Waaaaaay back in October 2011, Zipp tested some prototype disc wheels using White Industry hubs. Now, a year and a half later, they’ve announced their own disc brake wheel offerings.
The new 303 Firecrest Clincher Disc and 303 Firecrest Tubular Disc wheels lace their existing mid-depth aero rims (brake tracks and all) to new disc brake hubs, spaced at 100mm (front) and 135mm (rear) and 11-speed ready. They bump spoke count up to 24 front, an increase of six on the front, and keep 24 on the rear. The hubs keep the 88/188 name and add “Disc Brake” to the nomenclature.
The clinchers weigh in at 780g (front) and 900g (rear) for a total of 1680g. That compares to 1475g for standard 303 Clinchers, with the added weight almost equally split front (+105g) and rear (+100g). The tubulars come in at 660g and 775g (1435g total), compared to 1255g for the the non-disc tubulars. It’ll be interesting to see how the weight changes, if any, when they develop disc-specific rims. In the meantime, check pricing, availability and more pics below…
With the 303 rims getting victories several times over at rough road races like Ronde van Vlaanderen (Flanders) and Paris-Roubaix, these new disc brake versions should make for some great cyclocross and gravel racer wheels.
And with the new SRAM Red 22 11-speed group all set to debut, Zipp’s new 11-speed freehub bodies (upgrade now!) should come in handy.
Clincher pricing: Front $1272 / €1165 – Rear $1553 / €1435
Tubular pricing: Front $1130 / €1035 – Rear $1370/€1265
Both ship with integrated valve extenders and skewers, available July 2013. Wheels will be available with their white or stealth black logo decals.
