FLO Wheels revisited
Hello, everyone!
I read through the forum about the FLO wheels threads that were posted earlier this year.
I am currently on the Pre-Sale list for the next round of wheels and am wondering if I should go for it. I am looking for a race set for IMAZ.
Questions:
1. If you currently have FLO wheels, what setup are you running and what do you think of them now that you've been riding them for awhile? Any concerns, drawbacks, praises, etc?
2. Specifically for IMAZ (flat, potentially windy as the day progresses), what FLO wheels setup would you recommend/consider? I was thinking of doing a 60/60 setup.
3. Specifically for IMAZ, if not FLO wheels what wheel setup would you recommend? I was going to run Zipp FC 808's front and back until the pre-sale opportunity popped up.
Thanks in advance for your responses!
Wolf
Comments
I know one member, Kate, has a set. Maybe she will speak up about them. I believe she raced them in IMLOU.
I have a Flo 60 front and a Flo disk. Overall i think they are really nice wheels and i would buy them again. In fact, i'm thinking of picking up a rear Flo 90 at tomorrows pre-order. The disc is not solid and is basically a Flo 90 with a cover. On the plus side that means the wheel is able to be trued, but the negative is because it's not removable cover it can be easily damaged during transport. The 60 (and i assume the 90) have been bombproof. Also, all Flo wheels are made using an aluminum rim so there is no need to switch brake pads between racing and training wheels although that's relatively minor.
In terms of your specific question about wheel choice for IMAZ, are you not able to run a 60 with a disc? I think that would be my first choice if a disk is allowed. My second choice would be a 60/90 combination and i think that setup gives you a lot of versatility along with solid handling. The Flo website describes a the 60/90 combo as a very solid setup choice.
One other tip that i read about on slowtwitch and it worked for me. The Flo website allows you to buy wheels about 5-15 seconds before the top of the hour. Tomorrow morning they will have a countdown timer on their website. Just keep hitting refresh during the last minute before 10am PT and you should be able to get in early and that gives you a jump on the pre-order.
Good luck!
1. 90/Disc
2. 60/Disc
3. 90/90
4. 60/90
5. 60/60
Hello Wolf,
I have two sets of the Flo wheels. A 60/60 set I use for training and a Disc/90 set I use for racing. I used the Disc/90 setup this past weekend at IMLT and these are my primary race wheels. I love the wheels! I have found them to be very durable and fast. At Tahoe I was really glad to have aluminum clinchers for the braking on some of the steep descents. I am a big guy and not that intrigued by all carbon whenever I have to use the brakes a lot.
Last year at IMAZ I used the Disc/90 setup as well and rode 5:29 bike split.
Personally my choices for one set of race wheels would be the following:
I am traveling this week or I would try and pick up a Flo 90 rear just to have when ever it is too windy for a disc.
There are crosswind concerns at IMFL, especially along the coastal area. I'm using a Bontrager Aelous 9/9 setup but I've ridden the wheels a few times and am used to the twitchiness.
Thanks Mark for the tip!
Hope us East coasters have a chance!
Awesome!! I got mine! Went with a 60/90 setup, then will contact Coach R and Wheelbuilder to get a cover for the rear per the fantastic suggestions and feedback in the Haus and in this thread.
I accidentally added two of the 90's to my cart when I was going through the order process. Was so stressed that I wouldn't get the order completed and/or get kicked out of the process and lose the wheels altogether that I just placed the order as-is. Shot them an email right away to explain the mistake so hopefully I didn't screw things up too badly.
@John, did you get yours?
Wolf
I'd go with what Bob has to say.
Though I am bigger than Bob. 182 lbs. That may help wtih the 90/90 twitchiness some.
The
I just placed an order for a 30 front wheel for my road bike (powertap Hed Belgium in back). Looking forward to seeing what I get once it finally arrives up here in the great white north (hopefully before the snow).
Yes, lighter riders will tend to get pushed around more. Are you saying I need to add 15-20 pounds?
Hey Danielle-
Sent them an email asking about this. Will post the reply as soon as I get it.
Wolf
I'm riding with the 90/90 set up and have had zero issues on handling and i'm also a very light rider weighing in at 150lbs. I did IMFL on Zipp 808FC's and cross winds were not even a factor. Maybe i've been lucky with the wind though.
Hey Gang-
Contacted FLO about the last go around of the wheel sale they had last week and asked when they anticipated shipping the wheels. Here is a transcript of that email exchange (below). I love their quick replies and customer service so far! These guys are on it!
-----Original Message-----
From: Jon Thornham
Sent: Monday, September 30, 2013 12:10 PM
To: wolf@firesults.com
Subject: Re: Question regarding recent FLO wheels purchase
Wolf,
Your wheels were processed yesterday and will be shipped this week. We had a few sets left over from last Pre-Order in case someone had a warranty issue. This is why yours will ship. I am not sure who else ordered but if their wheels will not be shipping this week our goal is to ship the wheels the last week of October. We are still awaiting final confirmation. Please let me know if I can help you with anything else.
Take care,
Jon Thornham
-----Original Message-----
From: Wolf Gottschalk
Sent: Monday, September 30, 2013 7:11 AM
To: 'Jon Thornham'
Subject: Question regarding recent FLO wheels purchase
Good morning, Jon!
I'm very sorry to bother you. I am a member of Team Endurance Nation. There are a lot of us that managed to secure wheelsets in the recent wheel release last week. Many of us are racing Ironman Florida or Ironman Arizona (I'm doing the latter) and one is doing Kona (although I'm not sure if he's planning on racing on the FLO wheels or not). We are excited to showcase our new FLO wheels at these events, especially when we go screaming by our competition on our new found speed!
Because these races are approaching rapidly, we're collectively anxious on being able to train on the wheels prior to shipping bikes off to our destinations and/or still getting our bikes ready. I'm still ordering a wheel cover for my rear 90 from WheelBuilders and am anticipating that this may take a little time as well.
Question:
What do you anticipate the shipping date to be? Almost all of us went with a 60/90 purchase. I know your website gave a shipping date, but was just wondering how exact that information was or was it more like a guideline. Most of us have backup plans in place and will race on other wheelsets if the wheels won't ship in time for prep and setup, but it would be good to know for planning purposes. Of course, the preference is the FLO wheels at this point.
Any insight would be great appreciated, and thanks in advance for your time and effort.
Hope your day is off to a great start!
See my new rig with flo 90/90s on facebook.
Apparently i got tim cronk's order for wheels.