After introducing the new Nest Speed Weaponry line last October with the 808 NSW wheels in time for Ironman and TT Worlds, Zipp has given their best-selling 58mm deep 404 the advanced development treatment as well. Now, this new 404 NSW takes over the top spot in the 404 range from the Firecrest. The new carbon clincher makes the biggest improvements in brake performance and crosswind stability, but still takes it up a notch in overall aerodynamics. Get a closer look at the new wheelset after the break…
The NSW moniker marks these wheels as the best that Zipp’s engineers have to offer at the moment. The new 404 NSW takes the wind-cheating tech of the deeper 808 NSW and re-engineers it into a wheel that can be ridden everyday. The 404 range has been the most popular for Zipp, able to handle climbing with its low weight, long flats and crits in the wind, and yet still strong enough to take on the rough roads of Europe’s northern Spring Classics. Like the 808 NSW, the 404 NSW also gets built up on Zipp’s new Cognition hubs for better long-term durability and decreased freehub body drag.
The Nest engineering team developed the 404 NSW first through CFD and then for weeks in the wind tunnel with the aim of reducing the impact of cross winds on a wheel, that at 58mm deep can still get you blown around. The end result was up to a 34% reduction in crosswind lateral forces when compared to the already highly-regarded 404 Firecrest, making this about as stable as a mid-depth wheel can get. All that while maintaining the 404 depth and straight-line speed.
Bringing more tech over from the 808 NSW, the 404 NSW gets the new Showstopper brake track, ABLC Sawtooth dimples, and Impress graphics. The Showstopper brake surface was developed with a goal to be better than all other carbon or even some aluminum rims. While disc brakes are surely coming more and more, Zipp appears to have made leaps on this carbon brake track. The silicon carbide solution claims to offer the best stopping power and modulation on the market, and is said to be completely unaffected by rain or even extended descending.
Zipp’s NSW wheels now get a new dimpling pattern with the Aerodynamic Boundary Layer Control Sawtooth. The new design talks up some pretty advanced fluid dynamics that essentially comes down to dropping drag by better controlling the turbulent air against the rims from speeds as low as 20mph (32km/h). A benefit of that is, in crosswinds less turbulent air gets stuck on the leeward side of the wheel, which in turn reduces high yaw angle drag and its associated crosswind instability effect.
Impress is just Zipp’s new way of printing their graphics straight onto the rim. Doing so keeps the dimples free to do what they are designed to with out being affected by stuck on decals, and keeps weight low. That also means that Zipp could print entirely across the rim, but thankfully they have remained mostly reserved on their NSW graphics for now.
The new 404 NSW also marks another step for Zipp as they have again put their best tech into a clincher wheelset first, instead of sticking with a tubular wheel for their pro teams. With recent advances in low rolling resistance clinchers and tubeless tires at the highest level of competition, Zipp seems to be supporting this trend going forward, although we’ve yet to hear any comment from Zipp on tubeless compatibility. Update: Zipp has reiterated that the new NSW wheels are not compatible with tubeless setups for now. As it stands, their only tubeless-ready wheels are the 30 Course aluminum clinchers in both disc and rim brake variants.
The carbon in the 404 NSW rims is laid up by hand, molded, and drilled in Indianapolis by Zipp’s specialists. Then their wheel building techs lace each rim by hand to the EU-made Cognition hubset with Sapim CX-Ray spokes and Secure-Lock nipples, 18 front and 24 rear. The 58mm deep rims are at max 27.8mm wide, with an outside width at the brake track of 26.44mm.
Claimed weights are 705g for front wheels and 850g for the rear, for a total carbon clincher wheelset weight of 1555g. Included with each wheelset are Tangente ti skewers, Silca valve extenders, individual wheel bags, Tangente Platinum Pro Evo brake pads, Tangente 20-28mm butyl tubes, and 20mm rim tape. The 404 NSW wheelsets will sell for $3100 / €2800 / £2150 when they become available by the end of this month, February 2016.
