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Carbon Wheels


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Friday night question for my fellow Hubbers -

 

Is there an optimal depth of carbon wheel (ie 303 vs 404 vs 808) that is specific to:

 

a) My weight - (does heavier mean i can go deeper?)

B) The race course profile - (flat vs downhill vs climbing)

c) Weather condidtions - (windy vs calm)

 

And all other things being equal is deeper always faster?

 

Cheers

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Not an expert, but it depends on the terain and weather.

 

If it's a hilly race, then lower profile.

For flat courses, go deep section.

With heavy side winds, you don't really want deep section.

 

 

Dont think your weight has anything to do with it.

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Thanks Stewie,

 

I was wondering whether heavier riders may have more control with deeper section wheels ie don't get blown around as much as lighter people.

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Thanks Stewie,

 

I was wondering whether heavier riders may have more control with deeper section wheels ie don't get blown around as much as lighter people.

 

As a rule that's true, but bike handling skills (and guts / stupidity :-)) also come into it in.

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From a technical point of view, there comes a point when deep sections work against the principles that gaurantee a good, robust wheel.

 

The spokes simply become too short and their arrival angles at the rim become larger than what the nipple swivel can allow for. These spokes then bend as they enter the nipple and tend to break there.

 

The same problem is encountered when the hubs become large, such as in PowerTap hubs with 70mm flanges and of course, Rohloff hubs on small MTB wheels.

 

A solution to this is to drill the rim's spoke holes at the right angle. The problem with this is that it then becomes specific to say 2X or 1X lacing.

 

Very short spokes often don't have enough stretch in them to absorb reasonable loads without becoming slack and the nipples keep on coming loose.

 

How much is too much? I think 50mm or, the rims have to be matched with extra-small flange hubs like what Zipp does.

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