Test Method:

In order to guarantee constant ambient values such as temperature, wind conditions, atmospheric pressure and humidity, all tests have been performed within the same day at the wooden track in Buettgen.

SRM equipment having a precision of +/- 0.5% was used as a measuring instrument. This unit was conceived in order to eliminate the various mechanical interferences during the test.

Also, the same tubeless tires were used, produced by the company Schwalbe, at a pressure of 10 Bar.

The speed of 45 Km/h at which the measurements were taken was opportunely chosen as the aerodynamics and the consequent friction is detectable and above other mechanical aspects that can influence the test.

The measurements have also been performed at 35 Km/h, in order to detect, in this case, too,

the necessary effort.

During the test, the absorbed power from the different wheels was measured and the

time gain was calculated compared to a wheel having a traditional spokes system with round spokes (Ambrosio Nemis rim/Shimano Dura Ace hub/Spokes crossed by three).

See table

Time saved in minutes

The comparative test of the various wheels demonstrates explicitly what are the advantages that can be obtained by using an aerodynamic wheel compared to a traditional wheel. The difference between the best in the Test Vuelta, Xentis and Zipp is of almost 40 Watt. In the Triathlon over the Olympic distance, where an average speed of 40 Km/h can be obtained, the time saved is approx. 2:17 minutes, over the distance of 180 Km/h 10:17 minutes. Even for amateur athletes the time saved over the same distance at a speed of 35 Km/h is 11:26 minutes.

Table :

Geschwindigkeitsgewinn im Vergleich zu den Referenzlaufradern bei gleicher Leistung

Speed gain compared to a reference wheel at equal power:

Vuelta wheels have become the revelation among our candidates, the wheels produced in Italy and developed together with a first-class sprinter such as Alessandro Petacchi a short time ago were unknown to us.

The wheels 28” are available for the package Campagnolo e Shimano pinion (9/10 v). The flat blade spokes (12/16) are  very large and have a central groove. It wasn’t possible to verify whether the aerodynamic characteristics of the wheel are favored by this spokes form. Power saved compared to the traditional Ambrosio wheel puts the wheels Carbon Pro on top of our ranking.

Table :

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Publisert den: 2006-01-19 (721 lesninger)