Hey guys,
I have no first hand experience with any type of aero and/or carbon wheel, I've been riding about half a year now on my bike with stock 2050g Mavics. I've done a handful of mass start events, but nothing actually timed or considered a race. Coming up here in the next few months, however, that will be changing and one of the major local events I have my eyes set on is Tour de Scottsdale, which I mapped here for your viewing pleasure http://ridewithgps.com/routes/92537
. The website in the link has a lot of useful elevation information, you can drag your mouse along the elevation chart and get an interactive update of where in the course it's at.
About the ride which the wheels would be used on (link above):
There is a total of 3181 feet ascending and 3181 descending. If my understanding of what this means makes sense, and my math is correct, this means on average you're ascending or descending during this ride at a 3181 / (64.6mi * 5280ft) = 1% grade. The most notable climb on this ride is right at the start of Dynamite Road at 21 miles in (~3.5 miles, avg grade ~3.5%, max grade 5% at top), this is immediately followed by a long 9 mile descent at about 2% grade. There are about seven segments of climbing afterwords, each of which lasts about a mile and averages 3-4% (max grade seen at any time is about 6%).
Overall, the 64.6 mile ride seems fairly flat with speed bumps scattered here and there. I expect to be riding in a pack the majority of the time (of course), beyond that I could very well be doing a lot of group hopping and solo efforts. There will be around 1500 cyclists there so a lot could happen in terms of group formation. Also, I'll be aiming to average around 23mph. Weather wise, it hardly ever rains in Phoenix, AZ and wind is typically minimal.
With the course and above details in mind for this road race, which of the following carbon clincher wheelsets do you think would be most ideal based on their specs?
A) 38mm deep front/back, 1426gram
B) 50mm deep front/back, 1476 gram
C) 60mm deep front/back, 1566 gram
D) 88mm deep front/back, 1806 gram
E) 50mm deep front, 88mm deep back, 1665 gram
F) 60mm deep front, 88mm deep back, 1710 gram
G) Some other combination of the above
The above wheelsets are all roughly the same price ~$850-950, 20/24 Sapim CX Ray spokes, and the weight includes everything but the skewers/rim strips. All these wheels require carbon brake pads and are suitable to be ridden as every day wheels if desired. I'm sure some may want to know what brand of wheels these are, but for right now I'd prefer not to bring that up so as to avoid getting any "You should totally get THIS brand of wheel instead!" answers.
I have no first hand experience with any type of aero and/or carbon wheel, I've been riding about half a year now on my bike with stock 2050g Mavics. I've done a handful of mass start events, but nothing actually timed or considered a race. Coming up here in the next few months, however, that will be changing and one of the major local events I have my eyes set on is Tour de Scottsdale, which I mapped here for your viewing pleasure http://ridewithgps.com/routes/92537
. The website in the link has a lot of useful elevation information, you can drag your mouse along the elevation chart and get an interactive update of where in the course it's at.About the ride which the wheels would be used on (link above):
There is a total of 3181 feet ascending and 3181 descending. If my understanding of what this means makes sense, and my math is correct, this means on average you're ascending or descending during this ride at a 3181 / (64.6mi * 5280ft) = 1% grade. The most notable climb on this ride is right at the start of Dynamite Road at 21 miles in (~3.5 miles, avg grade ~3.5%, max grade 5% at top), this is immediately followed by a long 9 mile descent at about 2% grade. There are about seven segments of climbing afterwords, each of which lasts about a mile and averages 3-4% (max grade seen at any time is about 6%).
Overall, the 64.6 mile ride seems fairly flat with speed bumps scattered here and there. I expect to be riding in a pack the majority of the time (of course), beyond that I could very well be doing a lot of group hopping and solo efforts. There will be around 1500 cyclists there so a lot could happen in terms of group formation. Also, I'll be aiming to average around 23mph. Weather wise, it hardly ever rains in Phoenix, AZ and wind is typically minimal.
With the course and above details in mind for this road race, which of the following carbon clincher wheelsets do you think would be most ideal based on their specs?
A) 38mm deep front/back, 1426gram
B) 50mm deep front/back, 1476 gram
C) 60mm deep front/back, 1566 gram
D) 88mm deep front/back, 1806 gram
E) 50mm deep front, 88mm deep back, 1665 gram
F) 60mm deep front, 88mm deep back, 1710 gram
G) Some other combination of the above
The above wheelsets are all roughly the same price ~$850-950, 20/24 Sapim CX Ray spokes, and the weight includes everything but the skewers/rim strips. All these wheels require carbon brake pads and are suitable to be ridden as every day wheels if desired. I'm sure some may want to know what brand of wheels these are, but for right now I'd prefer not to bring that up so as to avoid getting any "You should totally get THIS brand of wheel instead!" answers.
