Going back to Enosan's comment about helicopter blades, what I was reading seemed to suggest that 2/3/4 spoles are design dependant, so they aren't automatically better, it depends on the shape. I've read reports of people complaining about the handling of HED trispokes, but equally many reports saying they aren't a problem, but they are universally described as uncompromising, i.e. harsh, but that doesn't matter if you are only riding for 15mins tops. It's hard to say what is the best front wheel, as wheel performance is highly dependant on the tyre used - so what tests well with a conti GP4000S 2 might test badly with a Vittoria (for example). And there is also a thread on weightweenies/slowtwitch arguing that standard wind tunnel protocol's are flawed in terms of bicycles. Also, wind tunnels don't account for rotational effects i.e watts to spin which is where 2/3/4 spokes and disc wheels really win out.
As I said, I'm perfectly happy with my Swiss Side Hadrons (62.5mm), but they have the aluminium rim plus carbon fairing, which they don't make any more, and i got them on their introductory pricing offer. For all out speed, i think i would come down on the side of a trispoke, but as regards the HEDs, you need to run a narrow tyre (i think 20mm) to optimize their performance. The version they came out with a while back is wider, so you could run wider tyres on those.
I would probably focus more on what type of tyre you plan to run, including width, type of brake track you want and then narrow it down from there. I think these days, aero performance among most brands is pretty much a wash - e.g. if you look at frames, there hasn't been an improvement since the Cervelo P4 came out 10 years ago, and also, that is why the Speed Concept hasn't been updated, as they can't significantly improve on it. So saying all that, yes, those Planet X ones do look a bargain - i think again that if you browse timetrialling forum, you will find reviews/opinions on them.
As regards TT setups, this video was interesting if you haven't caught it, and is also assuming for the unintended puncturing of Sky's marginal gains.
As I said, I'm perfectly happy with my Swiss Side Hadrons (62.5mm), but they have the aluminium rim plus carbon fairing, which they don't make any more, and i got them on their introductory pricing offer. For all out speed, i think i would come down on the side of a trispoke, but as regards the HEDs, you need to run a narrow tyre (i think 20mm) to optimize their performance. The version they came out with a while back is wider, so you could run wider tyres on those.
I would probably focus more on what type of tyre you plan to run, including width, type of brake track you want and then narrow it down from there. I think these days, aero performance among most brands is pretty much a wash - e.g. if you look at frames, there hasn't been an improvement since the Cervelo P4 came out 10 years ago, and also, that is why the Speed Concept hasn't been updated, as they can't significantly improve on it. So saying all that, yes, those Planet X ones do look a bargain - i think again that if you browse timetrialling forum, you will find reviews/opinions on them.
As regards TT setups, this video was interesting if you haven't caught it, and is also assuming for the unintended puncturing of Sky's marginal gains.