Race wheel rental
I'm looking into renting race wheels for IMFL either on racedaywheels.com or racewheelrental.com. Has anyone had experience with either of these or is there a recomended EN vendor? I'm a race wheel rookie so i'm trying to decide on what wheels to rent i.e. 404, 808's, disc, tubular or clincher? (I know a disc would probably be best for florida) Also, for those that have rented what do you take for race day tubes, co2, vittoria pit stop?
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Given that IMFL is your race, go for the deepest rims you can on front and back! 808s in the front and full disc on the back.
Go clincher, especially if you've never had race wheels. Tubulars are a more "earned" sanity and privilege in my mind. I have tubulars, but will only 'race' in my clinchers now.
I'm running a Disc Cover on the back and a Firecrest 808 on the front.
Do you train/race with power, because that should effect your decision. Many people that train on a Powertap wheel just put a disc cover on the rear, then use a race wheel on the front. But if you don't race with Power or if you have a crank based system, then you have a lot more options.
I've known people who have rented from both with no issues. Here's a 3rd option: http://www.ironmanwheels.com/index/wheel-sets-700c.php
The nice thing about RaceDayWheels and TBT's Ironwheels is that they are onsite so you don't have to worry about having them shipped to you. You simply walk your bike up and they put them on for you right there at the Expo. They will also do deraileur and brake adjustments for you and you're all good to go. If you plan on racing on latex tubes and race tires, you'll need to take those and put them on after you rent the wheels. The rental wheels generally come with regular butyl tubes and some generic tire.
So if I was renting wheels and had carte-blanch to get anything I wanted, I'd do any disc on the back and a Firecrest 808 on the front. Clincher, Clincher, Clincher, Clincher, Clincher, Clincher! Do not get tubulars unless you actually have experience with them and prefer them for some odd reason. That's just one more annoying thing to worry about on race day when you should be trying to simplify things. Let us know what you decide, because if you do go with a rear disc, 808 front combo, we'll have another whole discussion about what to do for spares because they require different length valve stems. You could also go with just a full FC808 set and keep that all simple. There is an advantage to running a disc on the rear, but it is modest compared to the FC808.
Good info John, i was wondering about the tires and tubes with the rentals. I'd rather be prepared with purchasing the extra's now rather than showing up in PCB having to figure it out then. what spare tubes work best with the FC808's? would i need anything other than a crack pipe and Co2 cartridges?
I will be racing IMFL on the Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CX tires (I think this is the consensus Haus approved Race Tire, but not the only one that people like) with Vittoria Latex tubes. With 808's I use 60mm valve extenders. (50mm ones might work, but you will not have much valve to put your pump onto). If you are just going with the 808's, then carry butyl spares that are already setup with the right valve extenders on them and you're good to go. Actually, if you rent the wheels from them, you can simply use the tubes that are already in them as spares, but I'm pretty sure they will have the Zipp extenders that most people don't like as much.
If you are renting a disc for the rear, find out exactly which disc and do a google search to find out what length stem you will need, and you will probably also need the crack pipe for inflating this. If you go this route, I would get spares with the correct stem length for the disc (pre wrap the threads with plumbers tape) and carry one of the proper length Zipp extenders and the crack pipe with you. If you have a flat in the rear, just put it in. If you get a flat on the front, screw on the extender hand tight before you replace it.
Yes, you will need to take your CO2 with you and a nano-inflator. I personally have 2 spares on my bike and an extra in BSN. I also carry two CO2s and have an extra one in my BSN bag as well. Prolly overkill, but I'd rather have them and not use them than the other way around...
One final note, since you are renting anyways, get the Firecrest 808's instead of the regular 808's if possible. They are better in the crosswinds. But make sure to ask them if they will supply you with the brake pads to race on if you get the FCs.