[davman]

Hi

Whenever you read reviews of deep section carbon rims (say 38mm plus) the reviews quite often mention savings of such & such watts/power at an average speed of 40Km/h (as an example).

What if the average speed is significantly lower than 40Km/h, for example 27Km/h (approx 17mph) – are there still savings to be made from using deep section rims at these speeds or not?

Anyone have any examples or links to related information?

thanks

Simon Hume

 

 

Topic

[bozmandb9]

So rather than taking an

So rather than taking an actual improvement, you’ll imagine one on the basis of weight.

I’m not getting at you in particular, I just find it amusing that so many cyclists still obsess over weight when the facts show us it’s less important than aerodynamics, especially given that most of us could probably lose the weight of an average road bike, and be much faster fitter and healthier as a result.

But no, we’ll obsess over shaving a couple of hundred grams from our wheelset and maybe 50 off our saddle or bars etc.  And responsiveness?  Sorry, I’m not buying that anybody can discern a difference in responsiveness in a bike with a lightweight wheelset which is 300 grams less than an aero set.

[The Gavalier]

13mm to 50mm yes, 38mm to

13mm to 50mm yes, 38mm to 32mm no. 

[The Gavalier]

The difference between 38mm

The difference between 38mm and 32mm will be indiscernible speed-wise. The benefit you’ll get from the shallower rim is more stability in crosswinds. 

[Welsh boy]

So in the 2 hours it takes me

So in the 2 hours it takes me to ide to the cafe with my friend i will save about 3 and a half minutes.  Except I wont because we ride together having a chat and enjoying the ride and so we get to the cafe at exactly the same time.  Give me light wheels any day, they make the bike feel better and because I dont race any longer I would prefer my bike to feel nice and responsive to ride (that way I can fool myself that I am still fast and nimble).

Of course, if you race or ride on your own and those few minutes are important to you then go aero.

[Recoveryride]

As noted, there’s a benefit

As noted, there’s a benefit at whatever speed you ride at. That said, slower riders will probably benefit more from saving weight than some aero efficiency gains. If you’re averaging below 32/33 kph I’d probably go a light set, personally. At less than 27/28 I’d definitely look at weight first.

[turnerjohn]

I’ve found Deeper front

I’ve found Deeper front wheels do slightly affect handling…..whilst my zipp 404s are quicker overal I prefer the 303s ride which feel nibbler…or mix and match as I sometimes do. I do average around 20-21mph tho and you do notice the difference there…..not so below 18mph in my opinion 

[davman]

thanks for the replies

thanks for the replies

I already have a pair of deep section rims, Prime RR38 (more likely mid than deep section), but i have never been able to average more than 17.5 mph for a ride. Some of this can be attributed to heart bypass surgery and my age (56). Hence my question.

I’ve been wondering if replacing my Prime’s with a pair of 30-35mm carbon rim wheels, may be beneficial. I feel they they won’t lose out much to the Prime’s in speed terms, but may be a lot better when riding routes that are up and down a lot, not drag strips or fast roads

Simon

[EddyBerckx]

Personally I’ve only ever

Personally I’ve only ever noticed the difference at higher speeds ie above 20mph (higher the better) though I’m aware that there are various claims that you save more time overall for a given route the slower you go (or something)

 

Personally I wouldn’t go below 60mm, definitely not below 50mm unless you’re a pretty light rider

[Tom_77]

See this blog – https:/

See this blog – https://wattmatters.blog/home/2013/06/aero-for-slower-riders.html

Aero wheels should make you about 3% quicker, whatever speed you ride at.

[Nick T]

https://road.cc/content

https://road.cc/content/feature/why-riders-you-need-get-more-aero-213876

 

Short answer is yes, there’s a benefit. Anecdotally, I’ve swapped between super shallow 13mm box rims and 50mm on the same bike and the difference is noticeable at all speeds

[Author]

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