Zipp Wheels?

[Robh]

Adam is looking back for feedback on wheels not how his money should be spent...Not very helpful the last 3 posts.

Maybe start another thread how people should spend their hard earned cash?

[DavidKennett]

They were using them for Surrey League races. As mentioned earlier, good for time trials, but not so sure about road racing as you don't always see the pot holes,etc

[url=http://weightweenies.starbike.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=3]Weight Weenies[/url] is a good site to search. If you use the Search facility you'll find loads of info on Zipps and other wheels.


[url=http://weightweenies.starbike.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=20735&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=zipp+cracks]Zipp + Cracks[/url]

Re Pete Wise hand built wheels, he'd recommend a factory built set, works out cheaper, pair of Mavic's?

[Kevin Rynne]

Procycling mag did an article on csc testing zipp wheels to destruction, they plan to build a wheel for Paris Roubaix if a wheel can withstand that sort of abuse then it should be good for surrey lanes I haven’t had time to look properly on cycling tvs website but I think they have a piece on csc testing the wheels. Zipps are definitely the most bling

[quote="marco"]I think the posts above have simply added a counterpoint to the current wheel debate. Marketing departments spend fortunes trying to convince punters to buy stuff they dont need. They are getting pretty good at it from the looks of things these days. Adverts, magazine editorials, magazine features - everything is geared up towards consumption. Its a pretty full on bombardment that many of us dont even realise and just take as gospel. We even lose track the distinction between a pro racer who NEEDS to ride fast as its his sole income to provide for his family and a club rider who wants to ride fast because it is fun (point to note - pro teams like discovery and csc will ride stuff that is not all that suitable for a club rider because they can get it changed every week if need be at the first sign of fatigue so (un)reliability is not an issue)


[quote]Please help. I dont want to waste my last bit of student loan for the year!!!

[Jim B]

I've no idea how good the original poster is here, but I agree with the points that dimpled rims, ceramic bearings etc.. ain't gonna make a lot of difference if you aren't ripping it up already.
A spring training camp of hard riding plus a decent (rather than exotic) set of wheels might make more sense.
Having said all that, if my 6 numbers came up I'd go and buy the blingest bike in Surrey and s0d the lot of you!

[-Adam-]

Ok, so while i accept what your saying marco, i also agree with robh.

thanks everybody who has answered the actual question.

Jim B - im quite fast, but by no means a pro, and never will be. I am 19 and ride a dark grey trek often in a 2004 usps kit on a sat morning, tho now at uni in l'pool so not around so much.

Kevin, which issue of procycling was this article in? i dont recall seeing it and i have almost every one for the past 3 years! have seen some of those vidoes, that are quite interesting...

David, thanks for your advice. The websites are useful though the weight weenies one is absolutely (to quote that so called commentator duffield) bursting at the seams! have you got any closer to deciding which wheels you are going to get, or are you going to spend the money on the other 'stuff' advised!?

Matthew, i have a just over £2k carbon bike, and i quite often get to the top of box hill 1st and wait for 2-3 mins for people on heavy (and even lighter than my own) bikes!

Other than that, im young, fit and realisticly, should get fitter for the next 5-8 years...

so why sit on the start line of a race riding a bike that could be slower than the guy next to you? isnt it as much a pshycological effect as a real one?

if i was a person who didnt race, i could take the point a little bit easier. but i do, and i dont want to be handicapped by 'lesser' quality equipment. i eat well, i train well (i think, though i do have several friends who study sports science that bombard me with advice).

anyways, i dont mean to rant (back). thanks for all of your viewa anyway.

cheers,

adam

p.s marco, without wishing to sound rude... who are you!? i know your the moderator of this site etc... but i dont think ive ever met you or know of you?

[Grahame]

Marco is one of the two people that I know of in the club who have been professional cyclists. He has also (probably) contributed more to the success of Addiscombe in terms of growth than anybody other than Monty (my opinion).

He is also frequently the voice of reason around these pages, and one of the few prepared to challenge the commonly held views.

He was one of the first people I met who was prepared to question the rapid rise (and decline) of certain pro racers.

[-Adam-]

Fair do's

no problem marco,

i was just suprised at how the idea has caused so much controversy! given that probably a third of the club have a bike worth more than £2k i didnt expect to get such a 'waste of money' response.

i am still undecided on the matter... but im just trawling through all the info either way. i am far from a heavy rider (around 70kg) and what ive read so far seems to be heavier riders breking them. but like i say still undecided.

ill be back down south on the 3rd of march if your about... ill have a coke... please!

cheers,

adam

[Paul H]

I think it is your choice what you want to do with your own money.

Personaly I dont like buying bike stuff brand new as the depreciation is too depressing so I tend to go for stuff on ebay.

Before you make a decision, download some power calculating software which will work out how much faster you will go. i.e. If you save 1kg on your bike, it might save you 5 watts going up Box Hill or aprrox 0.2 mph faster which would mean Aodan would still have beaten you last summer. If you spend £1k on wheels to save the weight, thats £200/watt or £5000/mph.

[Jim B]

Adam,
You're right - this has opened a can of worms.

I think what a lot of people are trying to say is that posh kit won't on its own make you super fast.

But you are right that there's lots of us mediocre riders with posh steeds. I for one certainly enjoy the latest kit and would buy more of it if I could afford it.

If you fancy some posh wheels - then go and get them. They certainly won't make you slower and if it makes you want to ride you bike even more then its an added bonus.
Jim

[DavidKennett]

Adam, already have a pair of Campag Bora's and Hyperron, so have decided against the Zipp's.

At the end of the day if you enjoy cycling and can spare the cash, why not buy a nice set of wheels. Have seen quite a few guys who ride for fun with kit that wouldn't look out of place with the pro's.

If you want to improve your racing, maybe a pair of Kysrium ES and a coach would produce better returns.

[-Adam-]

the trouble with ebay stuff paul is that theres no warranty there, as zipp and most manufacturers wil, only honour warranties on wheels bought from authorised dealers. but i see you point.

i cant say i ever rode with aodan up box hill last summer, and the only people in 2006 to get to the top of box before me were sylvain and stu (i think) and i definately remember outsprinting him on one occasion...

anyways, i realise that 'posh' kit wont make me appreciably faster on its own. but jim, your point about motivating me to ride more, and enjoying it more is a good one.

cheers dave, id get boras if i could afford them are kysriums really that good? i seem to hear more negative feed back about mavic than i do positive...

sean, where do you find all this stuff!!!?

cheers,

adam

[Stu Merckx Man]

[quote] stu (i think)

[Paul H]

I must confess that I have made some "investments" to reduce the weight of my bike.

[-Adam-]

when i went to the TCR show the engineer bloke i was speaking to was saying that there are only 4 companies in the world that make carbon rims: Corima, Zipp, some 'carbon compostites' firm, and hed (if i remember rightly). im sure he said campag boras are made by corima etc and that zipp provide rims to other firms, albeit not with the 'dimples'.

these wheels being 'modeled' very covincingly look like zipps to me, offering a 58mm rim (zipp 404) and a 40mm rim (303). but i guess the rims are more or less the same on whichever wheel you look at, just depends how its built i guess...

hmm, its such a hard life choosing bits for bikes isnt it!