@Halley…When I moved from a 66mm depth Reynold to the ENVE 7.8 SES the difference in control at speed during cross winds was nothing short of amazing. The internal width was a further revelation. The textured brake track a third. Control speed and braking all superior. In fact the 7.8’s outperformed my old (now sold) ENVE classic 45’s in control and obviously blew them away in speed and braking.
Further, I own a set of Knight 35’s. I’d choose those in an ITT before the Reynolds or the ENVE classic 45 which are obviously both deeper but both more of a narrow-v shape. They are simply faster. I attribute this to the wider internal and external width of the rim and how that affects tire shape/performance.
Last anecdote…I briefly owned a set of ZIPP 808 Firecrest set just prior to the ENVE 7.8. Their hubs while arguably “fast” I find a PITA. The 7.8’s are laced to DT Swiss 240’s which are bombproof, easy to work on and roll nearly as well as anything IMO/E.
Jim Manton said some interesting points in a recent “Faster Podcast by Flo” about shape and how it contributes more to speed and control than depth of rim.
I’ve been riding the Bontrager Aeolus 5s for a couple years now and I agree that it does well in gusty crosswinds. Even better than a standard Zipp 303, which has a lower profile.
For me the downside of the Aeolus is hub friction. I did a spindown test with the three carbon front wheels I have available and was careful to use the exact same protocol for each run. Here are my results:
Bontrager Aeolus 5 D3 (50mm): 0m 54s
Oval Concepts 946 (46mm): 4m 28s
Zipp 303 pre-Firecrest (45mm): 4m 52s
Make of it what you want, but my Bontragers seem to have an inordinate amount of hub friction so I’ve relegated them to training only and race on the Zipps.
Placed wheel in Park truing stand with light and consistent drop out tension
Set my DeWalt cordless drill to high speed setting
Placed the drill’s chuck collar—which conveniently has a knurled surface—onto the tire
Turned on drill to highest speed (full trigger)
Pulled drill away from wheel AND started the timer at the same time
Timed to when the wheel stopped rotating in the initial direction. IOW, I ignored the swinging back and forth that happens at the end due to valve/wheel imbalance.
I know, not super rigorous, but with that big of a difference, it definitely wasn’t the protocol’s fault!?
I’m in the market for some new aero wheels. They’re primarily for my TT bike but I’ll probably use them for events on my road bike as well so no discs. I also don’t want to take out a small mortgage so I’m looking up to about £1k (bonus if I can get them on a cycle scheme!) Any recommendations?
The LBS also have a good deal on a pair of Giant SLR 0, and Flo also look good, though I’m not too keen on paying shipping/import tax to the UK. Of course, there’s always some good ol’ Chinese death rims!
For everyone’s info, SwissSide has cut their prices on their HADRON wheels by 15%. Their classics are now roughly in line with Flo wheels at full retail, a bit over $1400. The ultimates with the ceramic bearing DT Swiss 240s are still running ~$2000 before shipping.
Hi guys, I’m aslo in the market for a new carbon wheelset.
According to Hambini’s work I have short listed some candidates that I found suitable for me.
I only do non drafting triathlon, half and long distance, mostly rolling, and I live in windy area but I don’t go outside when the weather is bad since I rely on TR now(!!). FTP 3.4W/Kg
Having said that I need some advice on the following sets :
-mavic cxr 60 (a bit heavy but aero is awesome)
-mavic cosmic pro carbon exalith (shallow but rather aero, good deal at 800€ at the moment)
-zipp 404 (seems versatile and a safe choice, no discount or so found)
-reynolds AR58, not on hambini’s study but very good to handle side winds
Aeolus XXX, yes but quite expensive and nothing available in second hand.
By the way, I will have to go for second hand one’s for the zipp 404 , cxr 60 and anything new above 1000€ unless a great deal.
With the Reynolds ar58 you can expect people buying Canyon bikes to dismount and sell them and reasonable price.
