who's anyone riding aero wheels, I was curious as to how much performance benefit they can actually give (manufacturer data always skewed and unreliable for the average rider), and what riding them actually feels like - My budget was about 1000, but also in the back of my head is the thought of why anyone would pay 3000+ for a new set of zipps/enves/similar. Are nice wheels reaaally that great? I want to share my experience so that someone out there thinking about getting a set of wheels can see how it fared for me and hopefully be helpful!

I have a Trek road bike, and I slap clip-on aerobars and a profile design fast forward seatpost to turn it into a triathlon race machine. My wheelset before upgrading was the Vuelta Corsa Lite - got off nashbar.com. They have 30mm rim depth and per nashbar weigh around 1650g. Theyve been great to me, but Ive gotten more competitive in racing, and i wanted to give my bike a facelift and get some snazzy looking wheels that would hopefully give me some free speed, improve my riding experience, and make me smile when i look at the bike in my apartment :-).

I bought HED Jet 6+ wheels from competitivecyclist.com for 899. great sale price, so I had to pull the trigger. 60mm depth, I think in the realm of 1750g. I was after the HED jets due to the aluminum brake track, trusted brand name, good reviews, claimed durability, and affordability. Flo was on my radar, but the HEDs are significantly lighter than the Flo. I live in CT so lots of short steep hills, and weight was a factor in my decision.

I have about 250 miles on the wheels now, including an olympic race. I do not have a power meter, so here I'm basing things off of past rides at similar heart rate on roads ive ridden dozens of times, with times and speeds verified by strava/garmin. so not uber-scientific, but close enough. Prior to the HEDs, my average speeds for a tempo road ride would be 17.7ish. A tempo TT ride would be 19.5 to 20.5. SPEEDS with new wheels: when riding in my standard road bike setup, the HEDs have given me 0.4-0.7 mph increase in average speed for a ride. when in my TT/tri setup, they seem to give me in the range of 0.8 to 1.4 mph average speed increase.

In terms of overall experience, they are profoundly fun to ride in comparison to the old wheels. they look and SOUND incredible. I know sound doesnt matter for anything except in my own head, but it's like how a ferrari sounds better than a kia. The HEDs kinda "woosh" through the air, and when shifting down they have a nice "clunk" sound. I can really feel a difference when descending. there's a descent section i do a lot, its about 0.5mi, -5%,, and in the past when i'd coast down it i'd hit about 37mph. with the HEDs, I glide down and have hit 42 and 43. Handling, theyre about the same, and when climbing theyre about the same, but im thinking if i got a set of 1400g carbon clinchers those qualities would improve too, but for the purchase I made, i think if i was blindfolded (and had earplugs in!) i wouldnt be able to tell what wheel i was riding when taking a corner on flat ground or climbing a steep 10+% hill.

So in summary to someone out there considering upgrading your wheels, hopefully this type of feedback would be of some use. I can say that getting these wheels has given my bike, and riding expereince, a whole new look, new feel, new sound, and increased performance potential...which all adds up to a happy customer, and a believer in nice wheels! The wheels wont bring you from a 20mph bike split to 24mph, but they could easily bring you up to 21 or 21.5. And at the end of the day, I'm very, very happy with the purchase.

If anyone has any questions, ask me anything! Cheers.


2016-08-22 11:41 AM
in reply to: 0


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Subject: RE: First Aero Wheelset - Impressions/Review - for Prospective Wheel-Buyers!
Thanks mate!

I really don't have tremendous interest in wheels......because it's hard to justify spending more on wheels than a bike.
And it was barely justifiable spending the $ I did on upgrading to my new bike. I'm too much of a hobbyist.


However, I think this kind of review is an excellent concept. Reviewing the "idea"....not so much the 'brand'.



Edited by jhaack39 2016-08-22 11:42 AM
2016-08-22 11:58 AM
in reply to: PBT_2009

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Subject: RE: First Aero Wheelset - Impressions/Review - for Prospective Wheel-Buyers!

Looks like your speed gains are on the upper end of what someone should expect.  Are you also running the exact same tires and tubes on your race wheels as you are the training wheels you were comparing them to?  The difference between a good race tire and a puncture resistant training tire is often adds more speed gains than race wheels.

I usually experience about a 0.3 to 0.5 mph speed gain using my 58 mm deep race wheels.  But I also see another 1.0 mph with good tires and tubes (Conti 4000S II and latex compared to Gatorskins and butyl).  So 1.3 to 1.5 mph total for the whole race wheel, tire, tube system.

2016-08-22 1:38 PM
in reply to: #5196029


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Subject: RE: First Aero Wheelset - Impressions/Review - for Prospective Wheel-Buyers!
I did not change the tube/tire system - butyl with GP4000 II. I didn't even buy new tires, I just swapped the conti's from my old wheels to the new ones. I did buy new tubes (with 80mm valve stem so i didnt have to use extenders) but theyre the plain old bontrager butyl model, same as what I used on the old wheels. No other elements changed either - helmet, kit, position, components, all the same.
2016-08-22 2:33 PM
in reply to: jhaack39

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Cypress, Texas
Subject: RE: First Aero Wheelset - Impressions/Review - for Prospective Wheel-Buyers!

Originally posted by jhaack39 Thanks mate! I really don't have tremendous interest in wheels......because it's hard to justify spending more on wheels than a bike. And it was barely justifiable spending the $ I did on upgrading to my new bike. I'm too much of a hobbyist. However, I think this kind of review is an excellent concept. Reviewing the "idea"....not so much the 'brand'.

 

Yep..I am in the same position.  I would love to have all the equipment advantage as I can get, but the prices really isn't worth it for me at 2 years months into the sport.  This thread is great of "Beginner Triathletes".

2016-08-22 7:52 PM
in reply to: BlueBoy26


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Subject: RE: First Aero Wheelset - Impressions/Review - for Prospective Wheel-Buyers!
Originally posted by BlueBoy26

Originally posted by jhaack39 Thanks mate! I really don't have tremendous interest in wheels......because it's hard to justify spending more on wheels than a bike. And it was barely justifiable spending the $ I did on upgrading to my new bike. I'm too much of a hobbyist. However, I think this kind of review is an excellent concept. Reviewing the "idea"....not so much the 'brand'.

 

Yep..I am in the same position.  I would love to have all the equipment advantage as I can get, but the prices really isn't worth it for me at 2 years months into the sport.  This thread is great of "Beginner Triathletes".




Yes, basically that has been my position too as a budget triathlete. this was my first foray into the "major" equipment upgrades. i also considered new bike frame, power meter, or Di2. I chose wheels because they're easily transferrable to another frame if i choose to get it, and would have immediate performance gains as opposed to Di2 or new frame, both of which im sure would be great and might happen for me in the coming year or 2, but wouldnt noticeably increase my speed and performance. and as you say, there's less out there as far as what the "idea" of wheels is like and what you get from it. im happy!

basically im at a point in races where i compete for the podium in my age group in olympic and sprint races and i want to get over the hump and place more consistently.


2016-08-22 9:52 PM
in reply to: Jason N

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Subject: RE: First Aero Wheelset - Impressions/Review - for Prospective Wheel-Buyers!
Originally posted by Jason N

Looks like your speed gains are on the upper end of what someone should expect.  Are you also running the exact same tires and tubes on your race wheels as you are the training wheels you were comparing them to?  The difference between a good race tire and a puncture resistant training tire is often adds more speed gains than race wheels.

I usually experience about a 0.3 to 0.5 mph speed gain using my 58 mm deep race wheels.  But I also see another 1.0 mph with good tires and tubes (Conti 4000S II and latex compared to Gatorskins and butyl).  So 1.3 to 1.5 mph total for the whole race wheel, tire, tube system.




How bizarre, I was almost going to post the exact thing.
2016-08-23 11:03 AM
in reply to: BlueBoy26

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Subject: RE: First Aero Wheelset - Impressions/Review - for Prospective Wheel-Buyers!

Originally posted by BlueBoy26

Originally posted by jhaack39 Thanks mate! I really don't have tremendous interest in wheels......because it's hard to justify spending more on wheels than a bike. And it was barely justifiable spending the $ I did on upgrading to my new bike. I'm too much of a hobbyist. However, I think this kind of review is an excellent concept. Reviewing the "idea"....not so much the 'brand'.

Yep..I am in the same position.  I would love to have all the equipment advantage as I can get, but the prices really isn't worth it for me at 2 years months into the sport.  This thread is great of "Beginner Triathletes".

I've been a budget triathlete since day one, especially last few years saving for the kids college funds.  I typically don't buy anything "new", either used or new at a big bargain. About 3 years ago I started my "new" tribike quest by finding a new frame on eBay and building it up saving about $1k over same bike new.  2 years ago I found a set of FLO wheels for $650 with new tires and latex tubes. I even built my own disc cover. Deals are out there, just have to be patient and hunt classifieds here, ST, Facebook and eBay.

Enjoy the sport!

2016-08-23 12:17 PM
in reply to: Donto


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Subject: RE: First Aero Wheelset - Impressions/Review - for Prospective Wheel-Buyers!
Originally posted by Donto

 I even built my own disc cover



Oooooh yeah. Uhm.
You wanna go into business?

Get Mr. Wonderful on the phone!!!! Or better yet....Mark Cuban maybe?

Great fab work in your thread. Really, nice attention to detail. Want a job? However....you got my mind racing (figuratively) as I have the tools and materials at my disposal to make those by the gobloads. I could even custom cut the disks on my CNC router. It'd take seconds. Even better, I could come up with the quick formula to plug in the dimensions and make all the cuts at once.

I'd go with a different material though.....for sure at least a smooth/smooth finish as those dimply bits would....in theory....create turbulance. In fact....I rarely see ABS sheet that isn't smooth/smooth. I'm guessing you went with 1 mm ABS? There's lighter density plastics out there too that would be equally durable (or durable enough) as the ABS.

Not only that......but I have colors!!!!! Or edge-glow PETG. Yowza. Might be too cool in the sunlight. I'd have to look into the material density on that. It costs more. If I really started making these, I'd heat them and press them. No need to vacuum form, but I could use the heater from my vacuum former and just build a manual press, probably doesn't even need air. Then we could avoid the seem altogether.

I just ran the numbers....if I were making these as part of our existing product line and capturing the margin that our distributors make as well as ours....
$19.99/cover for standard black or white
Shipping to a residential US address would suck these days as it's fairly large and light. I'm guessing $9-$15.
And that would be to a custom size. Could conceivably go down from there if the heat press worked as well as I think it would.

I could print clips/fasteners on my printer.....or make an injection mold for them. It'd be cheap....as molds go...and I have frames I could use.

Now....what else could we come up with to make?

Custom clips and fasteners on the printer for bento boxes and stuff? Like the floor mat/pans things you can order for your car.

To totally cater to the duffer market like me or the budget triathlete like you.......
I think there's a niche. I wouldn't promise wind tunnel perfection. I'm promising a cheap wheel cover that may or may not "work". The sniff test is that it would be 'better'. For a duffer like me (granted, I'd never use one), $20 for something like this may be a silly expenditure....but it's only $20. Branch the product line out.... something that holds your bento box perfectly on to your specific frame. And it didn't cost a fortune. Or any number of hooks and doodads.


2016-08-23 12:28 PM
in reply to: jhaack39


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Subject: RE: First Aero Wheelset - Impressions/Review - for Prospective Wheel-Buyers!
The more I look at this...

There are tons of better fastening options.


There's probably a better mousetrap to be built in that department.
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