Carbon wheels - aero or not for a heavy rider? 2020 S40 dilemma

[dule0911]

Questions I have for S/V riders:

1. Aero rims - after what speed is it noticable ? I'm talking about subjective feel, not lab testing. I know that the lab testing results are always rather minor to justify the price jump. Talked to some DF riders, but not sure if it's comparable.
2. At what speed/wheel height does it feel like side winds make it unstable if you are a heavy rider? On DFs the guys who tried the deeper rims say it's noticable, especially if a rider is on the light side.

I'm 92kg/203 pounds, looking for a durable set of wheels for training/daily riders/shorter brevets. Having a dilemma if I even need rims deeper than 30mm, since I like to ride hills and on them the rims depth doesn't really matter. For reference, the steepest I rode with my Q45 is around 23% for a short distance, it was very slow and hard. I want my S40 to be the same or better at the uphill. On the other hand, if deeper rims (40, 50mm) have the aero advantage on the flats, and I can find a set which weighs similar to a 30mm set, there isn't any downside. I don't plan on using tires which are narrower then 28mm.

System weight would be around 108kg on most rides, sometimes (rarely) a bit above 110kg, if I use it to go to work instead of the Q45. Price limit would be around 1000$ a set, I can't justify more for "just" the wheels. I don't like the lower front spoke count on wheels usually found in wheelsets, I don't think this would work ok with weight distribution on the uphills (since the lower count would be on the back of a cruzbike). For example 20/24, not sure if that would be durable long term. Correct me if I'm wrong.

There are limited options, but my favourite right now are Hunt 30 Carbon Gravel Disc: https://www.huntbikewheels.cc/colle...el-disc-road-wheelset-1469g-30deep-27wide-999
They are under 1500g, 28/28 spoke count, but just 30mm deep. Since they have a 120kg weight limit, they might endure some light touring. Although I have another set with a dynamo hub which I will build for that.

Similar price, but uneven spoke count and a 109kg weight limit, Hunt 50 Carbon Aero Disc:
https://www.huntbikewheels.cc/colle...eep-27wide-24spoke-1099?variant=8142254997602

Basically, I started to look at aluminium wheels for my 2020 S40 build, and after looking a bit realised that I could maybe afford carbon wheels. Still not sure I need them though, so looking for opinions. It's the only thing left in the puzzle. Looked at Boyd and lightbicycle.com which were recommended here in some older threads, but they are a bit pricey for my taste.

 

[RojoRacing]

You could get the same wheels I ride on my V20 for $1000 https://www.lightbicycle.com/700C-t...her-for-cyclocross-road-and-gravel-bikes.html

 

[RojoRacing]

To answer question 1 anyone who says they can feel their bike cutting through the air better with 40mm deeper wheels and enjoying a big fat pill of placebo.

2. it depends on what you consider unstable but in the rear you can do literally whatever you want up to a full disc and not really feel any difference. On the front I could really feel the rim fighting the wind with a 60mm upfront over my 30mm so when I ordered my first carbon rims for that bike I went 30 or 35 up front and like 60 in the read which I made my own carbon disc covers for. I think my current setup posted above is a nice happy medium of looking cool and not sending me off the road when a mount gust of wind hits me while doing 60mph. Also even though I'm only 150 lbs myself I would because of how fast I ride and how rough some of those roads can be I put more stress through my wheels than riders 100lbs heavier than me. I'm more worried the rear seat stays on the V20 will collapse on my when I hit one of the roads G-outs at 50mph.

You can email them and tell them exactly what you want as far as rider weight and spoke hole count and they'll draw up a custom quote for you. You can also request backward rim depths for the cruzbike so you can run shallow on the front and deep on the read.

 

[RojoRacing]

Also weight for weight Carbon will outlast alloy by a fair margin as I've experienced in the mtb world. I've completely turned light Alloy rims into wet noodles over a month of just hard riding and never gotten a carbon rim out of true over years of riding.

 

[3bs]

I am a little over 200 and I have several sets of wheels that I swap around between bikes. I really like my renyolds assaults

 

[rx7mark]

You could get the same wheels I ride on my V20 for $1000 https://www.lightbicycle.com/700C-t...her-for-cyclocross-road-and-gravel-bikes.html

Rojo,
Which hub did you get in you Light bike wheelset? I can't see any options that give you both front and rear hubs with QR in 100mm and 135mm, except the Onyx hub, which would be much heavier than what you quoted here. Did you have to change out end caps, or did you convert to thru axle? If so can you share how to do this?

I agree this looks like a good wheelset, but I might try the slightly deeper WR50 rim.

Mark

 

[RojoRacing]

I have I9 road hubs which may or may not come with extra end caps but I know I didn't need to purchase anything extra after the fact. Send them an email and tell them what you want and they'll get back you within a day. DT swiss 350 hubs should also have the option for QR but you'll want to confirm.

 

[RojoRacing]

Also when you navigate their website and select a new wheel style be sure to make note of the global or north america tab option. Depending on which one you pick your hub options change due to what they keep on hand. I believe in the US we can order from ether but the shipping cost or lead time may vary.

 

[rx7mark]

I have I9 road hubs which may or may not come with extra end caps but I know I didn't need to purchase anything extra after the fact. Send them an email and tell them what you want and they'll get back you within a day. DT swiss 350 hubs should also have the option for QR but you'll want to confirm.

Rojo,
Thanks for the info. On the site they don't list the QR as an option on the front wheel, just thru axle.

How loud are the I9 hubs? One of my pet peeves, I really hate super loud hubs!

Mark

 

[RojoRacing]

I see QR on the website just fine so you must be doing something wrong. As for how loud, they are very noticeable when you are rolling the bike around the garage but honestly once I’m going I font really notice. It should be said you only hear the hub when you coast and on the road I don’t coast much. If I am coasting it’s usually about 30 mph in which the wind noise in my ears is plenty loud enough.

Only bike I’d really want a silent hub is the MTB, especially the Single speed since you spend so much time coasting on those bikes.

 

[RojoRacing]

One thing about loud hubs is some are load at slow speed and others at high speed due to ratchet spacing. Road hubs normally have like 18-24 clicks per turn so they are quite at slow speeds but at around 25mph you can really hear them.

The I9 hub is like 120 clicks per turn so at 5 mph it sounds like you are going 25 but at 25 it clicks so fast it’s more of a continuous hum than a bunch of noisy ratcheting.

 

[dule0911]

@RojoRacing
You have the lighter option or standard? The ligher option doesn't work for me, it's way below my total weight. The standard option I did spec out for 1k (dt350, qr, 28spokes), didn't know what I was doing wrong earlier. But they come at above 1600g, not sure if I would notice a difference on longer rides (fatigue wise) with the Hunt set, since they are below 1500g for the similar spec and price. About 150-160g lighter, but 30mm rims. And I'm not talking about 150 in terms of the whole bike weight, but rotating them on the uphills etc. Maybe I'm talking nonsense

 

[RojoRacing]

No idea I can't find the original quote I got from them but I've never requested a lighter option, I just build the damn bikes and ride them fast, if it falls apart it's because I didn't build it right, if it's slow it's because I'm too slow. I do recall them being less than 100 grams heavier (measured on my scale) than my $2400 enve AR wheels that they mimic so if 100 grams saves me $1400 I'm all for it.

 

[cpml123]

I ordered from them back in November - I got the AR46 with DT Swiss 240, QR, 28 spokes, and 36 teeth. Those combinations weren't listed as options on the website. However, if you email them exactly what you would like, they can accommodate most likely. I ordered from the global warehouse, aka, China directly. It took a little longer. Price and choices were better than NA warehouse.

WR50 looks nice!

 

[cpml123]

Also.. it seems like the prices is a little cheaper now! Aahh!

 

[paco1961]

You could get the same wheels I ride on my V20 for $1000 https://www.lightbicycle.com/700C-t...her-for-cyclocross-road-and-gravel-bikes.html
View attachment 9511

I’ll second Light Bicycle wheels. I’m currently running a set of 55s on my V20 and love them. About $800 for the set. Their customer service is quite good w a web tracking service where you can keep track of the build as it proceeds. They also now have a North American plant and order service.

As for performance, I don’t feel the wind anymore than I feel it on the 35mm hoops on my S40. Do they make me faster? Who knows but they look awfully pretty!

 

[RojoRacing]

Rojo,
Thanks for the info. On the site they don't list the QR as an option on the front wheel, just thru axle.

How loud are the I9 hubs? One of my pet peeves, I really hate super loud hubs!

Mark

You know I gave my freehub a listen just now on my ride and they are quite loud, it's just I never notice it because we become sound deaf naturally to sounds that are always there. If you give this video a listen when I reach the top and start going down you'll hear the hub from 5mph to 50, I'd say the video makes it sound 20% louder because the camera is directly behind it but the overall noise is pretty spot on.

 

[rx7mark]

You know I gave my freehub a listen just now on my ride and they are quite loud, it's just I never notice it because we become sound deaf naturally to sounds that are always there. If you give this video a listen when I reach the top and start going down you'll hear the hub from 5mph to 50, I'd say the video makes it sound 20% louder because the camera is directly behind it but the overall noise is pretty spot on.

Thanks for the observation and Video. Definitely louder than my DT Swiss hubs I use currently. I'll have to think about it. They used to offer DT 240 hubs. Now its 350 or 180, but not in the combo I want. I will have to correspond with them to see if there are any options they are not listing.

Mark

 

[RojoRacing]

Thanks for the observation and Video. Definitely louder than my DT Swiss hubs I use currently. I'll have to think about it. They used to offer DT 240 hubs. Now its 350 or 180, but not in the combo I want. I will have to correspond with them to see if there are any options they are not listing.

Mark

Today my hub was load enough to make several riders move out of the way on a descent just as I caught them so I don't think I'll be looking for any quieter.

 

[dule0911]

@RojoRacing
Now that's a nice sounding hub! Also, thanks for the weight info. I'm not a weight weenie per se, just trying it to build the bike to be light at a somewhat reasonable price.

@cpml123
Thanks for the info about the custom build, nice to know that is also an option.

@paco1961
One of the guys I'm riding has a nice saying: if it looks pretty, I'm going to ride it more! So yeah, the looks do matter
The good thing is that they are not unstable. What's your weight?