New wheels or new bike?

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New wheels or new bike?
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Save up for new bike23 Votes - [95.83%]
Buy new wheels ASAP (recommendations welcome)0 Votes - [0%]
Neither (list alternative in comments)0 Votes - [0%]
Buy my bike now so I can get a new one1 Votes - [4.17%]

2009-07-27 12:45 PM

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Subject: New wheels or new bike?
My only bike is a Kona Jake the Snake cyclocross bike.  I have road tires on it for training and racing.  The wheels are Mavic Open Sports. 

Should I invest in more aero and/or lighter wheels or save up for a road/tri (have not decided which way I would go....love to have both!) bike?

At this point I don't want to sell the Kona to help fund a new bike because I want to give cyclocross a try this fall and winter.

Will better wheels give me a noticeable advantage with the rest of my setup remaining as-is?  I'm new to training and am averaging 18-19 miles on flat-ish courses and would love to get faster.  I know the engine needs a ton of work and I'm upping my distances at a healthy pace.

Timing is also a factor as I would not be able to afford a new bike for a while (next year at the absolute earliest).  If I went with a new bike I'd probably save up to where I could go at or above $2k.  New wheels may be an option later this year.

2009-07-27 12:56 PM
in reply to: #2310399

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Subject: RE: New wheels or new bike?
Better wheels will not give you a noticeable advantage.  Others can correct me if I'm wrong, but for a 40K TT, I think you might be talking one minute faster, with the most aero wheels out there, and you're talking about upwards of what, 1000-1500? for wheels like that.  Save up for the bike.

eta: to throw some numbers out there... if you do 19 MPH for a 40K TT, you do it in about 1:18:30.  Getting the wheels, say you save one minute, 1:17:30, that is 19.2 MPH.

So it is in the eye of the beholder if that difference is "noticeable," but for me, it isn't the most effective use of the money.

Edited by newleaf 2009-07-27 1:03 PM
2009-07-27 5:38 PM
in reply to: #2310399

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Subject: RE: New wheels or new bike?

There was a guy on here that mentioned an aero helmet has greater aerodynamic gains over aero wheels....  But i havn't found any studies that proves or disprooves this.

In my opinion, as long as the geometry of your bike is setup like you need it for your race, and you have the proper equiptment to give you a comfortable/proper aero position, i wouldn't worry about spending money.

2009-07-28 7:01 AM
in reply to: #2310399

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Subject: RE: New wheels or new bike?
Just ride more and push yourself HARD once or twice a week. My fiance averaged 21.2 MPH for 30k on a Redline Conquest cross bike just this weekend on a fairly flat course. I will admit that it did have a mid range wheelset on it, but nothing else, not even aero bars, the results are purely the engine.

The only disadvantages Jake the Snake will have is the wide fork is not as aero as a road bike and riding wise cross bikes are stiff as a board so putting in big miles is a little harder on the body, but it's still doable.

Save the money toward a tri bike for when you need to shave that last half to full minute off to get the podium. Jake can do everything a road bike can do and more.
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