Do they really understand?

[novetan]

I often see comments after I changed to X brand wheel, the moment I start to pedal it just propel you forward. Man, this wheel can roll, bal blab bla.

I have ridden low, medium and high profile wheel and I know exactly the feeling. Low profile wheel has a quicker start up than higher profile. No doubt abt it. But isn’t we ought to consider the benefits of riding and counting the speed of any particular wheel over a much longer distance than just making a snap conclusion the moment the wheel began to turn?

Though I only started riding slightly over a year, I believed I understood the basic and its technicalities and conclusion shouldn't be drawn without a more complex evaluation.

Do all this so called aficionado knows the exact science and exactly knows what they are talking about?

 

[Rob3rt]

Is English your 1st language? I found that post to be rather confusing, but in answer to what I think I have just read.

Most people appear to have no real idea what they are talking about and just repeat stock phrases from magazine reviews. They have bought some better wheels and the bike feels better to ride, they don't really know how to quantify or even describe the feeling so they come out with the same old stuff they think they should be saying.

Quite frankly, I couldn't tell the difference in order to debate the merits between 2 similarly specced wheels in most cases and I race almost weekly so my wheels get used in anger, not just pootling about.

I don't think it matters that much though!

 

[I like Skol]

I ride a hybrid with 700c/29r MTB wheels and 35c tyres, mudguards and a pannier rack with 2 panniers and god damn it's quick.... No really, it is. Ask anyone that rides with me

 

[snailracer]

Then there are all those newbie posts that typically go, "...so I scrapped my rusty old mountain bike I bought for £60 from Tesco, assembled by my dad using only a pair of pliers, that never fit me in the first place, had under-inflated knobbly tyres, gears that never changed properly 'cos I have no idea how to adjust them and a chain that never saw oil. I've just bought a £800 road bike and can't believe how much faster it is! Road bikes rule, yay!"

 

[novetan]

Is English your 1st language? I found that post to be rather confusing, but in answer to what I think I have just read.

English not my native, I have corrected above. Better understood?

 

[snorri]

I often see comments after I changed to X brand wheel, the moment I start to pedal it just propel you forward. Man, this wheel can roll, bal blab bla.

These comments baffle me too, I just can't understand how people can be instantly aware of small benefits obtained by a change of component. Over a few miles an improved performance could be confirmed with the use of measuring instruments, but improvements that could be felt?
A lot of it is in the mind, I think.

 

[snailracer]

These comments baffle me too, I just can't understand how people can be instantly aware of small benefits obtained by a change of component. Over a few miles an improved performance could be confirmed with the use of measuring instruments, but improvements that could be felt?
A lot of it is in the mind, I think.

The only thing that I have ever found immediately noticeable about different wheels is that some are laterally much stiffer than others. However, it is arguable whether that translates into better performance, or that it's ever sensible to rock the bike from side-to-side enough to notice.

 

[yello]

You should try listening to hi-fi buffs! They go on about hearing the difference in varieties of speaker cable.... and all I'm hearing is shoot music.

You can serve horse crap on a silver platter but it's still horse crap.

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

The only thing that I have ever found immediately noticeable about different wheels is that some are laterally much stiffer than others. However, it is arguable whether that translates into better performance, or that it's ever sensible to rock the bike from side-to-side enough to notice.

Noticeable difference in performance when your canted at a 30 degree angle taking a downhill fast bend at 40mph physically feelingthe wheel flex as you cling on for dear lfe as braking will cause you to total.

Otherwise, it's a marginal difference, unless its lighter, has much better hubs and bearings, for instance a standard stock wheel with treaded tyres to a mid-range with racing slicks will be a notable difference in responsiveness, rolling resistance and hence, speed.

 

[snailracer]

Noticeable difference in performance when your canted at a 30 degree angle taking a downhill fast bend at 40mph physically feelingthe wheel flex as you cling on for dear lfe as braking will cause you to total...

As long as you are sitting straight on your bike, the lateral forces on the wheel should still be zero even if the bike is leaning around a bend.

...Otherwise, it's a marginal difference, unless its lighter, has much better hubs and bearings, for instance a standard stock wheel with treaded tyres to a mid-range with racing slicks will be a notable difference in responsiveness, rolling resistance and hence, speed.

I definitely notice differences between tyres, too.

 

[Hip Priest]

My Shimano wheels feel better than the stock ones that came with bike. Do I know the science behind it? No. Do I care? Not particularly.

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

As long as you are sitting straight on your bike, the lateral forces on the wheel should still be zero even if the bike is leaning around a bend.

Not how I learnt...

Quoted from cycling-inform.com

4. Plant your weight on your outside foot. To corner safely, you need your centre of gravity to remain over your tires and your weight distributed appropriately across both wheels. With your body weight planted on the pedal facing the outside of the corner, you’re increasing the traction your tires have on the road.

5. Use your Balance. Lean your bike and not your body. When you ride into a corner, both your body and bike lean to the inside of the turn, but you should lean the bike more than you lean your body. To do this, plant your weight on your outside leg and extend the arm facing the inside of the corner. As you extend your inside arm, you’ll notice the bike drops into the corner and your body weight feels like it is divided between your outside leg and your inside arm. This is a very stable position, it provides a lot of traction, and enables you to see further ahead to the next turn. Moving back on the seat helps too!

 

[Dragonwight]

These comments baffle me too, I just can't understand how people can be instantly aware of small benefits obtained by a change of component. Over a few miles an improved performance could be confirmed with the use of measuring instruments, but improvements that could be felt?
A lot of it is in the mind, I think.

I agree some people make wild claims for tiny changes in weight which they couldn’t possibly feel. Now if your talking alot of incremental changes which add up to kg then that’s much more believable.

 

[snailracer]

Not how I learnt...

Quoted from cycling-inform.com

4. Plant your weight on your outside foot. To corner safely, you need your centre of gravity to remain over your tires and your weight distributed appropriately across both wheels. With your body weight planted on the pedal facing the outside of the corner, you’re increasing the traction your tires have on the road.

5. Use your Balance. Lean your bike and not your body. When you ride into a corner, both your body and bike lean to the inside of the turn, but you should lean the bike more than you lean your body. To do this, plant your weight on your outside leg and extend the arm facing the inside of the corner. As you extend your inside arm, you’ll notice the bike drops into the corner and your body weight feels like it is divided between your outside leg and your inside arm. This is a very stable position, it provides a lot of traction, and enables you to see further ahead to the next turn. Moving back on the seat helps too!

Your source is not authoritative. I am not claiming mine is either, but the advice I received was:

1. The rider should push down with both feet so the saddle is unweighted - this reduces unsprung mass i.e. only your legs move in response to bumps, not your body, which gives better traction
2. The outside pedal is lower - avoids the inside pedal striking the ground
3. Keep the rider's body in line with the bike (which follows from 1), so both lean at the same angle - this minimizes side forces on the wheel and tyre and is also more stable because your body will not get deflected sideways in relation to the bike as it goes over bumps.

Whether the bike leans more or less than the rider is almost a religious argument in mountain biking, where there are usually more factors in play than road biking. Without getting into the details, IMO both could be right or wrong depending on the circumstances.

 

[jdtate101]

I have two wheel sets, one 24mm deep weighing about 1400g, the other 50mm deep weighing roughly 1850g. I can notice the difference between the two, but it is marginal at best. It's difficult to distinguish between the two when riding on the flat, but going uphill the 1400g pair is much easier to work with.

It would be easier to notice with a larger weight difference, say between stock winter wheelset circa 2000g and a lightweight tubular set at 1200g.