Best triathlon wheels: Top wheelsets for your bike leg or time trial

There is no such thing as a free lunch. Wind resistance is the single biggest factor that holds back your speed when riding your bike. Make yourself and your bike more aerodynamic and you will go faster for the same effort. You have to consider more than all-out speed though. Think about the wind and how it's going to affect both you and the bike. 

If the course is going to be windy then you've got to not only consider how that affects wheel choice in relation to speed but also safety. A deeper wheel is a faster wheel but not in every situation. As the wind angle changes, different wheel depths and shapes offer different advantages. As an example, a deep "V" shaped rim is very fast into the wind. As the wind yaw angle moves, that speed advantage falls off and other considerations might be more important. 

As the wind comes around the side of the bike, a thin frontal area starts showing a broad side area to the wind. You are riding a sail and now it's getting pushed in a different direction than you are riding. The wheel at the front has the ability to rotate. A sudden, hard, gust can actually turn your bike. At the rear of the bike you won't get a twisting feeling, since there's no ability to rotate, but you still experience a push. This is when you have to think about what kind of rider you are. 

A lightweight rider with less than stellar bike handling skills will experience the scariest ride. If you've got more weight over the front wheel, it will have a greater resistance to twisting. If you are a better bike handler, you might find yourself more comfortable dealing with the twisting front end. Remember though every little bit of energy you spend doing something other than pedalling is making you slower. 

A deep wheel, or even solid disc, on the rear is less scary. You will often see it described as a 'push feeling' vs a twisting motion. It's more manageable. More manageable doesn't mean ideal though. It can be hard to internalise what people mean when they say a 'push feeling'. In practice you might find yourself leaning into the wind as if you are cornering. It's less scary but it still takes an energy toll. 

The biggest takeaway is that you need to plan and know yourself. What is the prediction for the wind on race day? Is it going to be an issue for your body? Are you prepared to handle it if it is? Depending on the answers to those questions, consider a shallower wheel setup. You will be faster if you are concentrating on pedalling, not staying on track. 

There's still no free lunch. The modern consensus is that for most situations aerodynamics is more important than weight. The only place weight is more important is the steepest gradients and reducing weight only gives a small advantage. Getting to and from the climb, you end up giving away those gains if you've chosen weight over aerodynamics. There is another consideration though. 

Reducing weight to save time climbing has limited benefit but there are very real effort differences when changing speed. If you have a course with lots of turns and climbing, that is a course that requires lots of momentum changes. Really understanding what that means takes a deep dive into physics and Newton's laws.

Stay in the shallow side of the discussion though and the basics are that a more aerodynamic wheel is going to be heavier. A heavier wheel will have greater resistance to a change in momentum. Even simpler, a heavy wheel will take more effort to get up to speed but once it's there it will maintain it more easily. 

So, while you might not save much time going to a lighter wheel for a hilly course you will save time going to a lighter wheel on a course with lots of changes. If your course has lots of twists and turns that require you to slow then accelerate, a light wheel setup might be a better choice. 

Wind resistance is the biggest force you are overcoming while cycling. There's no disputing this. Wheels are a big part of the bike's aerodynamics so it makes sense that's where you should spend money if you want to be fast, right? Not so.

The biggest contributor to aerodynamic resistance on your bike is you. Depending on the source, estimates for the total aerodynamic contribution of the bike tend to fall between 20-30 per cent. That means your body is far and away the low hanging fruit when it comes to speed. Optimise your clothing, your helmet, and your body position. After all that, you might consider looking at the aerodynamics of the bike. There's another side of the equation though.

On one side is the ability of you and your bike to slice through the wind. That part of the equation is all about minimising your power output. What if instead of minimising the power output required to slice through the wind you increased your power?

You are reading this article because you want to be faster on your bike. You want to reduce your time trial and triathlon times. It's easy to fixate on wheels to accomplish those goals. Deep wheels are so lust-worthy and you've heard since the beginning of time that wheels are the first upgrade you should make to a bike. Instead, consider a power meter before a set of wheels.

Depending on the power meter and wheels in question the cost can be similar. If your single goal is to be faster, better training and pacing will do a lot more for that goal than new wheels.

You've already optimised everything you are wearing, worked on your position on the bike, and you train constantly. You are sure you want new wheels and you are here to figure out which wheels to get. You have an understanding of what depth wheels are suited to your body type and your bike handling skills, compared to where you are riding.

With that info, you can start looking at prices and products from different brands to fit your needs. Wait, have you thought about your tyres? Lots of people have a lot to say about it but Silca has an excellent series of posts covering it.

Whatever wheels you have, consider tyre pressure, as it relates to rolling resistance and comfort. If you are optimising every last little detail, you probably want to think about rolling resistance too. The old school thought was that minimising rolling resistance meant pumping up your tyres until they were rock hard. Turns out that's not necessarily the fastest solution because roads aren't that smooth. Not only that but, as mentioned above, anything that takes you away from pedalling your bike as hard as you are able slows you down. Rock hard tyres are uncomfortable and comfort matters when it comes to being fast.

While finding the right tyre pressure is ongoing, rim width requires a decision before the purchase. Wider rims make for a wider tyre and better aerodynamic interplay between the rim and tyre. If you can go wider, you should. It will be more aerodynamic, and more comfortable. Whatever you decide to do at least consider your fitting some of the best road bike tyres as part of the puzzle that is buying a wheel.

There's a ton of info here that talks around the subject of a solid disc rear wheel. Disc rear wheels are one end of the spectrum that all wheels live on. The equation for deciding to go for a full disc is the same as going for a 65mm or 80mm wheel. The bottom line is that a disc rear is faster. Professional triathlete Cody Beals has a great summary. There is one more consideration though.

Never use anything on race day you aren't familiar with. If you can only afford one set of fast wheels, get something you can use all the time. The idea of getting out the best gear for race day sounds good but it's a recipe for disaster. Everything you use should be surprise-free. If you aren't comfortable riding with your disc rear on a regular basis during training, then don't get it.

Also, don’t forget to check the rule book for your event. Disc wheels are not always permitted, including at Ironman Kona.

The fastest wheel is a solid disc wheel with no spokes at all. The fastest setup would be a front and rear disc wheel. Outdoors, that's not a safe setup though. What's the next best thing? A solid spoke front wheel is as close as you get to a solid disc while still being safe outside. Vision has a three spoke front wheel and it did some testing to give an idea of actual numbers. In its tests, the Vision 3-spoke V2 with 25mm tyre averaged 16.8sec faster than the Metron 40mm with 25mm tyre over a 40k TT course.

The downsides for a solid spoke wheel are the same downsides as a disc. Wind has a smaller effect on a solid spoke wheel compared to a disc wheel but it's still an issue. Look at the section above discussing wind, your weight, and your bike handling for more detail. Then, again, just as wind is an issue for a disc and a solid spoke wheel, so is weight. Look above for a deeper discussion about weight and inertia.

There is also another piece of the puzzle to think about when it comes to solid spoke and disc wheels. Without spokes, there is a reduction in vertical compliance. Meaning that, speaking broadly, these types of wheels will be less comfortable. Tyre pressure can help mitigate that but it's still an issue. When you are giving everything you have to pedalling it's important to minimise distractions.

The takeaway is a solid spoke wheel is a very specialised piece of equipment. If you've done everything you can to get as fast as possible, and the conditions are perfect, a disc rear and a solid spoke front are the fastest option. There are drawbacks though, so be sure your use makes sense.

If you aren't using a disc rear and a solid spoke front then what size wheel do you choose? All the considerations for making the choice are above but when it's time to spend the money what do you actually choose? Wheels around 60mm deep are more controllable and lighter. Wheels around 80mm are faster. How do you make the decision?

Hunt wheels has done some testing to help you out. The difference between an 82mm wheel and a 62mm wheel at 45km/h with 25mm tyres is 3.9 watts. When you see that number you either think that's a ton or barely anything and that's your decision right there. If you've already trained and optimised everything you know that 3.9 watts is huge. That amount could represent months of training and the difference between first and second place. Or it doesn't matter.

The takeaway here is that for most people wheels around 65mm are the best choice. From there you might decide to add a disc rear. If you still need that little bit of extra performance then it's time to start looking at an 85mm depth or a solid spoke front. The performance is there for the taking if you need it and can afford it.