Wheels in the Transalp practical test

Unbekannt

· 20.10.2009

Practical test of wheels Ultralight or aerodynamic, clincher or tubular, carbon or aluminium: if you want to be fast in the mountains, you have to choose your wheels wisely. We put them to the test and sent a test team to the TOUR-Transalp - each day with a different set of wheels.

Ultralight or aerodynamic, clincher or tubular, carbon or aluminium: if you want to be fast in the mountains, you have to choose your wheels wisely. We put them to the test and sent a test team to the TOUR-Transalp - each day with a different wheelset.

Not again!", I think, as Christian calls out: "Dirk, I've got a flat tyre!" It's our third flat tubular tyre of the day and our own reserves are exhausted. For the second time on this Transalp, we have to wait for the service vehicle - in the middle of the race, this time on the queen stage. One cyclist after another rushes past us on the descent, losing place after place. When the helpful Rose guys arrive with the service van, we quickly put new wheels on Christian's racing bike, adjust the brake pads on the clincher rims and rush after the others towards Kaltern. As we ride on to the stage finish 80 kilometres away, I think to myself: even with the best equipment, you can never make up as much time as you lose with the best equipment if it breaks down. But one thing at a time.

The idea for this story came about because there is hardly any other discussion that fires up the regular cyclists' meetings and online forums as much as the argument about the right wheel. What should you focus on, especially in a competition like the TOUR-Transalp, which covers 18,000 metres in altitude and 900 kilometres over seven days? A light wheel for the many climbing sections? A fast, aerodynamic one for the descents and flat sections? Carbon or aluminium rims - clincher or glued tubular tyres? Or is there a perfect wheel for all conditions? One thing is clear: try it out.

In the hope of finding significant differences and exciting insights, we invited a wide range of wheels for the altitude hunt, including the two lightest standard wheelsets of their kind: the "Skyline-Reynolds" from Tune (893 grams) and the Pvelotec "Supreme 2.2a lite" with aluminium rims (1,283 grams).

SHORT & SHORT

Carbon wheels are fascinating, but reach their limits in a race in the Alps: Softening glue on tubular tyres, disintegrating rim flanks and the still poor braking properties in the rain are too many imponderables for racing cyclists without professional material service. Wheels such as Shimano's "Dura-Ace" with clincher tyres and a cleanly finished aluminium braking surface are a very good choice for undertakings such as the TOUR-Transalp. If you're in a real hurry, use an aero wheel with clincher tyres such as Mavic's "Cosmic Carbone SLR".

You can find these wheels in the PDF download:

Citec 6000 CX Carbon

Lightweight Ventoux DT/Standard III

Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLR

Pvelotex Supreme 2.2a lite

Shimano Dura-Ace Carbon 1380

Tune Skyline-Reynolds

Tune black burner

Zipp 303 Clincher

If the tubular tyre adhesive softens due to the heat from braking, the tyres twist on the rim until the valve tears off.

Material battle: At the end of each stage, the damaged wheels piled up in the material trolleys of the two official service support vehicles.

Dirk Zedler, 46 years old, 68 kilos, graduate engineer, bicycle expert and TOUR tester, triathlete and amateur racer for 24 years, around 9,000 kilometres a year. Experience with carbon wheels before the Transalp: around 20,000 kilometres

Christian Baumhof, 52 years old, 71 kilos, bookseller, hobby road cyclist for 20 years, around 10,000 kilometres a year. Experience with carbon wheels before the Transalp: around 500 kilometres

Downloads:
download

Home

Wheels in the Transalp practical test

Most read in category Buying advice