bigfred 

With the knowledge that you'll have the Roubaix/Venge combo the power situation make a bit more sense. Couldn't get "The Olds" to spring for a second power crank?:-)

Have Zipp made any changes to the rim between '13 and '14? If not, then build year really isn't a consideration. I wouldn't be too concerned with "factory" built versus "other" built. Either way, wheels of this caliber are going to be hand assembled. The more important thing is just how meticulous the craftsman is who does the final tensioning. At your weight, you shouldn't experience any issues.

BUT. You're worrying about weight on an aerobike w/aerowheels that you intend to use and set up for climbing. (insert a confused face) I can understand trying to strike a happy medium and not let weight run unchecked or out of control. But, if your design brief were to build an excellent "all around" racing bike with a Specialized frame, I suspect the overwhelming advice would be to start with a Tarmac frame. The Venge is a tool/weapon for a specific mission. If that mission is compatible with your aspirations and talent set, embrace it and build the Venge to shine where it has the chance. Your front wheel is going to be the second largest contributor, after you as the rider, of aerodynamic drag. Subsequently, if you're building an aero package, it should be the most important thing to consider after your position on the bike. With that in mind, the deeper 404 or 6.7 would be the obvious choice unless windy conditions dictate otherwise.

Interesting to hear you say that you notice mid range gaps. The 11-28 I have only varies from my 11-25 and 11-26 in the final two gears. Unless you have the "n" variant that progresses 19-22-25-28.

The ones I've worked with go:

11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23-25
11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23-26
11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-24-28

and my 12 tooth cassettes
12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-23-25
12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-24-27

My deciding factors have been:
1. how low a gear I desire vs how low I can effectively use and stay with the group
2. Appropriate overlap between small and large rings.
3. The fact that the 16 is awfully nice to have in combination with the big ring on faster paced rides/races/events.

Luis, if you're not already familliar with this site, go have a gearing geek fest with your options. You might find it enlightening.

It certainly does. It either allows the 11-28 to progress 23-25-28. Or, also opens up the possibillity of running a 12-27 or 12-28, which would include a 16. Hmmm. I've been resisting thoughts of 11 speeds. But, may have to reconsider. 36/52 X 12-27 looks really appealing to me:-)

bigfred 

Luis,

As I think about this just a little more. If you accept the idea of moving your cranks between frames you could have the enviable situation of building up a full aero wheel set without concern for the PT hub, have a lighter set of climbing/all around race wheels and train on whatever cheap wheels you have or collect. Just a thought.

And on the subject of tubulars vs clinchers. Are either the Zipp or Enve clinchers tubeless capable? I really suspect, with the growth of road tubeless, that tubulars will be slowly going the way of the dinosaur amongst amateurs. With the move to 11 speed and the incompatability of existing 10spd freehubs there are a lot of used carbon wheelsets on the local market right now. I wonder how many of those are getting replaced with 11spd hubs laced to carbon clinchers instead of tubulars.

Campag4life

Luis,
To help tide you over.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u59ekwxufWY

lsberrios1 

Fred - I think the only change for 2014 zipp made was the decals and the lacing of the rear hub. This does not apply to the Powertap wheel because the lacing on the PT is totally different to the 188/V9 that zipp came out with this year.

As for crank based power on the venge, I find myself very reluctant.. After having experienced the front shifting of the SRAM vs Shimano I can't justify switching a brand new dura ace crank for a beat up quarq that never shifts like I want it to. The best option of course would be to go full SRM crank but even if I had the money I would not spend 3k on a powermeter...

The Venge will be my all - rounder racer. I believe I will be happy with it considering that I was actually going to race this year on my roubaix until this showed up. My roubaix is 2#s heavier than the Venge and 4#s heavier than the Tarmac in the trim that I have in mind and I don't consider my Roubaix heavy at all. The fact that the Venge is already 2 pounds lighter is a huge plus, to that I add the extra aero and it makes a definite winner! I know I'll be faster in the Venge for sure. Probably one mph faster but that counts and might make a difference.

jsigone

I have the lighter Planet X team 50mm, about 1250gr vs the 15xxgr model they currently sell. Biggest diff was external nips and CX ray spokes in 20/24 config. I got them when I was 220# and never popped a spoke, hell I still haven't had to true them. They ride fast and stiff. I use Conti Sprinter Gatorskins 22c, they are removable valve core, and run lil bit Stan sealant in them. On my second set of tires, zero flats to date with over 2000 miles on them in the 2yrs I've had them. Couple handfull of century days on them as well. I do carry a preglued spare in my jersey pockets but seems to be just for added weight with the current track record.

I run a 50/34, and do cross chain allot so I probably feel those lil gaps more. Doesn't help I have Ultegra 11/23, 105s 12/27 and Sram 1070 11/25. I think the missing cog would the 16t that is in the 11/23 vs the others.

lsberrios1 

The sledgehammer! I have a feeling I'm going to like it. I am a big guy for cycling @ 165 and I believe what will take me to the finish line will be strong legs, not my ability to climb or the finess. I'll be hammering down the straightaways just to get caught at the top of the hill when I will once again come down with the hammer of fury!

thechemist

You riding south of town Saturday?

Yea, I mean I am running clinchers to train and tubulars to race too. I was just thinking if my only wheelset was enve 3.4s I'd want CC/tubeless. Downside to one wheel set though is big but enve 3.4s drool!

Dunbar

FWIW, the SRAM Red and Force 22 (11-28) cassettes give you one tooth jumps from 11-to-17. Their 10sp 12-28 cassette gives you the same cogs minus the 11. Plenty of people mix/match SRAM and Shimano cassettes. There are also some reports of Dura Ace 9000 cassettes failing prematurely over on WW.

• 11-28: 11,12,13,14,15,16,17,19,22,25,28

bigfred 

DA Stages crank.

The Enves if they are tubeless friendly.

Laced to an appropriate hub.

Gearing TBD on an ride by ride basis.

Now we just need an appropriate cartoon drawing of an "Aerodynamic Hammer".

Oh, and you'll like it.

Are we done here?

Harun

ttusomeone

Planning to.

bigfred 

By "mix/match" do you simply mean not paying attention to maintaining brand loyalty between rear derailluer/shifters and cassette? Or, actually reassembly of cassettes with a mixture of cogs?

I've done plenty of the former and believed it to be so common as to not warrant mention. The later I was under the impression to be full of shifting ramp, tooth profile incompatabilities that greatly decreased shifting performance/smoothness.

I don't have to worry about cranking 11spd DA cassettes. So far I'm 10spd and with regard to cassetes they're all Ultegra or 1070. I don't do the WW thing enough to worry about ti and carbon at the expense of longevity and appreciate the quicker shifts from the addtional shift ramps to justify the cost difference above 105/1050. I thought I had found my own personal happy spot with regard to 10spd and the aforementioned cassettes. But, looking at the gearing calculator has got me salivating. Mmmmmmm,.....

bigfred 

I did a google image search. No "aerohammer"s to be found. About as useless as Mrs. Fred's search on Laundry Folding Fetishes:-)

rangerdavid

As far as the saddle, I ride a Romin 155 also and it's the best I've found so far, for me anyway. Mine is an SWorks team saddle. I also like the idea of a crank/pedal based power meter. That way you can change wheels and use what ever you want to and still have power.

surgeonstone

Sell it while you have the chance.
Big mistake in buying.

Dunbar

I mean that you can run a SRAM cassette on a Shimano group, and vice-versa, as long as they both have the same number of gears. This a good thing since it doesn't force you to settle on Shimano's cassette gearing if it doesn't work for you.

You can even run an 11sp Campy cassette on the other 11sp groups but that's a whole 'nother thread.

bigfred 

That's what I thought you were referring to. Yes, none of us have bothered to mention it, because it's such a wide spread practice. While I know most of the cassette ranges I have available in the garage, if you were to ask me which is what brand, I wouldn't have the foggiest clue without actually looking at them. Sramano as far as I'm concerned.

MPress

Love my Venge. It's my primary bike along with several other guys I ride with. I regularly see 60+ mile rides and have managed a full century without issue. It is stiffer in the rear than my SL2 Tarmac, but that can be eased with slightly lower tire pressure. I'd go with a Quarq power meter over the Powertap. No issues here, but you could always swap to Praxis rings if you don't like the shifting. I'd also go with custom built Enve 6.7 clinchers over the Zipps. Stiffer rim and better warranty. Buy a few cassettes and change the gearing as you need.

Dunbar

I noticed that you were posting all Shimano 10sp cassette ratios. I knew this because Shimano has no love for the 16T cog. Just thought thought I'd throw SRAM out there since they offer the 16T cog in more of their cassettes. I know if I ever upgrade to Ultegra 6800 I'll be running a Force 22 11-28 cassette.

bigfred 

They aren't all Shimano ratios. I know the 11-26 is a sram, because it's a combo Shimano doesn't offer. And there's the n variant 11-28 that sram does. Between Mrs. Fred and myself I don't try to keep straight what's where, on what, being ridden by who, as long as I'm happy with whatever is on the back wheel of the bike I'm planning to ride next. I'm just super pleased that, with the exception of my mid '80s EM, she and I are now 10spd across all our bikes and that I've managed to sell down our wheel stock to the point that we don't currently have any more wheels hanging around the garage than we have frames to put them on. (with the exception of a pair of rims)

I'm dreading my next purchase. Because if it's 11spd and/or 135mm rear spacing, I'm going to be going back down the same road of interbike incompatability or attempting to bring the fleet up to the new spec.

Dunbar

I know I'd miss the 16T cog if it were gone. I just got a Powertap G3 and I can now see how much more efficient I am above 20mph when I'm spinning at cadence of 85+ rpm. I currently run a (10sp) 105 12-27 cassette but I'd get that SRAM 12-28 if I could do it all over again. Some of my climbs have me dropping my cadence into the low 70's on the 34-27 low gear.

bigfred 

We have a 10spd 12-27 in a box somewhere. 50X12 left me undergeared in downhill situations and 39X27 wasn't quite low enough compared to 36X26 or 39X28. The 11spd version looks like it would work well with 36/52 though. I tried 34X28 and it was just too low for any sort of group ride, much less events, fondos, races. Some climbs are just faster at a lower cadence/higher gear but at the expense of leg fatigue and I'm just having to train for that.

The great caveat being, you have to adjust everything for your local topography and peleton/pack. Even the pros ride 34/32 when it's called for.

lsberrios1 

Well, I've been off the computer for a while and it seems like there are some nice arguments here. I have not been able to solve the Wheelset issue yet. I think I am going to stick to the 404s with the PT. Although most of you suggested even going with the 3.4 I think the 404 might be a better rounded option.

The other option that I have in my mind and I am starting to open up to is the stages arm PM. The only thing is that it would come up in price by a good chunk. The Zipp 404 with G3 I am getting for 2560.00. The Stages crankarm I can get it for around 700 then the wheels at 2,200. That would add up to 2900 bucks for a set of regular 404s + a stages DA Arm...

StanSeven

Ok, now I'm curious. Why not the rain? Are you worried about crashing? Or do you think grit is bad?

lsberrios1 

I have the roubaix for that stuff. Venge is too nice of a bike for me to have dirty and rusty. My roubaix sees a lot of rain and it squeaks and creaks like hell. I don't want my grail bike to be in the same condition.