Item: Zipp 400 Front and Rear Tubular Wheelset (Shimano)
Description: This is a deep rimmed wheelset that is used for windy or technical time-trial conditions
Price: $300 (shipped)
Where to Buy: eBay
Review:
I purchased these wheels off of eBay, which can be a good or bad thing. You always have that little voice in the back of your head saying, is that wheel really “true” or “undamaged”? Fortunately for me, the wheels arrived to me just fine. I think that is part of the reason why I’m so happy with these wheels. Great product for great value. These wheels are of the older style from Zipp. This is a good and bad thing as well. The good is that they were the right price (less than $150 for both front and back wheels). The bad news is that the tires were pretty warn. Sew-ups are not the cheapest tires in the bike world.
The other problem that I had with these wheels is that the spokes were pretty old and where made of titanium. This would have been cool if they were new. However, after six months of usage, two of the spokes sheered at the nipple. I later found out that the rear hub design with the deep dish rim made it next to impossible to find replacement spokes. In the end, I had to have spokes custom made and the rear wheel ended up being a tad heavier and less aerodynamic (non-bladed spokes). I ended up paying $120 parts and labor for the fix because they replaced all the spokes. To this day, I have yet to clean the rim up and glue a new set of tires on the rim.
Having said all that, I’m stoked about these wheels and the way that they perform. They are fast. You feel a lot of the road when time-trialing and that’s a good thing (for me anyway). There is very little flex to them when cornering and the handling is very precise. Braking is difficult because I am not running a cork pad for the carbon rims. This is a little bit nerve racking when it comes to predictability, but other than that I know what I’m getting myself into. The speed is well worth the sacrifice. On that note, because I’m running on the original brake setup from Zipp (on the Zipp2001 bike), the brakes do not support cork style pads.
I recommend these wheels and can only imagine that the other deep rim wheels that Zipp puts out are only better.
Rating: (1-10; with 10 being the best) 8.5
Item: HED / Specialized Tri-Spoke Front Tubular Wheel
Description: This Tri-Spoke designed is used for time-trialing in any condition
Price: $323.99 (shipped)
Where to Buy: eBay (Aug. 7th, 2005)
Review:
I like this wheel. It’s strong and feels strong and it feels fast. The rim has an aluminium strip for the brake pads to grip and makes for better predictable braking. This wheel is very aero as well. Just looking at it spin makes you think of a blade that’s able to chop any finger, hand, arm, head, leg clean off. This wheel is fast.
The only real downfall about this wheel is that it feels heavy and somewhat clumsey. I don’t know why really. Every time I use it, it looks fast but doesn’t “feel” fast. The only thing that I can think of is that the three large spokes are fat when looking at it from the side. So instead of looking at tiny spokes of a conventional wheel (that appear to be more of a blur), you clearly see the turning of all three spokes of the Tri-Spoke.
Other than that, the wheel is good and still good enough to recommend.
Rating: (1-10; with 10 being the best) 8.5
Item: Zipp 870 Rear Disc Tubular Wheel (Shimano)
Description: This is a rear 650c solid disc wheel made by Zipp Speed Weapontry and is used for time trialing, triathlons and duathlons.
Price: $167.50 (shipped)
Where to Buy: eBay (July 30, 2005)
Review:
I bought this disc wheel used from eBay for $167.50. This was one of the best time trialing investments that I’ve purchased to date (with the exception of the Zipp2001 bike frame). The wheel is light, solid and fast; exactly what this wheel is made for. However, like anything that is great, there are still some downfalls but these downfalls are only to be expected. This disc wheel has the characteristics of any disc wheel. It’s solid, so you’re going to feel every little bump in the road. Handling is good but not great. You have to watch your every move and handle with care. I have not crashed on this wheel yet (knock on wood) but I’ve been hit by another bicyclist in a corner and I’ve hit some pretty big pot holes. This thing is solid! It is still “true” to this day.
Rating: (1-10; with 10 being the best) 9.0
Click on picture to see the complete bike setup.
Bike: 1993 Zipp2001
Cost: $1000-$3000 (Depending on Condition)
I originally bought the Zipp2001 650c frame back in 1993 brand new from Zipp. Cost at the time was $2,425 not including shipping and handling. The frame came with the following components: carbon fiber Zipp 2001 frame (small), carbon fiber beam (small), Zipp headset, rear brake and pads, front derailleur post, billet aluminum dropouts, billet aluminum seat post, steal adjuster bolt, extra bushing for dampener and internal cable guides. After installing the reset of the components (at the time it was the Shimano 105) from my other road bike and purchasing new 650c wheels, the total cost was around $3,200.00. I was pretty young and had to take a loan from the local credit union. You should have seen the look on the loan officer’s face when I said it was for a bicycle and not a motorcycle. Anyway, from then on the bike became a complete dream to ride.
I’ve done plenty of long rides on this bike from Time-Trials to century bike rides. This is a very comfortable ride even when pushing hard. There are a couple of downfalls though. The bottom bracket is surprisingly weak. Under hard efforts such as sprinting or steep hill climbing, the bike is really sloppy and difficult to work with. You can literally see your energy being wasted away before your eyes. If you are a light weight rider then the effects of this is less evident. Over the years I’ve gained some weight and have found that has actually hindered my ability to ride faster (along with poor cardiovascular conditioning). The other downfall is that Zipp no longer supports this bike. So to find parts for it is becoming more and more scarce. Supply and demand are making these parts expensive as well. Now-a-days you are better to find a way to upgrade the bike rather than finding a replacement part.
With all that said, this bike is still a dream to ride. It just looks fast, even when parked. It’s very aerodynamic and therefore becomes fast when really hammering on a flat terrain. Any adjustments can be made on the fly and are very easy because the beam bolt is right there in front of you as you look down. It’s easy on your joints because the bike moves with you, rather than against you. These factors make this bike the Ferrari of the bike world. It may not have all the creature comforts as a lot of other bikes out there, but it’s definitely built for performance.
Current 2007 setup is as follows:
Frame: Zipp2001 Small Frame/Small Beam
Fork: Zipp straight aluminum fork
Stem: Syncros
Bars: Scott Extreme
Shift Levers: Bar End Shimano Ultregra
Front Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra
Rear Derailleur: Shimano 105 w/ billet casters
Brakes Levers: Shimano 105
Brake Calipers: (Front); (Rear) Shimano 105
Front Race Wheel (Fastest Option): Zipp870 Disc Tubular
Rear Race Wheel (Fastest Option): HED/Specialized Tri-Spoke Tubular
Front Race Wheel (Alt. Race Option): Zipp400 Tubular
Rear Race Wheel (Alt. Race Option): Zipp400 Tubular
Front Race Wheel (Training Option): Bontrager Race-Lite X Clincher
Rear Race Wheel (Training Option): Bontrager Race-Lite X Clincher
Crank: Topline Cranks (170mm)
Chain-ring: Big 56, Small
Bottom Bracket: Sampson Titanium
Seat: Flite (Titanium Rails)
Speedplay Zero Stainless (Blue) Pedals
