Flo Cycling Wheels (Page 23)

You are very welcome!

If you have actually followed Flo's blog and their posts, I feel like the main reason that they have been so visible is not so much to sell their product a year in advance but to get ideas from all of us as to what we really want. They made this clear from the beginning that they would take our input and actually use it. You can see this in the fact that they used our feedback for their logo, colors, carbon weave, rim color, web design, etc. They are the experts on the aero design so they took care of that with cfd and verified with wind tunnel testing and they left all of the other things up to their customers to design. I do not see any problem with them being all over the internet even though they have not yet released their product. This is a work in progress and I find it a very interesting process to follow.

They have also been very clear that if you need race wheels right now, then you can go buy them from whoever you want. I for one am a bargain hunter and would never be able to spend $2k+ on a set of wheels. I am having a hard time justifying $800 but know that this will be my best bang for my buck. I have built up a tri bike that was a top of the line pro bike in 2009 for about $1500 (minus wheels) by being patient and searching for deals and using parts from old bikes. Once I have these wheels I will have one sweet Kueen-K for under $2500.

As far as legality of copying Zipp or Hed, I read that the toroidial patent expired about a year ago. I am not a lawyer but I am guessing that they made sure their design will be fine.

I am very excited and wish the guys at Flo the best and thank them for brining affordability to the market. I am sure that once their wheels come out, other companies will follow with affordable toroidial wheels.

I don't understand why some of y'all are so mad at the guys from Flo Cycling. Personally, I think they have gone above & beyond with all of their updates. They have been incredibly transparent with all the "ish" their NEW company has been through for the past 2yrs. CUDOS to them!!!!! I would call this outstanding customer service.......something that is severely lacking in our country in recent years!!!!!!!

Now I just need to decide what FLO set-up to go with 60/90, or 90/90.

Keep up the good work FLO!!!!! Can't wait for the pre-order/BT group purchase.

There's absolutely nothing or nobody smart at ST.  The admins (and alot of the posters) are a bunch of has-beens and/or wannabes.  Stopped going there last year because of the holier than thou attitudes.  So anything that's said or done orver there regarding a company or someone else, really couldn't give a shyt.

Don't quite have as strong an attitude as that about ST.  Jordan Rapp isn't exactly a has-been and the number of industry leaders that post there is fairly impressive, but the banning of all threads about the wheels is ridiculous.  

Asking Chris to stop initiating any threads was a bit much, but at least somewhat understandable.  Now, however, NO threads about Flo are permitted at all.  Someone posted the link to the blog when they got the pre-production wheels and Dan deleted it because somehow it was "disrespectful" to other companies that "sponsor athletes...and who advertise...on portals like this one." How do I read that?  "Zipp is a big advertiser on my site and they sponsor at least one of my admins. They're not happy about a competitor that may have just developed a wheel to rival their brand new design for 1/3 the cost.  I better stop giving free press to that competitor."  Probably not true, but I certainly don't see much other justification.

Oh, and they may revisit this when the wheels "actually ship."  So when the product is actually available, then they might let people talk about it.

You don't say.

Ahh Haa!  This settles it! "Goosedog" is "The Authority".

I do.

If you are concerned about cost, get a used zipp 404/808 for $500 and buy a wheel cover.  you'll be just as fast or faster and save $200.......

x2

The great thing about FLO is their pricing is great when comparing BRAND NEW prices.  The problem with FLO is that you have to buy them BRAND NEW since there is yet to be a used (or new for that matter) market for them. 

I really look forward to the day (maybe 3 years from now) when I can expand my wheel collection to include a 90mm front.  Hopefully I can get my hands on a used FLO 90 front for $175.  Now that would be awesome.

Please tell me where I can get a used Zipp 606 set for $500. I still don't think the old narower Zipps will be as fast as the new wider Flos. And I do plan on getting a cover for my Flo 90. 

By the way I have nothing against ST or Zipp or Hed. I am just a cheap happy guy.

Thanks

I bought a 2010 404 for $500

disc covers are $79 through Feb 10th--you would put that on your current rear wheel.

save $200--use that to buy fast tires and you are good to go........

I said nothing about a used 606 set.

That said, I think you could find a used 606 for $1000 and actually use them......you got $200 of something you no longer use....sell it and go fast today!...

EDIT--I saw a set of H3s on ST for $750 I think.........

Nice apples to oranges comparison you made there: $800 for a set of Flos compared to $600 for a single front wheel and a disc cover.  Why not get a Flo front for $400 and the disc cover and save $100 over your configuration?  Less money and you've got a front wheel that will almost certainly outperform your 2010 Zipp.

A wheel that doesn't yet exist is not faster than a wheel that is in use.

I was on the fence about waiting for FLO's wheels.  Once they said they wouldn't be out for my 2011 season, I went with a used 404 front for $450.  So I paid $50 more than what I would have paid if I waited (and still waiting) for FLO.  During that time, I will have raced a minimum of 9 times...and each of those times I was faster on my 404 than if I was still on a training wheel waiting for FLO to realease theirs. 

Not bad for paying $50 more.  And even if FLO does prove to have a faster wheel...by how much?  6 seconds over 40k?  Even if they prove to be much faster...I could still sell my 404 front for $300, buy a FLO front, and basically I would have paid net $150 more than if I simply waited.  So basically I would have rented a 404 front for 9 races at the price of $17 a race.  Not bad if you ask me.  Especially since these FLO wheels have still yet to hit the market, nor prove they are as reliable, fast or faster than anything on the used market.

And this is not necessarily meant to knock FLO. If I had said it, this would be to present the reality of the situation. I think it's great that they are bringing what could be an awesome wheel to market. I think it's great that they decided to make sure their products go out with the quality they want.  But at the same time the question of how long is reasonable to wait for them has not really been addressed. Some people might very well be pushing a two year wait by the time they get their set. Is that worth it?

It's not specific to this situation either. It applies to the upcoming release of any product. Brand new or revision.  How long would have been reasonable to wait for the 808FC after the 404FC was announced, for example.

X2

It's just that their transparency in telling us what has been happening is quite unusual. Refreshing, too, in my view. The pedal-based power meter that will soon be released as the Garmin Vector has been under discussion for longer than the Flo wheels, I think, but we've just heard less about it. Though we do know that, unlike Flo, the final pricing will be rather higher than initially expected.

Just checked the FLO website, and a pre-order date has been finalized. February 23rd.

http://flocycling.blogspot.com/2012/02/flo-cycling-pre-order-dates.html

I wonder how/when they FLO guys will let us know about the BT group buy??

All details regarding the dates are being finalized and will be available Monday.  

Regarding the group buy.  We are offering a group buy discount to all of our followers who sign up for the Launch/Pre-Order.  You will get a coupon code good for a limited time in the shopping cart.  The coupon code will give all BT'ers the opportunity to get our wheels at a one time lower price.   

A lot of people have been asking what the difference it between the Launch and the Pre-Order.  I'll answer that.

The Launch is a 4 day event beginning on the 20th of February and it will highlight pre-order details, wheel pictures, videos, specs, special offers, etc etc etc.  When you sign up you will get a username and password to access the whole event.  It will lead into sales on the 23rd.  

As I was typing my previous post, the pre-order question was answered.

Thank You