Zipp Introduces New 303 Firecrest Wheels in Carbon Tubular and Clincher

Well, I was hoping the 303 flavor would be less expensive than the 404 Firecrests and less weighty. Given the minimal weight difference and nonexistent cost difference, it would be hard to argue in favor of buying 303 Firecrests over 404 Firecrests. It’s likely the 303’s handle better in crosswinds, but is the difference great enough to pick those over the 404’s? By all accounts, the 404’s handle quite well in crosswinds.

Hopefully, soon after release, places like Wheelbuilder.com will have the 303 Firecrest rims for custom builds as they do currently with 404 Firecrest rims. Maybe there will be a bigger price difference between rims. Sure it’s unlikely, but it doesn’t hurt to dream. Either of these rims with a pair of WI H3 hubs would be pretty damned nice and according to Wheelbuilder.com, about $550 less than the full wheel as build by Zipp.

It does seem as if Zipp’s reputation for not-so-great durability is well behind them. I’ve not heard or read anything about Firecrest failures (not counting failures resulting from crash damage).

Let’s not forget that new hub is black rather than silver, a welcome change in my eyes.

Though Robin is right, the 404 handles great in cross winds (I’ve been on them for a year now), so the 303 will be tough for me to justify.

I assume that they are using the existing 88 and 188 hubs but now with different colors? I personally prefer the same silver color they have right now.

“Vertically it remains as compliant as before.” What kind of marketing dribble is this? Wheels are not vertically compliant and if they were nobody would ride them.

Now, let’s see if anyone else at Eurobike has jumped on the fat aero rim wagon with Zipp, Hed, and Enve.

Mark, Paskins says the rim design allows it to soak up some of the bigger, harder bumps by compressing slightly for a smoother ride and that that characteristic hasn’t changed with this new model. Wheels will compress slightly just due to the nature of their design anyway…basically a suspension bridge that’s rolled into a circle, but it’s not something that’s generally noticeable, otherwise you’d be exactly right, they’d be basically unrideable.