Are Expensive Carbon Bike Wheels Actually Worth It?

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00:00These wheels are £1,050 and these wheels are £3,200.

00:05That's a whopping difference of £2,150.

00:09So, we've devised two tests to see if we can find

00:12a difference between the two different wheel sets,

00:14which, for that amount of money, you'd hope you could.

00:17So I've been joined by Stefan today

00:18and he's gonna be our guinea pig.

00:19Stefan, what's the first test that we're gonna do?

00:22So, first of all, we're gonna be looking at

00:24the aero performance of these wheels,

00:25and so we're gonna be riding around a flat TT lap

00:29devised by Simon Smythe.

00:30What's the second test we're gonna be doing?

00:32So, the second test is gonna be a hill climb.

00:33We're gonna be going up Leaf Hill

00:35and putting in the effort with the two different wheel sets

00:38and seeing what the time is at the air top.

00:40So, Stefan, what do you think we could expect to see

00:42from this test?

00:44So, the idea here is that we have some things,

00:47like a TT helmet or a skin suit,

00:49which the aero performance and the difference between them

00:52is pretty tiny.

00:54It's not something that you're going to really notice

00:56so much on a ride.

00:57It needs to be verified in really controlled conditions,

00:59a velodrome or a wind tunnel.

01:01There are some differences between components,

01:03such as between a Dutch bike sit-up and bag

01:06and a drop bar road bike,

01:07where you're going to see those differences.

01:09Like, obviously, out on the road,

01:10you'll feel it instantly.

01:11You're gonna see that in the timings.

01:13And so the question with these wheels is,

01:15is it going to be like the Dutch bike,

01:16but is the difference going to be that palpable,

01:18or is the difference marginal?

01:20Are we going to see a significant time gap

01:22between these two wheels of a similar depth

01:24but very different price point?

01:26Absolutely.

01:27Right then, I think we should get the first set of wheels

01:28fitted and do the first run.

01:30In a test like this,

01:40there are plenty of variables we need to keep a lid on.

01:42So we've used the same ties, sealant, cassettes,

01:45and rotors across both wheel sets.

01:47There are obviously some variables

01:48that we can't have any control of,

01:50those being the wind, the traffic,

01:51and how Stefan paces his effort.

01:53So this is very much a rough-around-the-edges,

01:55real-world test.

01:56So, a little more information about those wheels.

01:59The set that cost £1,050 are the Zipp 303 S's,

02:02and the ones coming at £3,200 are the Zipp 353 NSWs.

02:07The difference in weight is significantly closer

02:09than that of the price differential,

02:10with just 236 grammes separating the two wheel sets.

02:14The actual weights with tape coming at 1,308 grammes

02:17for the 353s, and 1,544 grammes for the 303 S's.

02:22The rim profiles are incredibly different

02:24between the two wheel sets.

02:26Although both are optimised around 28mm tyres,

02:28the NSWs come with an internal rim width of 25mm

02:31compared to 23mm on the 303 S's.

02:34These are both on the wide side for road wheels,

02:36but the NSWs are significantly so.

02:38Together, with the external rim width of 30mm,

02:41the tyres make a notably smoother and straighter transition

02:44to the rims of the NSWs.

02:46This has been proved to be more aero in the wind tunnel.

02:49That narrower internal width on the 303 S's

02:52gives the tyres more of a mushroom profile.

02:54Another distinctive element of the 353 NSWs

02:57can be seen along the sides of the rims.

02:59Small dimples are moulded in similar to that of a golf ball,

03:01which is supposed to aid efficiency.

03:03The fact that a number of them are partially filled

03:05by the stick-on logos may mitigate their effectiveness.

03:08Also, the distinctive undulation of the 353 NSW wheels

03:12has been done largely to improve the stability

03:14in crosswinds.

03:19Okay, so that's the TT done.

03:21How did they feel?

03:22So, it didn't feel like there's a massive difference

03:25between the wheels,

03:26and so it wasn't like the difference between

03:27going from a shallow section to a deep section

03:30kind of thing,

03:31but there's still some differences

03:32in the sensation between them.

03:34I think that with the 353 NSWs,

03:36it was mainly flat, but there were some rises,

03:38and on those rises,

03:39it did feel like that a little bit more responsive,

03:42sort of when pressing on the pedals.

03:44And when it came to ticking along the flat,

03:46I mean, like, this isn't a double-blind trial,

03:50and so I knew exactly what wheels I was riding,

03:53so there is a certain amount of cognitive bias

03:55coming in there,

03:55but they felt nice going along the flat.

03:57They felt fast, it felt really good ticking over,

04:00and so, yeah, the feeling of the 353 NSWs

04:03was really quite good,

04:04but then the 303s weren't bad at all either.

04:07I guess it's that thing of,

04:08okay, well, do they feel 2,000 pounds better?

04:11And that's a trickier question to answer.

04:13So then, in power numbers,

04:14were you able to match a normalised power?

04:17Well, in terms of the normalised power,

04:19I managed to keep things pretty much perfectly the same

04:23between the tests, which was quite good,

04:24but in terms of the times that have turned in,

04:27there's a bit of a surprise,

04:28bit of a turn-up for the books there

04:30with the 353 NSWs coming in slightly slower

04:33than the 303s,

04:35and I can tell you the reason.

04:37The traffic between the runs,

04:39it was quite different and unfavourably

04:41in terms of the 353 NSWs,

04:44and so I think that's what definitely caused

04:47the difference there

04:48and meant that they ended up turning in at a slower time.

04:50Okay, so really, we're dealing with fine margins

04:52because it's not to say that the 303s are slow wheels.

04:56It's just that, actually, the difference between them

04:59wasn't great enough to overcome the variable,

05:01the uncontrollable variable of traffic.

05:04Yeah, exactly, pretty much.

05:05Okay, so I think we need to now put them up a hill climb

05:07and see how they perform there.

05:09So that's the hill climb done.

05:34I imagine that probably wasn't too pleasant for you.

05:36So how did you find them?

05:37Did you notice a difference between the weight

05:39because, obviously, these are 275 grams lighter.

05:42Did you feel that?

05:43So they're both pretty good wheels.

05:46I mean, it's not like the 303s

05:48were feeling particularly heavy.

05:49They're still around about that 1,500-gram mark,

05:52which is a pretty nice weight for a wheel set.

05:54The 353 NSWs are that little bit lighter,

05:57and yeah, on the steepest gradients,

06:00you do feel that little bit more responsive,

06:01like you get that sensation through the pedals

06:03as you're pressing the cranks.

06:05And then, were there any other kind of benefits

06:07of those wheels that you felt?

06:10No, I mean, it wasn't particularly a fast run up the hill.

06:14The speeds were a little bit low

06:16because of the gradients,

06:17and so I don't think that the aerodynamics

06:20would have really came into it.

06:21I didn't have that ticking over sensation at all

06:24like you do on the flat.

06:25And so, yeah, really, it's mostly the weight differences

06:29that I hear about making the differences.

06:30Okay, so put me out of my misery.

06:32What was the difference

06:33between the two wheel sets up the climb?

06:35So over about a six-and-a-half-minute climb,

06:37the difference came down to about three to four seconds,

06:40so really quite close.

06:41And that was with the 303S, the heavier wheel set,

06:45turning in that faster time.

06:47It was the 353 NSW, which was just a little bit slower.

06:50And that is purely down to knowing how to pace the effort

06:53and knowing where to put the power down, wasn't it?

06:55So again, actually, really,

06:56we've come down to fine margins once again.

06:58Even though there's a large difference in weight,

07:00which is obviously something

07:01that would get affected on a climb,

07:02we've essentially landed in the same space

07:04where it's, again, very marginal.

07:06But not a marginal price difference.

07:08Yeah, definitely.

07:09I mean, when you think about the total system weight,

07:10so I'm 68 kilos, the bike is under 10 kilos.

07:14What's 200 grams in that complex, in that whole matrix?

07:18When it comes to the sensation,

07:19you do feel the difference of maybe 700 to 200 grams,

07:22but when it comes to the actual performance,

07:23the times that you're putting in,

07:25it is a very, very small difference.

07:27I mean, it's almost about the same

07:28as just taking a phone out of your pocket

07:30and throwing it to the side.

07:32And so, yeah, when it's back-to-back

07:34and you're testing between the wheels,

07:36the difference is something that you can feel,

07:37but in terms of just how much higher

07:39up the Strava leaderboard you're gonna go,

07:41it's not so much, is it?

07:43Yeah, absolutely.

07:44Okay, so putting the numbers to one side for a moment,

07:47because it can be very easy to get bogged down

07:48in power numbers and times,

07:50subjectively, do these feel 2,000 pounds better?

07:54Well, I think that comes down

07:56to how much 2,000 pounds really means to you.

07:58I mean, this wasn't a blind test at all,

08:00but I did feel a difference with the lighter wheel set.

08:03I mean, that 200 grams difference,

08:04yeah, it's still, it's the kind of difference

08:06that you do notice,

08:07even if it doesn't turn around much faster time.

08:10And so, I think that, yeah,

08:12there's kind of two reasons to be going

08:14for the 353 NSWs.

08:16One is, you're racing at the very pinnacle,

08:18and those milliseconds are exactly what counts,

08:21and you're not gonna sacrifice anything anywhere.

08:23And second is, if you have that money to spare

08:26and you do want that feeling,

08:28and you think that feeling is worth,

08:29yeah, 2,000 pounds to you,

08:31then, yeah, by all means, go ahead.

08:33For me, personally, I think that

08:34when it comes to choosing between the wheels,

08:36I'd go for the 303 Ss.

08:38The difference isn't so great,

08:39and I feel like it just makes

08:41that bit more monetary sense, doesn't it?

08:43It does, indeed.

08:44So, there we have it.

08:45That's our car park test wrapped up,

08:47and really, these tests were devised

08:49so that we could really see

08:50how they would perform in the real world.

08:52And I think between these two,

08:53it's very clear to see that it's very fine margins,

08:56and when the variables aren't in your favor,

08:59clearly, a wheel set which is a lot more expensive

09:01may not perform as you might want it to.

09:03So, let us know your thoughts down in the comments.

09:06Let us know which ones you would go for.

09:08If you enjoyed the video, drop it a like,

09:09subscribe to the channel for more content,

09:10and we will see you again very soon.

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