The wheels of fire….(or on my bike)

I have decided on my bike frame, Scott Plasma 3. Now I have to find out what kind of wheels I want. Picking wheels is like picking my first suit for confirmation at age 15 back in Norway. I really hope my wheel choice will be better than the suit I was wearing in 1986. Luckily I do not have any picture to share but here you have Knut Knudsen looking good.



If you ever read the forum at Slowtwitch you will find an endless discussion about wheels, often a heated one. Sometimes it looks like picking wheels is like picking a sports team. But I think it is great. Equipment is fun, stuff is fun and different views are ok (as long as they agree with me ;-)



So what do I want to get out of my wheels? Well, first of all they have to work with my choice of frame, second they have to work on my main race this year Norseman, third they have to work on other races after Norseman and last they have to not be too expensive.



Even though I will have support at Norseman, I want to go with clincher wheels. If I get a flat at Norseman or any other races it will be easy to just change the tube. I have done that before and can be quite fast.



When you climb you usually also have to go downhill also. At Norseman I will have some long and at time challenging hills. The wheels have to be stiff enough to survive a big guy standing, but also be able to take the heat of all the breaking. If a wheel has been used in some of the mountain stages in cycling I am sure they can take the beating from me.



My friend Jack has made me believe that aero always trumps weight. A light wheel set maybe feels faster, especially on the climb, but if you look at the numbers a aero set will be faster even at Norseman.



So what will I chose? Where I stand today I will go with something well proven and safe, something that can give what I want from a wheel set for Norseman, but also be useful over several seasons. Currently my choice is Zipp 808.