Divebrian

I'd like to see if we can peel back some of the marketing BS and get to real world, real rider experience on the wheels posted. We can open the manufacturer on the 4 or 5 spoke as there may be other compatible wheels out there, but the Zipp 808 will remain the same as I already have one. For a faster, but not "elite" level guy like myself, is there really a noticeable advantage to one wheel over the others? Mostly sprints, 1k or 2k pursuit with an occasional points race thrown in for fun. Never ridden an indoor velodrome, so we can take that factor out of the discussion and keep it to outdoor tracks and their varying weather conditions.

Guess my real question boils down to this.....I'm currently running a Mavic Comete rear disk with the Zipp 808 front, will there be a noticeable difference between the Zipp 808 and another front wheel for someone with aspirations of a top 5 at Masters Nationals? Top 2 isn't happening, but I may be able to crack the top 5.

queerpunk

For a faster but not elite level guy, is there a noticeable advantage to one wheel over the others?

tl;dr version: Yes, but it doesn't matter.

The long version is Maybe – it depends on the advantage you’re looking for, and it depends on your build, power, and your track (steepness? Indoor/outdoor?). Some people – especially big, strong people who ride on steep tracks – notice a benefit from the stiffness of wheels like the iO.

Aerodynamically speaking, you probably won’t notice an advantage. The biggest aerodynamic advantage is moving from standard low-profile wheels to a deep, U-shaped rim like the 808 or a 404. That’s the biggest jump. Moving from an 808 to anything else probably has a real but negligible effect. You can measure this using stuff like GoldenCheetah’s “AeroLab” if you have a power meter.

It never hurts to look at what pros are using. Sure, at World Cups it’s iO/Comete as far as the eye can see, but at lots of other UCI races, and at six-days, you see plenty of 808s, FFWD F6Ts, and similar wheels.

Bottom line – if you want to buy an iO, go for it. But if you want to feel as though you have great gear already, I hereby give you permission. Cause you do.

I say that as somebody who has perfectly good wheels (FFWD F6T) but just picked up a Corima 4spoke/disc combo.

Divebrian

Out if curiosity, why did you go from a FFWD F6T to the Corima 4 spoke? I briefly looked at the FFWD wheels, but didn't know if they were a knock off of the Mavic IO or if they were actually engineered or developed by FFWD. On the knock offs, I'm leary that they just built them to look the same and didn't actually do the engineering or structural testing to know how to actually build them....I would imagine they need a different lay up schedule or stiffening in certain areas and although they may look the same, they aren't (if that makes sense).

queerpunk

I don't have FFWD's disc/5-spoke - I have the F6T, which is a 56mm deep spoked wheel kind of like a Zipp 404. They're good wheels. But, I busted my rear disc (a Zipp) in a race over the summer. And I wanted to use a disc wheel. Because, um... they look cool. And because they're a little bit faster (I guess).

So I found a good deal on the Corima disc. And then I realized that the 4-spoke looks REALLY COOL. And I wanted one.

I didn't really "switch" from the FFWDs to the Corimas. I just... have both, now. Necessary? Not really. Will the Corimas be faster? Maybe a little bit.

I think that 4-spokes look really cool and if I find a rear 4-spoke I'd probably sell everything else and just use those.

Till I saw something else that I thought looked cool and that I wanted to use.

brawlo

If you were doing a number of timed events indoors, then I would invest in a front disc. That seems to be where the real time gains are made. I see a lot of top tier masters running those for their timed event, but the sprint and race rounds are so varied that I don't think a 4/5 spoke (note the British Cycling used a 3 spoke) gives much or any real noticeable benefit over an 808.

FWIW I run spokes but get to watch at training some high level guys

Poppit

Wheels are a bit of a minefield, you never seem quite sure as to what is going to be the best for you.


The advice I've been by someone who knows far more about it than me for indoors is the following:


Pursuit - Double lenticular disc and Vittoria Pista Evo CL 19mm.
500TT - Front 5 spoke and maybe go 22mm tubs because you are giving the rear tyre some serious hammer from the gate (an interesting trial would be 5 spoke front and rear due to starting inertia).200m TT - Double Disc 22mm Front and Rear because of going slow around the rim of the track.
Match Sprinting - 5 spoke front and disc rear with 22mm for match sprint handling.


He's also in the process of importing some wheels from Asia, some of us have already used the 5 Spoke and the disc and they feel pretty good. He's got IO style 5 spoke front and rears plus 88mm rims on the way with discs to follow.