Hi
Finally got a Kona slot and looking at wheel choices.
808 / 404 combo or a 404 / 404 combo?
Jonboy
808/404.
2 Likes
nothing wrong with 808 front and rear unless you are very little.
I have ran old Mavic Cosmic Carbones, Zipp 808’s and then last year JET 9 / JET 6. With the conditions last year wish I would have went JET 9 on both. I will probably play it safe this year and run JET 9 / 6 again.
Hi
Finally got a Kona slot and looking at wheel choices.
808 / 404 combo or a 404 / 404 combo?
Jonboy
What’s height and weight? I am 5’7" and between 135 and 145 given time of year. I got plenty of advice to go with FLO90/60 and not 90/90.
3 Likes
808/404.
+1. 404 front, 808 rear.
1 Like
808/404.
+1
I thought folks usually listed F/R… not R/F.
a 808 Front, 404 rear would be an interesting combo. Actually, faster than the opposite, but might be a little unbalanced feeling in cross winds.
Hi
Finally got a Kona slot and looking at wheel choices.
808 / 404 combo or a 404 / 404 combo?
Jonboy
What’s height and weight? I am 5’7" and between 135 and 145 given time of year. I got plenty of advice to go with FLO90/60 and not 90/90.
If you look at the top 15 M/W at Kona (they might be a bit better bike-handlers than average AG) you see that almost all Women use 50-60mm front, while Men are equally splitted between deep (80-90mm) and mid (50-60mm) front.
The theoretical difference between 60 and 90mm is quite small, but in real life if you are not able to stay in aero position or forget to drink because you are 100% concentrated on steering the 90mm, the difference will be major.
2 Likes
The difference between an 60/90 is small MOST of the time but at Kona it might be pretty large, if it isn’t making you wiggle around in the crosswinds.
But it is a tough call, just have to decide how confident a bike handler you are. 404ish up front is a safer call for sure. Lower stress options == less cortisol == better performance =)
Hi
Finally got a Kona slot and looking at wheel choices.
808 / 404 combo or a 404 / 404 combo?
Jonboy
What’s height and weight? I am 5’7" and between 135 and 145 given time of year. I got plenty of advice to go with FLO90/60 and not 90/90.
If you look at the top 15 M/W at Kona (they might be a bit better bike-handlers than average AG) you see that almost all Women use 50-60mm front, while Men are equally splitted between deep (80-90mm) and mid (50-60mm) front.
The theoretical difference between 60 and 90mm is quite small, but in real life if you are not able to stay in aero position or forget to drink because you are 100% concentrated on steering the 90mm, the difference will be major.
If you look at the top 15 M/W at Kona
That’s what I did, and I am closer to the ladies’ size, especially if I can get my stuff together and get light for that race. Thus, I am going with 60/90.
I’d definitely go ahead with the ~80mm in the rear. Front wheel like everyone says depends on your size and bike handling.
At 160lbs I’ve done past two years with 808’s. 2013 no issues with handling. 2012 was pretty gusty and I had to come out of aero for some of the climb to Hawi in those hurricane like sidewinds. At my weight I’d stick to the 80mm anyway but if you’re lighter than me, ~60mm may be wise.
Mostly you just need to stay relaxed in aero even with the wind and not tense up. The Firecrests and SES Enves will do the stabilizing for you if you stay relaxed… pretty sweet actually.
Congrats.
404 front 808 rear. QK has a better than 50% chance of being crazy windy. No one is going to know how windy until sometime mid morning when you are on the bike.
2 Likes
8 times out of ten you’d be better very glad to have a 404 on up front. I would caution on taking advice from people who have only raced in last few years as there has not been typical kona winds. Having spent many months training in kona over past 15yrs, i would always go with 404 unless forecast was for very calm winds. Yes, I have raced on an 808 there a few times and its been fine, but it was calling for calm winds. I’m 6/1 and 175lbs so not small. 404/808 is the call.
1 Like
It was pretty windy in 2012. 808/808.
Either will be fine. Not much difference between 404 and 808, especially if they are firecrest. But I’d go with 404 because you never know about the wind. It was nice last year, but it can be scary. I’d go with what you got.
1 Like
Either will be fine. Not much difference between 404 and 808, especially if they are firecrest. But I’d go with 404 because you never know about the wind. It was nice last year, but it can be scary. I’d go with what you got.
Pretty much this. If your bike skills are good you’ll be fine with the 808 rear. If the winds are nasty, the 404’s will be easier.
What’s your estimated bike split? Possibly a different answer for someone going close to 5 hours like Bryan as compared to an older AGer or lottery guy who may go 6+ hours.
Not only are yaw angles different at higher speeds…but the winds kick up later in the day. Also a reason why looking at what the pros use may not be a good idea. Not only do they get a 30 minute head start…they also may swim 15-30 minutes faster. Thus they may be off the bike a full 2 hours before you when the winds get nasty.