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    Wheel Selection – Regular vs. Clydesdale

From:
LastManWalking  Jan 22, 2006, 5:03 AM 

Question:
Do I need Clydesdale wheels?

I'm in the weight range 86-96 kg. I'm considering a Zipp 808 rear wheel. Should I go for the Clydesdale version?

Josh:
We always say that the clydesdale recommendation is for roadies over 200 and triathletes over 220 lbs. The only differences are that the Clydesdale version uses a Pave laminate rim for improved impact protection since larger guys will compress a similar sized tire more in an edge impact, pothole, crash, etc. The other difference is a few extra spokes for increased lateral stiffness, which is the real thing that big guys notice while actually riding the wheels.

We worked with Guy East and the guys at Team Clydesdale on figuring out what bigger guys wanted (their headquarters are 10 minutes from us) and basically the standard wheels worked fine for them, but for out of the saddle climbing, criterium racing and sprinting, they wanted more lateral stiffness. The penalty is roughly 100 grams per wheelset, but will result in more precise handling and a bit of impact insurance.

The lateral stiffness issue really seems to also depend on the smoothness of the rider, we see some 180lb guys who require higher lateral stiffness just because they are all over their bikes while climbing or sprinting, just as we see some 225+ lb guys who are so smooth that they don't even notice the increased stiffness of the wheel, but those nuances are so rider specific it is really difficult to say without really knowing how somebody rides.