TT Wheelset - Opinions

I wouldn't spend too much money upgrading to extremely expensive aero wheelsets, at least for now. I'd get a few TT's under your belt on the set you currently have, as the X-lites should work quite well. I'm concerned that for the money, you may not notice very much difference upgrading to much more... Here's my reasoning: In the august issue of Bicycling magizine, they included an interview section with the MIT collegiate time trial team. An interesting comment that they made was a non-aero helmet creates 4 times the drag of a non-aero wheelset, and that even the attachment of your race numbers will make a larger difference in your drag profile than the wheelset. The key that they touched on was the fact that the bike only accounts for 15-25% of your drag - So, yes, wheels will help, but if you already have TT specific bladed spokes on the x-lites, you'll probably notice more of a difference from positioning on the bike, proper fit, helmet and technique. Idk, my two cents... But I'd save your money until you've at least had a chance to get a few TT's run on your current set.

If you are interested in the article, it was called Revenge of the Nerds, in the SPiN section of the August 2006 issue.

GL, ride fast!

Hmmm, all good points. I had heard that about the conical helmets, so I got myself one. It's great, wear it downtown, impress the chicks. I'm going to try to nail everything down for next year: position, frame, skinsuit, wheels, helmet, booties. I have the beast hooked up to my trainer now, and through the winter, to get the threshold work in, and more importantly, get used to the position.

I'm very much looking forward to next season already.

I've also read that having your jersey unzipped kills aerodynamics more than any wheels can

I would highly recommend spending the money on a power meter to train and race with before spending the same money on expesive race wheels. The wheels might get you a couple seconds, the gains from proper training and pacing strategy from a power meter are unlimited.

My $0.02

Pad

Agreed. If you are prepared to drop that much on something, get a power metre. I did a month of training as a small program using a power monitoring system. The reults are incredible, there is no better way to train. Can't affor one atm though 🙁 so I will be using HR and PE for a while which is still working, but not nearly as efficiently. Also. Move water bottle to seat tube, buy aerodynamic helmet, keep jersey zipped up, don't wear gloves and research your position, those make much more difference than wheelset.