Front wheel covers on a Vendetta

[JOSEPHWEISSERT]

Now that I have tried Catalyst wheel covers on the rear wheel of my Vendetta, I am thinking about front wheel covers. I read somewhere that the aerodynamic effect is twice that of the rear wheel for the front wheel. I've heard that the rear wheel covers add stability. So I'm wondering if any Vendetta riders have experience with front wheel covers or solid front wheels. Please tell me your good and bad experience with front wheel covers on a Vendetta. I'm also curious now because the National 24-hour Challenge is less than a week away. Thanks.

 

[Greenspeed]

Hi Joe,
I tried with a solid wheel once and to be honest with you, I was wetting my pant when a cross wind hit.
Descending with a solid FW wasn't fun either. I have since not tried it again.
On a flat non windy day, perhaps it will be noticeably faster.

 

[Charles.Plager]

General consensus seems to be that front disks usually only make sense in a place where you know the winds are going to be controlled (e.g., velodrome). There are those who have successfully ridden them in the real world, but Greenspeed's experience isn't uncommon.

 

[ratz]

Other consensus was that the MBB is better than most, since you get more control strength on the nose, but requiring skill and attention. Maria Parker has raced them successfully; but Jim Parker confirms that those would be on calm wind days; and he cautions again terrain where you have cross winds that might "pop" as you exit tree cover during a descent. I'm pretty sure there is some discussion about that idea in the original thread by greenspeed

http://cruzbike.com/forum/threads/front-disc-wheel.7896/

 

[Alan W Dolbeer]

I raced once on a VERY windy day with a covered rear wheel on my old Reynolds T- Bone 26/451 USS. The covered rear definately was a speed advantage and did not disturb handling. In fact, it seemed the harder the wind blew, the more advantage I had over the other bents using open wheels.
I would ride a Silvio or Vendetta using a disk rear wheel and don't think cross wind handling would be a problem. That said, the drive wheel is another story. I have ridden my Silvio 1.5 with a 58mm CF drive wheel and been unsettled by strong cross winds. Yes, I could ride with them but since I sometimes ride in traffic, I want better control than that.
My plan for the V20 is to use a 44mm CF drive wheel and a 60mm CF rear wheel.

 

[LarryOz]

I rode the entire 24 hours at Sebring with front and back discs. It was pretty scary at times, and I think helped wear me out a little. Since I have been back, I have done areo testing and found very little difference between a full disc and my 88mm rims on the front.
Since then, I have been riding a set of tri-spoke wheels. I think it is a good compromise, and I still found a very little difference between them and full discs.
Not sure what you have Joe for the front, but if it were me, I would pass on a full front disc and go with something in the 60-80mm rim depth!
Good luck this weekend - I know you will do great! Can't wait for the ride report!