Announced just before Interbike, Zipp Speed Weaponry had their new cockpit components on the loose, including new Service Course stems, handlebars and seatposts that now use 7000-series aluminum, along with the superlight Speed SL stem shown on the left, above.
With a carbon fiber body, the Speed SL stem is targeted to weigh in at just 102g for a 100mm. It has reversed bolts to attach the faceplate, and they thread into a titanium clamp band. The speed dimples should match your Zipp wheels nicely. Full specs on this and the rest of the parts, plus a little aero tire/rim tech, after the break…
The SL Speed stem uses a single self-centering bolt on the rear, which keeps the weight down and prevents any binding of the bolt as the gap narrows. MSRP will be $325.
The Service Course (right) and Service Course SL (left, shiny) stems fall below the Speed version. For 2011, the SL components will have the gloss finish and be more machined out, but are functionally the same.
The Service Course seatposts look identical from the side…
…but from behind you can see the additional machining and attention to detail on the SL version.
The clamp area has a full length seat for the saddle rails on the bottom, and the upper clamps are inset from the bottom’s edges to prevent undue stress on the rails…particularly good for carbon railed saddles and those that like to slide them forward or backward of the recommended positions.
Two bends, one a little shallower and rounder, are available.
The real eye catcher, though, was their new VukaSpring carbon bar with the ergonomic and aerodynamic flat top shaping. 210g and it’ll be available in 42cm and 44cm and traditional and short/shallow drop shapes. It’ll be available in January 2011.
By now you’ve likely heard and read about Zipp’s Firecrest wheels, which are wider in the middle of the profile than at the brake track. One of the key design considerations was to smooth the aerodynamics where the tire meets the rim. Rather than have a rim edge that sticks out wider than the tire, Zipp designed their tires as a system with the rims to push the sides of the tire out a bit, creating a smooth, almost continuous surface for the wind to slide over. It’s not unlike the “wings” that the new Bontrager R-series tires have to close the same gap, just a different method of doing so.
