Setup for Tri's and Road races

[trijicon]

I am an newbie to this sport and plan on participating in someraces this year. I plan on doing some short tri's (sprints) but more all road bike races. I already have my clip on aero bars for the tri's and am planning to purchase lighter wheels for races.

My questions are 1) are "aero bars" not allowed for all road bike races (other than time trials)? 2) Amongst the Zipp wheel line up what is acceptable for all road bike races, are Zipp 404 acceptable? I'm assuming disc wheels are not allowed for road bike races, right?

The reason I ask is that I don't want to purchase a wheel set that is fine for triathlons but are illegal for purely bike races. I'd rather be optimized for the bike races than the triathlons.

I hope I make sense.

 

[kennf]

I am an newbie to this sport and plan on participating in someraces this year. I plan on doing some short tri's (sprints) but more all road bike races. I already have my clip on aero bars for the tri's and am planning to purchase lighter wheels for races.

My questions are 1) are "aero bars" not allowed for all road bike races (other than time trials)? 2) Amongst the Zipp wheel line up what is acceptable for all road bike races, are Zipp 404 acceptable? I'm assuming disc wheels are not allowed for road bike races, right?

The reason I ask is that I don't want to purchase a wheel set that is fine for triathlons but are illegal for purely bike races. I'd rather be optimized for the bike races than the triathlons.

I hope I make sense.

Aero bars are not allowed in any licensed race-- only time trials. Disc wheels are also not allowed (you wouldn't want to race in a pack with one anyway). As for the Zipp line up, I believe they are all legal for mass-start races (other than the discs), but the manufacturer could certainly tell you for sure. The most popular all-around wheel is probably the 404. The models up from that one are probably more suited for time trials, and may not handle so well in a road race/crit.

As you probably know, Zipps are extremely expensive wheels. Don't feel compelled to drop $1600 on wheels if you're just starting out.

 

[asgelle]

Disc wheels are also not allowed (you wouldn't want to race in a pack with one anyway).

Under UCI rules disks are not allowed. Under USCF and ACA rules they are legal. The reason you would want to race with them in a pack is the same reason you want to use them in a time trial: they're faster than spoked wheels.

 

[trijicon]

THanx everyone.

I'll looking to spend around $800 for front and back wheels. What carbon wheels would you suggest? How are the Mavics Krysium SL?

Thanx

 

[kennf]

Under UCI rules disks are not allowed. Under USCF and ACA rules they are legal. The reason you would want to race with them in a pack is the same reason you want to use them in a time trial: they're faster than spoked wheels.

I looked at the USCF rules and I'll be damned. I stand corrected. But I have never, in my life, seen anyone use solid disc wheels in a road race or crit. I can't imagine cornering and sprinting in a crit with disc wheels