I’m looking at upgrading the current wheelset on my 2012 Colnago EPS. I’m looking at Light Bike, and they have a 35mm and 45mm deep rim I can choose from. Here’s the issue: I’m light. I mean really, really LIGHT. I’ve read a lot of threads where guys say “Oh, yeah. I’m light (60-65kg), and I have no issues with a 50/55/60mm rim in crosswinds”. Sorry, but that’s not light. My race weight is ~52-53kg. At peak fitness, I’m at ~215-220 FTP (~4.0-4.1 watts/kg), so I can climb really well. The problem is, I get blown around in crosswinds.
So my question is for you sub-60 kg’ers. What is your experience with aero rims and crosswinds? Should I err on the side of caution and go with 35’s? go out on a limb and do 45s? 45 rear/35 front? I welcome your input.
My race weight is around 50kg. I use 50mm every day - on flats, winds, in the Alps, whatever.
No problems at all. My thought is - people just seem to notice cross winds using deeper wheels because when they buy deeper wheels they simply focus on that.
Of course strong gust of wind sometimes change my line. Exactly the same as when using shallow rims
Excellent point. I’ll try to copy and post the profiles they sent me. What are your thoughts on splitting 45 rear/35 front? Does that have any merit? I wish you well in your recovery
Yes, I consider this my “climbing” bike (other road bike is a 2000 steel frame Colnago Tecnos, that’s my “pure joy” bike). The EPS is a hair over 16 pounds right now, hoping I can nudge it down to high 15’s.
59Kg, I’ve used combinations of 80mm front/rear and disc rear without being blown about on a windy outdoor velodrome, and I bop around the lanes on a set of 50/50’s without any trouble. I notice the wind a tiny bit more on my first ride on the 50’s after a winter on box sections, but never really had an issue or felt myself being blown around. it’s definitely more about the shape of the wheel.
imo if this is your climbing bike, just get a really nice light set of 20mm wheels if you don’t plan on riding fast on them i.e steep climbs.
if you plan on riding them on everything then get a decent shaped 40-45mm. they’ll be light enough to climb on and quick enough on the flats. just make sure to get a good shape.
also lol at thinking 60kg isn’t light, you’re just very petite.
Re splitting depths front to rear, Josh Poertner has talked about it on Marginal Gains podcast, with respect to TT bikes, but the same should hold true on a road bike. His comment was that the rear wheel has less effect on the wind stability of the bike, so on a TT bike he said to keep the rear disk, and just go smaller depth at the front until stability is achieved. I think if you wanted to be the most aero, a slightly deeper rear wheel, and a smaller front. Full disclosure, I have not tried this, so can’t comment with empirical data.
LOL!! I’m 5’7, 117#. My old training buddy was 6’4" and 190. I did the majority of the pulling on our training rides (4-6 hours) b/c I was more experienced. He swore up and down he got ZERO draft off of me. To which I replied, “Then you should have no problem pulling us home for the last hour”. He never did. On the flip side, he would always distance me on descents
Thanks for your input on this @simonicusfacilis. I am a lot larger and a TTer yet your input on this discussion really helps understand some of my wheel aerodynamic choice problems and understanding what to think about for next year. Cheers
@AustinPT Can I check, when you mention “Light Bike” wheels are you referring to Lightbicycle https://www.lightbicycle.com/ or some other manufacturer? If so which did those profiles come from?
Just curious…
