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Wheel Stiffness: How it Affects Handling, Comfort, and Speed
Every cyclist has experienced the remarkable sensation when their bike feels perfectly responsive—accelerating effortlessly, handling confidently, and comfortably absorbing road vibrations. Behind this ideal ride is one crucial and often misunderstood factor: wheel stiffness. At FLO Cycling, as wheel engineers, we design our wheels to achieve an optimal balance of stiffness and compliance, knowing precisely…
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Understanding the Science of Airflow: Laminar vs. Turbulent Flow Around Your Wheels
As cyclists dedicated to improving performance, we obsess over watts. Saving watts means going faster, riding further, and experiencing less fatigue. But to truly maximize these marginal gains, we must deeply understand how our equipment interacts with the invisible yet ever-present factor—air. At FLO Cycling, we’ve dedicated countless hours to researching and refining wheel aerodynamics.…
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Why Rolling Resistance Hits Harder on Gravel—And How the Right Tire Pressure Saves You Watts
Rolling Resistance in One Line Engineers like first-principles. In its simplest form, rolling-resistance force is Frr=CrrN where Crr is the coefficient of rolling resistance and N is the normal load (your total weight on the wheels). Power lost is Prr=Frrv with your speed. Two variables—easy enough. On perfectly smooth pavement Crr can be as low…
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Busting the Myth: Why a Smaller Front Tire Isn’t Faster
When optimizing cycling performance, every watt counts. Cyclists and triathletes obsess over watts saved through meticulous training plans, equipment choices, and aerodynamic improvements. A common myth that has circulated within cycling communities is that using a smaller, more “aero” front tire paired with a larger rear tire can improve overall speed. The logic is straightforward:…
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Understanding Relative Wind, Yaw Angles, and Aerodynamic Performance in Cycling
When you ride your bicycle, you’re not just moving through still air—far from it! The wind you actually feel as you pedal is the apparent or relative wind, which results from the combination of your ground speed and the prevailing wind. This phenomenon is very similar to what sailors experience. A sailboat sailing upwind (or…
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Stabilizing a Bike with a Deeper Rear Wheel
Whether you’re a seasoned triathlete dialed in to every last detail of your aero position, a road cyclist eager to upgrade your ride, or a gravel grinder looking for an edge on those windy backroads, understanding how different wheel depths affect handling is key. In many parts of the cycling world, deep-section wheels are prized…
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1x vs 2x Groupsets – Which Drive-Train is Better?
As a wheel manufacturer, we get a lot of questions about the correct cassette to use for a wheel. With the introduction of 1x, the options have expanded, making them even more confusing. Most people think of the rear cassette in terms of “how easy it will be for me to get up a hill?”…
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Three Things all Cyclists Need to Know About Vibration
We’ve written a lot about vibration and cycling wheels on this blog. Two key articles were about natural frequencies and how vibration transfers to the cyclist. Both of these articles were heavy on the science. If you want to learn about both in detail I invite you to read them. This article will explain the main things…
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2025 FLO Factory Team
We’re excited to share some big news about the FLO Factory Team for 2025! As we continue to grow and evolve, we’re making some changes that we believe will make your experience even better. Read on for all the details and how you can be a part of the exciting things we have planned for…
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Watts/Dollar in Cycling Equipment
When working with athletes I often talk in terms of watts per dollar when thinking about making upgrades to a bike. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the watts saved for a product but cost is a serious consideration for most athletes. All the charts I’ve ever seen show a product and the estimated…
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Why Our Fastest Road Wheels are Gravel Wheels
Our fastest road wheels are actually our gravel wheels. What? Yes, I had to do a double take when I processed this data in the wind tunnel. When testing our All Sport (AS) and Gravel line in the A2 Wind Tunnel, I made a last minute decision to test a 32mm Continental GP 5000 on…
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Tire Pressure Temperature Calculator
Lately, I’ve presented a number of webinars on Cycling Efficiency to cycling teams and how temperature change impacts tire pressure is a large discussion topic. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked by T2 in Kona only to hear tires popping mid-day after the sun comes up. Why is that happening? Tire pressure…
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Rolling Out of 2023 and Into 2024
New Product Launches In 2024 FLO turns 12. That’s hard to believe in many ways. 2023 was a big year for FLO. We released nine (9) new products which was a massive undertaking. Those new products are listed below. FLO Air GaugeFLO Locking ChuckFLO Mini PumpFLO Aid BagFLO Saddle BagFLO CO2 RegulatorFLO Tire LeversFLO Hex…
