rsbob 

If so, how do you like them?

Max size in MM you would run or smaller in front?

If no way, why?

TIA

Bah Humbug

I did and was fine. The perceived effect of wind declines as you get used to them.

spdntrxi

Enve 6.7
I ran 28mm on both. I have done 25mm before but honestly not worth it.. 28 is just easier and a better fit with today's wider rims.

DaveSSS 

I bought 45mm ZIPP 303s wheels a year ago. They're OK, but I ride mountain descents where gusty cross winds are common and I've had some difficulty controlling the bike. Since I don't compete, I don't see the value in these heavier wheels, other than they look cool. I bought a set of BTLOS wheels a couple of months ago with 29mm depth and wider 25mm hookless internal width. I'm running 28mm tires with 52/56 psi.

popeye

I have been on 58/50 for 5 yrs and 60/60 for the last 3 daily. They have never given me pause but I don't ride mountains but rarely and have been a sailor all my life and I'm used to responding to the wind with the tiller as much as the bars.

SoSmellyAir

A 40 mm rim height should be enough to let pretty much everyone know that one has CF wheels. Just in case, I bought 45 mm tall wheels.

But seriously, I chose 45 mm tall wheels to minimize the weight penalty over their alloy predecessors.

rsbob 

Makes perfect sense. Always have to ‘weigh’ weight for climbing and acceleration versus the aero gain on the flats. From what I have read, the 45s seem to win as the best compromise.

tempocyclist

I've been running 60mm carbon wheels for years now. I'm a 60kg / 130lb lightweight and in strong blustery crosswinds they can be a handful, but most of the time they are fine.

I don't go around cresting Hors Catégorie mountain passes all day so the little extra weight is easily offset by the extra aero benefits.

CrowSeph

used a prime wheels with 50mm+bracking track for years and the side wind was a bit frustating. Actually i'm running a 35/37mm and seems quite okay in almost every situation. Maybe the gold spot is to swap the rear with one more deep but for now i'm okay with this combo.

Chandne

45mm is my max here in Colorado. Some of those steep passes can get windy and I don't like the feeling of the front being pushed suddenly. Some days, even a 45 front seems a bit too much but I am weighty enough to not let it control the bike for long. It seems that the ENVE 3.4 or a 45/45 combo is about the max here. I have been running 28s but am running 32s now on Foundation 45 wheels. My other bike has shallow alloy rims that are around 28mm with 28s.

merlinextraligh

With the possible exception of a very steep uphill only TT, aero is going to trump weight almost every time. Aero is just a bigger percentage of the equation than the tiny weight difference. Back in the day, Tyler Hamilton illustrated this winning the US Pro Championship, with multiple climbs up Paris Mountain on Zipp 808’s

thin_concrete

I run 44s and 45s, depending on bike, and here in New England, I find that to be a good compromise, especially when I’m riding along the coast and the wind picks up. I do wish I had picked up a 60-65mm rear specifically for races, but I’m not sure I’d have any appreciable advantage over my current setup. I run 25s on all bikes but have room for 28s and will try them when I need to replace my current tires.

rsbob 

I have 35s as well. On windy days, will put the 35 on the front. Hopefully that will take the teeth out of a cross wind.

eduskator

No way for me. It would be of no use. I climb hills most of the times with average speed of 30ish KPH (19MPH), flat roads are rare. If I were to go with deeper wheels than my current 42mms, I'd go with 50mms.

I tried a few different ones and I find that 42mms is a good all-around wheel.

rsbob 

Ran the wheels yesterday in zero wind and they ran well. When done, Garmin congratulated me on my fastest 40K to date but only did 778’. No PRs but average was up. Winds will probably shoot that kind of run to smithereens.

urbanknight

I bought some 56's last year and didn't really like the feeling of the wind (even a gentle breeze) when on winding descents. Didn't feel in danger of crashing, but was ruining my cycling zen, so I built a set of 32's up instead and hung the other ones up after about 2 months. Maybe I would get used to them if I tried them longer as Bah Humbug said, but since I am slow (averaging 13-14 mph nowadays) and not racing, it's just not important for me.

Troul 

imo, if running a tube, I'd opt for 60 or 40.
The 60 would be my choice since I am basically an anchor on the bicycle. Also, I prefer less of a spoke length to keep a low hole count wheel more likely to stay true. like to keep the valve length somewhat proportion to how much it protrude out, & just like the way it looks.
40 may seem to be an extreme change in size, but it'll be easier to find a tube that has enough valve length without using an extender or using a tube with a really really long valve. If the rider's lbs isn't oooof'ing, the 40s are less prone to wind drifting. They'll look less aggressive too.

Koyote

Tyler had some additional help.

eduskator

''some''

msu2001la

I seriously doubt anyone on this board can actually feel a meaningful difference in cross-wind handling between a 45mm and a 60mm wheel. Don't get me wrong, if you ride 80mm+ wheels on a super windy day it's going to be a handful, but the actual on-the-road handling differences between 45-60mm wheels seems trivial at best. If it's so windy that a 60mm wheel is legitimately dangerous, it's also definitely going to be too windy for a 45mm wheel and probably too windy to ride at all without getting blown all over the road.

The main thing here is that 60mm wheels lose more of their aero advantages in crosswinds than 45mm wheels do and at high yaw angles can actually become slower. That's really the only reason (besides weight) why anyone would need to switch from 60mm to 45mm. This is why pros switch wheels based on conditions, not because the 60mm wheels are too much to handle.

rsbob 

Went out during a high wind warning with a 60 in the back and a 32 in front just to see how bad it could be and was pleasantly surprised I wasn’t blown all over the place. A couple of gusts got my attention, but nothing like last summer when I watched a woman cycle touring in Norway get completely blown over. The tailwind got me up to 28 MPH but had to claw back at 12. Won’t be repeating that experiment again, but at least know what the combination can handle.

MinnMan

When I first got my 56 mm rims, I felt like I was being blown around and that I needed extra attention to maintain control. But I'm used to them now and they don't give me any problems or cause for concern.

Bah Humbug

Shallower in front and deeper in back is more stable. Not used to seeing that big a difference, but people do that at Kona to help with the descent from Hawi.

surak

That is not true of properly designed deeper rims, where drag at high yaw angles can be negative due to the sail effect. Shallower rims are not able to do this.

Negative drag (aka sail effect) at high yaw with deeper rims.

rsbob 

Any definitive studies on fewer/shorter spokes (say 24) with a high aero profile rim versus, a plethora of spokes on a flat rim (say 32)? I know I have been blown around plenty of my 32 spoke count 80s bike.