My new disc wheel art!

[Bryancd]

A buddy of mine made these decals to put on my race disc wheel for my bike. Strong in the Dark Side I shall be this season!

[turtlesrock]

lookin good! =)

[billybob476]

Awesome!

[Bromptonboy]

Very nice!

[X]

How useful are disc wheels? I would think that they would suck in a cross wind.

[Bromptonboy]

How useful are disc wheels? I would think that they would suck in a cross wind.

I was thinking that myself.  Do they truly reduce weight over spokes?  I guess never having to 'True' your wheel on a long competitive ride is one of the advantages.
I am so used to heavy carbide rims, with Schwalbe kevlar braced tires (for an all weather commute, or long bicycle tour).  The world of slick racking tires is something new.  :)

[Bryancd]

Chris, Pete, a disc wheel is designed to provide the most aerodynamic advantage possible for a bike. Aerodynamics trumps weight considerations unless the course you are riding has an extreme amount of climbing. Due to it's rotational energy, a disc can actually provide a good degree of stability in cross winds. However, if a steady or gust wind of say 30mph+ is predicted for a race, I would opt for a deep rim wheel over the disc, but that's pretty rare. The front wheel actually has more impact on bike handling in wind then the rear, that's why you will never see a bike with a front disc wheel. that would be un-rideable in any appreciable wind. At the Ironman World Championships in Kona, HI, they don't allow disc wheels at all due to high cross winds, although most of us athletes think it's an excessive response to the conditions there.

[Bromptonboy]

I can see that, since most of the weight is on the rear wheel.  Gusts of wind on the front would be very unstable.  I know that when I put panniers on the front of my bike - it really effects handling.

[billybob476]

yay for physics!

[Bryancd]

yay for physics!

Yep aerodynamics are the single biggest contributor and limiter to bike performance.