spessx

What would you suggest for under $1k?

I'm currently running Mavic Ksyrium ES's and Bontrager Race X Lites.

-s

ericm979

Aero almost always beats light.

Ksyriums are not very aero:

https://www.rouesartisanales.com/wp-c...ro_english.jpg

botto 

depends.

SushiJoe

Stiff above all for crits, no?

mike868y

paging cdr.

mattm

Whatever kind I'm riding, usually Open Pros.

Gluteus

Note that the data for the graph was obtained at 50 km/hr (31.05 mph).

merlinextraligh

And crits are often above that speed. The crit I did Saturday we were in the low 30's a decent amount of the time. And when it really matters, the final sprint, you're going to be above that speed.

techlogik

How old is that graph?

Good to know the speed tested, happens to be right below my normal criterium pace.

waterrockets 

Agreed, aero makes all the difference. I did an acceleration analysis from a crit power file (looking at how much I accelerated during the race). Even if you eliminated the rotating weight of the tubes and the tires together, it came out to 0.2% of my total kilojoules to accelerate that weight difference. Compare that to the potential benefit when you're in the wind for 100m at the end of a race at 35-40mph. If you're looking for centimeters to get across the line first, aerodynamics is a great way to find them.

Nate552

That's SOP for wind tunnels to test at 30 mph. That allows for standardization in drag numbers. Zipp once did some testing at 20 mph and found the graph shapes, and the data to be pretty much identical to 30 mph.

carpediemracing 

If you have regular accelerations (i.e. Cat 5, 4, and many Cat 3 races), a course that forces accelerations (hairpin corner, 8 turns in 1/2 mile course, etc), then weight becomes pretty important.

I used to think weight wasn't as important as aero, esp since I contest the final sprint (if I get there) and we're always gonna be going "fast". Plus leadouts (speed), big efforts to move up in the field while it's fast (speed), etc, all point to aero wheels. When I say aero I'm thinking HED3/TriSpoke, Zipp 440, Rev-X, etc, all in the 1800-2000g range in weight for a pair (I have or had tubulars in all of them).

I'd consider weight to be less significant if it's within 200-300g of the aero wheel. But if it's 400-500+ g less, then I'd think really hard about weight. So when I rode relatively heavy box clinchers, I'd use my heavy aero wheels because I was within a few hundred grams weight; acceleration didn't get hurt much but I had a better top speed.

But at 400-500g difference, and repeated and/or violent surges, I now choose the lighter box section clinchers over the heavier but more aero clinchers. When I went to SoCal last month I brought two sets of wheels - aero clinchers and non-aero. I did a race that has a short hill but is otherwise flattish. No real turns to speak of, M35+ (and in SoCal that means it's a Cat 1-2 race with Cat 3-4 fodder), so should be a consistent high pace. I went with the box clinchers and I'd do it again if I did the race over. Between the two wheelsets I flew with (and brought to the race, in case I punctured just before the start), the box clinchers won my brain over.

If I had my aero tubulars, which are both lighter and more aero than any of my clinchers, of course I'd use them

kensuf

"it depends"

waterrockets 

Here's a discussion on rotating weight of wheels and acceleration.

echappist

we talking about crits here, and as such, there's only one answer: any set you can afford to replace

kensuf

yeah cause crashes never happen in road races..