First IM: Will I benefit from Carbon Aero Wheels (Page 2)

My carbon hoops (46mm Reynolds) on my roadie feel more compliant (softer) than aluminum ... my Zipp4"s on tri bike feel EXACTLY same as aluminum ... to me.

But both wheels are absolutely faster, to me, than OEM spec box rims. I think a lot of the benefit (for me) comes from the high quality hubs, as well.

Wheel stiff has a lot to do with spokes, too, right? 18/24 with 2.0 DT Champions is going to be a lot stiffer than 16/20 with 1.8-1.5 DT Comps....

... but I don't really think wheel stiff is the kind of stiff that matters in triathlon. Triathlon racing is about slow twitch muscle fibers, long steady endurance burns and "saving some for the run". Not a lot of hammering, lung-busting, boil over sprints in our game.

I understand about pedaling efficiency ... but do you guys think stiff is all that important in triathlon? I mean, the wheel is sitting on a pneumatic tube, right? Even at 130 PSI, this is still so much more compliant than the rim that I am not sure the rim matters for our game. I am not advocating noodle-soft .... I'm just saying I think a really stiff bike like a BMC road bike or a Ridely Dean tri bike and a complant bike like a Cervelo RS or a Spesh Roubaix or a C'dale Slice tri bike feel very similar (to me) AT NORMAL TRIATHLON CADENCE AND PACE .... 20MPH and steady.  Nobody would call these bikes soft ... they are premium bikes with unreal ride quality ... but they are also not stiff bikes..... and the comfort benefit from a softer, more compliant bike once I start running probably outweighs the efficiency that I might get from a really stiff bike when I am cruising along on a flat course in an aero tuck at 88 rpm and 20.0 mph. 

I can definitely feel a stiff bike from a softer bike as soon as I stand up on the cranks, or on a 7 degree hill .... but not in the basement, on a trainer.

But aero is faster. I used to not be so much a believer ... I was a weight weenie ... but 5000 miles later. I'm totally convinced on aero....

Edited by jsselle 2010-10-29 5:35 PM

I want add you'll benefit psychologically as well, which to me was AS worth the rental fee as the time improvement.
I felt great just riding the run course easy a few times in the week leading up to the event with those rented 808 Clinchers on- because I too was not used to Tubulars I just rented the Clinchers.
The wheels looked great, and they differentiated by quite a stretch, this event, from the hundreds of others I'd done.
Enjoy those wheels to the fullest, and best of luck!