Originally Posted by
carleton
Kaben, a 5 spoke isn't automatically fast.
Ask yourself, "If 5-spokes are fast, then why don't triathletes and road TT specialists use them?"
80mm deep lenticular wheels are proven (with wind tunnel "receipts").
Front discs can be very difficult to manage even with moderate wind gusts. They can be helpful in ideal conditions...and detrimental in less-than-ideal conditions (read: make you slower).
Front disc would definitely be for indoor use only. Im fortunate enough that my "local" velodrome is indoor (London Lee Valley) and all major competition in the UK is indoor too. It would mean that i couldn't use the disc for summer races at Herne Hill as its often windy there but I'm less concerned about this as this will be off season training. Im not 100% convinced that a 5 spoke will have significant aero benefit over the 60mm deep rims i already own. ( actually just double checked, they are 55mm but thats broadly the same). Someone did bring up the fact that the forks on a Dolan DF4 ( alpina wing forks) are narrow and may not play well with the turbulence produced from a 5 spoke as the blades pass through the fork legs?
In the same breath, the FFWD/corima/mavic 5 spoke wheels look bloody fantastic and i do wonder whether i would benefit from the stiffness benefit during sprints. Its dangerous - i am in the process of remortgaging my house so I could get a bit naughty and buy lots of bike parts but i need to keep myself in check and not waste my house equity haha.
Originally Posted by
Dalai
Only in regards to Zipp disc longevity - Another racing on an old Zipp disc; a Zipp Predator which was their first disk before the 1150 and 950. The wheel structure is still great, just needed the hub rebonded to the wheel as the glue can eventually fail. But that is only an issue for a rear wheel given forced from pedaling. In regards to parts availablity, the hubs are simple and any machine shop could make replacements.
PS was also still pursuiting on a set of Fluidisk's!
Thanks for the info - thats very encouraging for this zipp disc then!