Psychological performance boost from aero wheel noise?

kumate_champ07

Just wondering does anyone else enjoy the sound coming from their front wheel when picking up speed? Got a new wheelset, not really aero at 3Omm deep but the spokes are bladed and it sounds like a turbine when Im going fast.
the tyres are also pretty close in width to the rim width. I noticed a lovely low whirring sound when I had a 20mm tyre on a low profile 20mm wide rim.
Theres a guy that rides at Sundrive velodrome with a Campy disc wheel that makes an evil sound, hard to describe. Its pretty loud.
so whats your favourite bike part sound and does it make you happy/boost performance?

AstraMonti

I love the whooping sound of my deep rims. The disk sound is even more impressive!

Beasty

My rear disc wheel noise is so soothing it almost sends me to sleep - not exactly performance enhancing I guess....:)

happytramp

Last year, I made a spoke clacker out of an old credit card and stuck it onto my friends wheel. He cycled from Kilmainham to Raheny and said it sounded deadly.

niceonetom

I used a disc wheel last night for the first time. TBH I was disappointed at how little I could hear it. I can certainly hear the voom voom voom when standing and sprinting but once down in TT position I wouldn't have know it was there. Could be down to the pointy hat - I can't hear thing in that yoke. I don't think the disc gave me psychological advantage, it gave me an actual advantage.

The voomiest wheels I've used are cosmic carbonnes. Sprinting on those I sound like a helicopter and changing gear under load can sound like a gunshot.

cdaly_

There was somebody running a pair of Zipps on the Midsummer Century the other evening and the clatter out of them was interesting...

Idleater

niceonetom wrote: »

I used a disc wheel last night for the first time. TBH I was disappointed at how little I could hear it.

It's psychologically de-motivating when you hear them going past

I was passed by a pointy hat disc wheeler and when I looked at my speed and how easily they were coasting into the distance all I could do was sigh.

niceonetom

Idleater wrote: »

It's psychologically de-motivating when you hear them going past

I was passed by a pointy hat disc wheeler and when I looked at my speed and how easily they were coasting into the distance all I could do was sigh.

Did you do the TT in Batterstown?

Don't go thinking that people with pointy hats or deep wheels are suffering any less than you are. They're not, they're just suffering at a slightly higher speed and in a more uncomfortable position.

Also: if you can sigh during a TT, you're doing it wrong.

Raam

I used a set of Flashpoints once, 60mm I think. They sound awesome, even at low speed.

ROK ON

Idleater wrote: »

It's psychologically de-motivating when you hear them going past

I was passed by a pointy hat disc wheeler and when I looked at my speed and how easily they were coasting into the distance all I could do was sigh.

I did a triathalon cycle a few weeks back. I was on my alu training bike (with raceblade mudguards). It was teeming.

I passed a bloke on full tt bike, deep wheels and pointy hat.
I said hi as a glided past.

mloc123

ROK ON wrote: »

I did a triathalon cycle a few weeks back. I was on my alu training bike (with raceblade mudguards). It was teeming.

I passed a bloke on full tt bike, deep wheels and pointy hat.
I said hi as a glided past.

of course you had just swam and were pacing your bike for te run off it too I presume?

mloc123

I have a 60mm with cxray spokes on the front and a disc cover on the rear. On the bike I can only hear the front wheel but I have been told the disc whoops as I pass. I do love the sound of the front wheel.

ROK ON

mloc123 wrote: »

of course you had just swam and were pacing your bike for te run off it too I presume?

No, not really. I had a cup of coffee and headed to the shower after the bike ride.
Just like most cyclists I know in that regard I guess;).

Beasty

niceonetom wrote: »

I used a disc wheel last night for the first time. TBH I was disappointed at how little I could hear it. I can certainly hear the voom voom voom when standing and sprinting but once down in TT position I wouldn't have know it was there. Could be down to the pointy hat - I can't hear thing in that yoke.

I'm sure you hear a lot more as they "swoosh" past than from on the bike itself (that's what some of my opponents have told me anyway:p) - I presume it's something to do with the theory of relativity, as I find time seems to slow down when I'm doing a TT;)

Bunnyhopper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZODRtqo-lo

kenmc

they sound like jet engines. bet I'd make up 27ms if I had one if them. hope they come in green...

kumate_champ07

I just remembered as a youngster I did the motorbike sound modification to my bike using a lolipop stick against the spokes BUT I also made fairings out of cardboard! Rode it for a day or 2, this was around Italia 90 time, things were much simpler

niceonetom

Beasty wrote: »

I'm sure you hear a lot more as they "swoosh" past than from on the bike itself (that's what some of my opponents have told me anyway:p) - I presume it's something to do with the theory of relativity, as I find time seems to slow down when I'm doing a TT;)

For TTing I try to tell myself that the faster I go the sooner I get to stop. It's really the turbo that dilates time for me. Time slows to about 50% of normal speed at tempo, about 10% of normal at threshold and stops entirely when I attempt 1 minute intervals. All this happens while stationary so, eh, screw Einstein, I guess.

As for performance boosting gear in the real world: These are my war paint. Fear me.

Idleater

niceonetom wrote: »

Did you do the TT in Batterstown?


Also: if you can sigh during a TT, you're doing it wrong.

Yeah, TT in Batterstown - first one I had done apart from the hill climb. I'll be better prepared for the 25

It was a mental sigh

aquanaut

Do bladed spokes make noise or is it just deeper aero rims?

iregk

When I was a kid the tool of choice was a playing card held onto your fork with a clothes peg. That motor bike sound was deadly

Lusk Doyle

Idleater wrote: »

I did a triathalon cycle a few weeks back. I was on my alu training bike (with raceblade mudguards). It was teeming.

I passed a bloke on full tt bike, deep wheels and pointy hat.
I said hi as a glided past.

We passed a few also on the WW200. Strange choice of bike given the terrain! Don't think they kept up for long either with the axis of awesome. That's what im calling our little band of three merry men that were together!

ednwireland

aquanaut wrote: »

Do bladed spokes make noise or is it just deeper aero rims?

i'll let you know when i ride my new ksyrium sl's

Lusk Doyle

ednwireland wrote: »

i'll let you know when i ride my new ksyrium sl's

I don't think that my fulcrum racing 3s do so it must be the deep sections that only do.

Ryaner

niceonetom wrote: »

The voomiest wheels I've used are cosmic carbonnes. Sprinting on those I sound like a helicopter and changing gear under load can sound like a gunshot.

I've these and the noise is great. Few road surfaces that really help the noise such as the hill up past Sally Gap. Distinctly remember the first ride into Wicklow this year and getting to that point and hearing the noise again - kept climbing out of the saddle a lot longer than usual and almost went back down to repeat again :eek:

enoonan

I'm afraid I don't have any aero rims but any bike with them that has passed me sounds lovely, especially the Carbones.
My favourite sound on the bike though is the silence on my SS compared to the 'clatter' on the road bike or my hybrid.

Just my 2c.

Eoin

ednwireland

Lusk Doyle wrote: »

ednwireland wrote: »

i'll let you know when i ride my new ksyrium sl's

I don't think that my fulcrum racing 3s do so it must be the deep sections that only do.

Correct so far. Havent been too fast on them yet though

Nwm2

ROK ON wrote: »

I did a triathalon cycle a few weeks back. I was on my alu training bike (with raceblade mudguards). It was teeming.

I passed a bloke on full tt bike, deep wheels and pointy hat.
I said hi as a glided past.

This puzzled me until I figured out you were part of a relay team.

So you passed someone who had just done a possibly exhausting swim, and was purposely holding themselves back for the run? Delighted for you.

I presume you had the best bike split?

mloc123

Nwm2 wrote: »

This puzzled me until I figured out you were part of a relay team.

So you passed someone who had just done a possibly exhausting swim, and was purposely holding themselves back for the run? Delighted for you.

I presume you had the best bike split?

To put it in cycling terms it would be like doing a 10mile TT, passing some guy on a 25mile TT and laughing to yourself thinking you are a much better cyclist.

ROK ON

My feeble attempt at sarcasm has backfired. Am truly humbled.

I laughed because I'm a fat middle aged cyclist with no reasonable training and amcompletely disjointed year thus far. I passed a few blokes on mega bling bikes with even more mega bling wheels. They were not old or fat. Nor were they on a 700 quid piece of sh1t bike.

I don't care what they had to do after the bike ride, they should not have been passed so easily by me. IMHO.
There were athletes I'm sure who spent more time training and less on buying bling. I'm pretty positive these folk would have handed me my ass even if they had to run a marathon afterwards.

It was snide of memto post, but jeez relax. An Internet forum can lead to shoot first think later posts. I'm mean look at the thread title, did you honestly expect a serious discussion?