Re: [CR]Are classic wheels somehow slower or substantially slower?

(Example: Framebuilders:Rene Herse)

From: <freesound@comcast.net>
To: Bianca Pratorius <biankita@earthlink.net>, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: Re: [CR]Are classic wheels somehow slower or substantially slower?
Date: Fri, 06 Jan 2006 21:55:14 +0000


Garth,

The lighter rims will let you out-accelerate your bud, all other things being equal. I would think that once you pull ahead, the aero difference is too small to matter, so he would be forced to ride faster than you to catch up. He'll have a higher worload over the course of a ride. I'd be real surprised if the spoke aero effect is large enough to matter, but I could be wrong.

Ken Freeman
Ann Arbor, MI


-------------- Original message --------------
From: Bianca Pratorius

> A riding buddy has a modern aluminum road bike. I have five complete

\r?\n> classic bikes. We are often evenly matched, but we wonder how classic

\r?\n> components hinder or maybe even help my performance. He has recently

\r?\n> purchased a new set of Neuvation high tech wheels. Upon weighing his

\r?\n> old modern wheels and my classic wheels... surprise surprise, mine

\r?\n> weigh exactly what his weigh when using a baby scale. As has been

\r?\n> discussed recently, mine weigh what his weigh even though mine have 32

\r?\n> spokes and his have 20. The difference, of course, is that his rims are

\r?\n> heavier but he makes it up with fewer spokes. I wouldn't imagine that

\r?\n> all this new technology is for naught, so aero rims and less spoke

\r?\n> count must count for some advantages. However classic light rims make

\r?\n> for other advantages. When all is said and done, if one wanted nothing

\r?\n> more than fast runs in competitive group rides, would one be faster

\r?\n> with the modern rims that have more weight at the circumference or

\r?\n> classic rims that have less at the outer edges but more wind turbulence

\r?\n> at the spokes? My instinct is that all this modern technology is faster

\r?\n> on some measurable level, but when push comes to shove, short of an

\r?\n> aero helmet, a skin suit, tri-bars, and disk wheels the pay off is tiny

\r?\n> for mild aero section wheels, sleek brake levers. aero brake levers and

\r?\n> blade like seat posts. Also, those clunky aero wheels end up looking

\r?\n> slower visually.

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Garth Libre in Miami Fl.