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Zipp drops dimples & price for new 302 carbon clinchers, adds discs to 454 NSW

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The Zipp 303 is probably the single wheel that solidified the mid-depth carbon wheel revolution from the Spring Classics to time trials, with roadies of all levels now trying to benefit from the same combination of  lightweight and all-around aero performance. But there is no mistaking that the Firecrest 303 with its signature dimples is an expensive wheelset, so Zipp developed a smooth walled version with more conventional hubs that let them drop the price by almost 45%.  The new 302 carbon clinchers are available in both rim & disc brake versions, and aim to carry over a similar 45mm depth blend of aerodynamics & durability, although in a more narrow package.

At the same time Zipp has taken their top biomimicry 454 NSW carbon clinchers and given them disc brakes too. Get a look at both affordable and super pricey carbon options after the break…

302 Carbon Clinchers

The new clincher only 302 wheels share the same 45mm depth of their 303 counterpart, but use a more narrow profile that is at its widest 25.6mm width at the brake track and have just a 16.25mm internal rim width (vs. 21mm internal of the latest tubeless disc brake 303). The non-tubeless, carbon rims are still made in the US at Zipp’s Indianapolis production shop, and have been developed for low drag and stability in changing wind conditions. But the smooth outer surface for the rim, standard flanged hubs, and mid-level bladed spokes helped Zipp trim the pricing down a lot.

The new wheels are built up on a new set of hubs that Zipp is calling 76/176 that have conventional spoke flanges and are matched to J-bend Sapim CX Sprint bladed spokes and brass nipples for durability. The disc brake version shares what appears to be the same rim profile (minus a prepped braking surface) and a similar 76D/176D hubset that goes with centerlock rotor mounts. The 76D/176D hubs also offer standard axle compatibility with tool-free endcaps for 15mm front & 12mm thru-axles or standard QRs. Either XDR wheel can also be setup with SRAM XD driver bodies available separately.

The rim brake 302 Carbon Clinchers claim a weight of just 1645g (740g/905g, front/rear) with 20 radial spokes up front & 24 laced 2X in the rear.

The disc brake 302 Carbon Clinchers Disc Brake is just a tad heavier at 1695g (785g/910g) and goes with 24 2X spokes front & rear. Either wheelset sells for the same $1500/€1530/£1300 price with white decals only. The rim brake wheels will be available everywhere within the next week, while the disc brake version should be available next month in June 2017.

454 NSW Disc Brake carbon clinchers

As for the 454 NSW Disc Brake wheels, they sit on the complete opposite side of the spectrum. Incorporating not just Zipp’s signature aero dimples in their latest HexFin ABLC iteration (now extended all the way to the tire), but also the whale fin inspired Sawtooth design seen on eth original 454 that sees the rim depth oscillate between 53mm & 58mm in depth and the rest of the Nest Speed Weaponry top-level tech , the wheels come with a premium price tag now available for road disc brake riders. At $4000/€4000/£3390 they share the same 17mm internal, 27.7mm max external rim profile as the rim brake version (not tubeless ready).

The key update though are the new Cognition Disc hubs, as a disc brake first for the NSW line-up. They share the same Axial Clutch tech that disengages its pawls when coasting to lower drag and precision Swiss made steel bearings as the hubs in the rim brake NSW wheels. What is new is also both the use of J-bend spokes instead of straight-pull, as well as the new centerlock rotor interface.

The 454 NSW DB wheels with 24 2x Sapim CX-Ray spokes front & rear weigh 1615g for the set (756g/859g), get printed on NSW graphics and will be available in June 2017.

Zipp.com

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Your Mom
Your Mom
7 years ago

The best feeling ever?

1. The sound of one of these rims as it cracks on a curb during a crit race.
2. That special feeling that comes with beating the tar out of a dentist or architect that rolls on Zipps.

Keep trying to buy your way to a win.

Patrick
Patrick
7 years ago
Reply to  Your Mom

*beating the tar out of them in a race, of course…

Kernel Flickitov
Kernel Flickitov
7 years ago
Reply to  Your Mom

What are you, some kind of anti-dentite?

Matt
Matt
7 years ago
Reply to  Your Mom

Did you have a bad experience with teeth cleaning?

Travis
Travis
7 years ago
Reply to  Your Mom

Let me guess… steel is real. Downtube friction shifters forever! I hope you don’t work in a shop. I can’t imagine how you treat customers.

DRC
DRC
7 years ago
Reply to  Your Mom

I imagine any wheel would crack if you ran into a curb. Or is that specifically a Zipp trait? Why such a hater, $1500 is crazy cheap for Zipp full carbon clinchers.

Crash Bandicoot
Crash Bandicoot
7 years ago
Reply to  DRC

Agreed 1500 bucks for an American made carbon wheel is a great deal. I’ve got a used set of 404 FC’s (1000 bucks) they’re freaking bombproof and have external nipples. Just wish Zipp would sell rims alone at this level, not a fan of their hubs but love their rims.

Kernel Flickitov
Kernel Flickitov
7 years ago
Reply to  DRC

Mass recalls because they’re never been able to make a decent hub, people hurt because of it, soft rims, soft builds, poor QC.. Yeah, what’s not to like. I get it, you believe the hype..

Mike
Mike
7 years ago
Reply to  Your Mom

Hey!!! I resent being left off the list.

– Lawyer

PS Seriously, I’m a lawyer. But you need to update your stereotypes. It’s not 2007 any more.
Enves are the new Zipps. You’re welcome. Carry on hatin’.

Beat_the_trail
Beat_the_trail
7 years ago

(deleted)
My wife is an architect, I can assure you, they don’t make enough money to afford Zipp wheels.
I rode mountain bikes with two dentists all weekend, some of the nicest guys I’ve ever ridden with, one guy had an old beat up XC bike and the other had an aluminum fatty that was well ridden. Neither had fancy wheels, or was using Strava.
Maybe you’re just jealous. (deleted)

Penn Teller
Penn Teller
7 years ago
Reply to  Beat_the_trail

I can back this up. I’m a mechanical engineer, and I went to grad school with a guy trained as an architect. Very few people make decent money as architects This guy realized that he was facing a 40-year career designing office-building bathrooms for $40K/year, so he went back to school and became an engineer.

Regarding the OP, it’s always interesting to see who’s hung up on class and in what way. It’s funny how (s)he doesn’t specify the careers of the people who beat the tar out of him/her.

Honestly, I can’t believe that the OP hasn’t noticed who dominates top-level men’s master’s racing. It’s people who have abundant time to train–either because they have an extremely accommodating spouse or because they’ve retired young–who beat the tar out of everyone else. There are exceptions, of course. But the coin of the realm in master’s racing is the time it takes to train, not $3500 carbon wheels.

You don’t even need $1500 carbon wheels; you can just-dandy Chinese carbon rims into race wheels for about $700 even if you pay someone else to build them. I bought my first pair of race wheels in 1987 for about $275, and that works out to about $600 today. Plus ça change…

Penn Teller
Penn Teller
7 years ago
Reply to  Penn Teller

Oops; typo: that last paragraph should begin with:

“You don’t even need $1500 carbon wheels; you can build just-dandy Chinese carbon rims into race wheels for about $700 even if you pay someone else to lace them up.”

A.
A.
7 years ago

Did Zipp just create a Chinese-made Zipp knock-off?

At the weight of these wheels I don’t see the advantage of “carbon”. Might as well use HED Jet wheels. Similar price, similar weight, but alloy braking surface and wider rim.

Kayce
Kayce
7 years ago
Reply to  A.

…carbon rims are still made in the US at Zipp’s Indianapolis production shop,…

Ken
Ken
7 years ago

Yay, less dimple hype, and shattering hubs.

turok
turok
7 years ago

How about a comment that actually pertains to the product, and maybe a real criticism. Mine has to do with internal width. Why so narrow on the 302? Nearly 5mm narrower?

Glen
Glen
7 years ago
Reply to  turok

I forget the width on the current Campy carbon clinchers, but looking at the weight, price and I believe width these don’t seem competitive with say the Bora Ones, or probably their Fulcrum equivalent.

Jdog
Jdog
7 years ago
Reply to  turok

I would assume they are using an old mold that they already own. Recycling!

Bjorn
Bjorn
7 years ago

So why are they cheaper?

I guarantee you it’s not because of the lack of dimples..

Kayce
Kayce
7 years ago
Reply to  Bjorn

If you know even a tiny bit about how carbon is manufactured, yeah its mostly due to the lack of dimples. As well as the other two elements mentioned in the article

Bjorn
Bjorn
7 years ago
Reply to  Kayce

I highly doubt that some extra cnc time for making the mold would be a drastic or even any change of cost. But please, you are welcome to enlighten me.

The only other explanation would be the massive margins they have on their reg. 303 wheelsets.

lop
lop
7 years ago
Reply to  Bjorn

Wait, are you telling me that Zipp sells things for a profit? Those bastards!!!

D-Con
D-Con
7 years ago

I love seeing a more accessible Zipp, but the width seems like a weird move, especially if they’re making them here on the US and could make tooling changes without too much trouble. That said, assuming that the wind tunnel data are accurate (being aluminum we can probably assume that braking will be better), it’s hard for me to make anything but an emotional/aesthetic case for much other than Al33s: http://www.novemberbicycles.com/blog/2017/2/10/wind-tunnel-testing-the-al33-xr31tfsw3-and-others-part-2.html

Not that there’s anything wrong with emotions or aesthetics. I’m as much a sucker for big stickers as the next guy, especially when they’re spinning. But not at 16mm internal.

anon
anon
7 years ago
Reply to  D-Con

I guess I’m the next guy and I am not into big stickers. De-sticker all wheels I say :0)

Mike
Mike
7 years ago

Zipp and Rapha … the comments are always hyper aggressive and emotional. So amusing.

Veganpotter
Veganpotter
7 years ago

Why would anyone buy a rim so narrow nowadays? Even Mavics are wider

Mike
Mike
7 years ago
Reply to  Veganpotter

Retro chic?

Dave
Dave
7 years ago

They are basically making wheels for Performance. Nothing wrong with that. But I am sure sales on the very high end are not what they used to be and they know an account like Performance will order several thousand sets as long as they hit a certain price point.

Eugene Chan
7 years ago

My only gripe is the lack of official tubeless support, especially on the 454s. This is coming off their announcement of tubeless Tangente tires too. Hmm…

Benedict Coelho-Kostolny
Benedict Coelho-Kostolny
7 years ago

Just throwing this out there: Where I work, when we introduce a lower-priced, domestically-produced product, the single most important factor in reducing the price is the elimination of human (worker) interaction with that product.
In Zipp’s case, a not-insignificant labor reduction might have initially come from the smooth sidewall mold.
Molds of high quality are *expensive*. Tens of thousands of dollars or more, in many cases. The time it takes to do the programming for the molds is also expensive. As is the software (again, it can be tens of thousands of dollars for the software seat). Lumpy, complex shapes, like on the 454 rim, take *a lot* longer to properly program, and those lumpy, complex molds take a longer time to finish (often by hand), and they don’t last forever. Then the molded part has to be finished. More labor.
With a smooth mold, there would be a lot of design work and finishing required, but a fair amount less than a lumpy, dimpled one.
Again, just a guess, but the narrow width of the 302 may also be less labor-intensive to manufacture. It may even better lend itself to automation, for one or more reasons. Remember, too, that even corporate teams have limited budgets. They work for a company that’s in business to make money, and using excessive resources on a low-priced product won’t generally be encouraged or tolerated.
I guess the bottom line is this: To reduce the price that significantly, the folks at Zipp had to do certain things that may seem strange to us, but that’s likely the only way they were able to pull it off without sending production overseas.

Mike
Mike
7 years ago

Serious technical question: I always hear that brass nipples are used for durability. I have alloy nipples on most of my wheelsets, including mountain and cross (though my cross bike has brass in the rear). Assuming proper thread engagement, is this really an issue with road wheels? I would think it might make machine building the wheels slightly easier, maybe, to keep labor cost down. Any wheelbuilders out there?

Stephen Timoshenko
Stephen Timoshenko
7 years ago
Reply to  Mike

The second point is no longer true. In the ’80s, when aluminum nipples were made from an alloy with roughly the yield strength of a good Camembert, brass nipples were stronger than aluminum ones. But now, most aluminum nipples are made from 7075-T6, which has a has a yield strength roughly 50% higher than that of common brasses. Sapim mentions this on their web site. That site is full of unscientific claims, but they’re right about the strength of various nipple materials.

Galvanic corrosion is serious; among many others, ENVE has struggled with it. Wet conditions exacerbate galvanic corrosion, and salty, wet conditions are especially bad.

I always use aluminum nipples. I recently built some Chinese carbon rims, and I used clear nail polish to seal inside the spoke holes and the portion of the rim bed where each nipple sits. I used anodized nipples, which puts insulating aluminum oxide between the aluminum and the carbon. Type III anodizaton (“hard” anodization) would be ideal, but I’ve only ever seen type II on nipples). Finally, I lubricated the outside of the nipple head with silicone dielectric (insulating) grease. This pair of wheels won’t be exposed to salt air or road salt, so I expect them to live a long and happy life.

Stephen Timoshenko
Stephen Timoshenko
7 years ago
Reply to  Mike

Aluminum nipples (7075-T6) are now stronger than brass; strength is no longer a reason to use brass nipples. Galvanic corrosion is a more serious concern with carbon rims, but this can be mitigated.

Mike
Mike
7 years ago

Did not know that.

Penn Teller
Penn Teller
7 years ago
Reply to  Mike

Oops. I accidentally pasted Benedict K-C’s comment in while trying to do an end run around BR’s “naughty boy” comment filter. Please delete it.

Stephen Timoshenko
Stephen Timoshenko
7 years ago

Ugh. If you’re confused about why one might use brass nipples, it’s because the industry itself is confused. “More durable” could mean a lot of things:
– Brass nipples are self-lubricating and harder, and therefore easier for wheelbuilding machines to handle;
– Brass nipples’ wrench flats can be harder to than aluminum nipples if/when the wheels need to be trued after some use. Aluminum nipples are especially vulnerable to stripping* when threadlocker is used.
– Brass nipples are not subject to galvanic corrosion when in contact with carbon fiber. Aluminum and carbon fiber, when in direct contact, are essentially a battery. The aluminum slowly turns to white jelly.

The second point is no longer true. In the ’80s, when aluminum nipples were made from an alloy with roughly the yield strength of a good Camembert, brass nipples were stronger than aluminum ones. But now, most aluminum nipples are made from 7075-T6, which has a has a yield strength roughly 50% higher than that of common brasses. Sapim mentions this on their web site. That site is full of unscientific claims, but they’re right about the strength of various nipple materials.

Galvanic corrosion is serious; among many others, ENVE has struggled with it. Wet conditions exacerbate galvanic corrosion, and salty, wet conditions are especially bad.

I always use aluminum nipples. I recently built some Chinese carbon rims, and I used clear nail polish to seal inside the spoke holes and the portion of the rim bed where each nipple sits. I used anodized nipples, which puts insulating aluminum oxide between the aluminum and the carbon. Type III anodizaton (“hard” anodization) would be ideal, but I’ve only ever seen type II on nipples). Finally, I lubricated the outside of the nipple head with silicone dielectric (insulating) grease. This pair of wheels won’t be exposed to salt air or road salt, so I expect them to live a long and happy life.

Paul
Paul
7 years ago

The shop I work at is about 10 feet above sea level. Alloy nipples are verboten.

Hellafaster
Hellafaster
7 years ago

The 302 is not new. Zipp sold these rims laced to DT Swiss 350 hubs through Performance Bikes for more than a year. They were $1300.

Bill
Bill
7 years ago

So, the flashpoint/sram s30 have been rebranded again?

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