Isabelle's Dad

I am wondering if any of you big boys are riding on Zipp Clydesdale series wheelsets. If you are riding on them is it just for race day or are you doing your weekend rides on them as well?

Thanks,

Jeff

youcoming

No experiences with Zipps but I do have a set of Shimano WH7850 50mm Carbon clinchers. All I can say is, if you can afford the wheels get them. Deep carbon is a whole new experience. Fast-yep, cool-yep, comfy-off the charts. I bought mine thinking they will be used on certain centuries and fast club days but I have yet to take them off. I'm 6'1" 220lbs. I'm sure the Zipps are nice too but they are not the only ones out there, look at the DA, Reynolds Assults, Williams 58's. They all have a good rep for the bigger guys. The Assults are the lightest but use cheaper hubs.

socalrider

I've ridden on the 404 Clydes and they are amazing wheels.. I still think they have a weight limit of 240 or under.. I borrowed them from a friend for a local TT series.. The wheels are fast, are they worth the money you have to be the judge of that, but the wheels are solid and very quick..

When you get into that price range, there are a lot of choices, you can have something custom that may fit your needs a little better..

Saltybeagle

my bike came with 303's (one year old bike from a team) they offered 404 clydes when I would not buy because of 303s, had to wait for 404s, wheels were in europe, they said ride the 303's if they break no worries, they did not break. I now have the 404's, but really liked the 303's better, though less stiff.

I wast 50 lbs over 303 limit of 190, rode about 1000 miles on them.

Homeyba

The Shimano Wheels are good wheels but they aren't as aerodynamic and the Zipp wheels. You're going to save a whopping 4 watts at 25mph with the 404 and almost 7watts with the 808. For comparison, vs a Mavic ksyrium ES and you are saving 12watts and 15 watts respectively. If you are doing TT's or racing with your friends the time/energy savings may be worth it. I have two sets of Zipps that I race with, do lots of other rides on but don't use them for every day training. One set for the single and one set for the tandem. That said, my single bike set has probably 15,000 miles on them. They've held up great and are an awesome wheel! There is no way you will be disappointed with them. BTW, Neither of them are the clyde version. For me the regular version is strong enough. (I'm 230-240)

youcoming

I was saving for a combo 606 set of zipps but when one of the LBS I go to said you can have these for $1300 I said sold, I"ll drop a few pounds to make up the loss in watts, in a few years these wheels will likely be going to my son then I'll get whatever in a Zipp. I really do think you can't go wrong with any quality deep carbon wheels. I can't fathom riding without them. Well I can it's just the DA wheels ride so damn nice.

KShep

The Clydesdale (yellow stickers removed) Zipp 404s are the only wheels used on my fitness hybrid. Weather permitting I ride 6 days out of seven.



Smooth riding and no problems with crosswinds, very stable in tight raduis turns. My weight is 232.

IAmCosmo

I just wish I could afford to spend $2000 on some wheels...

Homeyba

I'm not sure what the point is of using Zipps on Trek 7.7 but whatever! It sure looks good!

iamsomeguy

+1

IAmCosmo

I guess they serve the same purpose as having Dura-Ace on it. But, if you can afford it, go for it I say. If I could afford it, all of my bikes would have Zipp wheels and Dura-Ace (or probably Red) components...

doughboy707

I ride an Litespeed Archon with a set of Zipp 404 clydesdales. I have been on these wheels since June. I ride them on club rides and centurys. So far they have been durable.

Herbie53

So the aero thing really works sorta?

I think the 404 clydes look really neeto and a guy on one of the rides I do in the summer knows a guy who can get them for significantly less than $2k, but after looking into them a little, I decided to hold onto my $$$$.

EA 90 SLX's weigh 200g or so less, cost about 1/2 & seem to be plenty beefy. Is the carbon bling/aero advantage enough to make the Clydes a better choice?

IAmCosmo

I'm thinking about going with a set of Soul S4.0 wheels. Slightly heavier than the Zipps and other carbon wheels, but that doesn't matter to me. They are about 1/4 the price...

Homeyba

Unless you ride on the north side of 20mph a lot there isn't much advantage to them and you are probably better off getting something cheaper. If you got the money, I say go for it. They are great wheels.

Herbie53

That makes some sense. Lately I'm into climbing so (perhaps oddly for a Clyde), I'm worried about weight. I do some rides where we are north of 20 for extended periods, but usually in a group, so I suspect the aero benny would be less. Maybe for the TT bike I don't yet own.....

PS -- other thing I noticed is these make an otherworldly whooooossh sound when at speed... very cool when you first hear it, not sure if it becomes old with time...?...

sstorkel

I love my Easton EA90 SL wheels. Easton wheels don't have weight limits, but they freely admit that the EA90 SLX will feel flexy and need more maintenance when used by a Clyde. At least they did when I asked about choosing between the SL and SLX. I went with the SL and have been very happy with them. Freewheel is a little loud, but they're very stiff, climb well, and haven't needed any maintenance since I got them (12 months ago).

Before buying any expensive aero wheels, I think it makes sense to try them first. Several shops in my area rent Zipp wheels (303, 404, 808, etc) for very reasonable rates (~$30-35/day). Most apply rental fees toward wheel purchases, too! They also rent PowerTaps, though the PT hubs are laced to regular alloy rims; I haven't found anyone who has PT+Zipps available for rent.

youcoming

This is a very true statement, I myself find that line a little lower at around 25kp/h but we're all different. Below that however I find the ride quality of deep carbon rims to be far surperior. again maybe that's just me. I will tell anyone who listens thou, if you can afford deep carbon with quality hubs I say go for it you will not be disappointed.

Mr. Beanz

Couple grand??? Gina and I had our tandem out on the trail today. We were playing around with some other riders holding 26 mph. For Two thousand bucks, I'm just as happy saying 26 with my Deep V's as I would have been saying 27 for two grand!

But like you say, if you got the money, they look cool! But really, if I did have the dough, I wouldn't do it anyways. I can barely do 20 mph anyways!

Homeyba

One of these days Beanz, I'm going to get you on a set of mine so you can "experience" what you're missing. They are faster at speeds below 20mph the difference just isn't that significant. The faster you go the greater the difference.

For me they make a lot of sense since I race ultras. Those seconds add up to minutes and hours. That's why I have a couple sets of them.

Mr. Beanz

That always sounds like fun but honestly, I wouldn't ride them even if I wanted. All this power, something is bound to go wrong and I can't afford to fix 'em!

Homeyba

Don't worry Beanz, I wouldn't hold you to that. I'm not too worried about you abusing them. I know you put out gobs of watts but it can't be that many more than I do.

cycledude555

Anyone know anything about the new Zipp 101's coming out in March. I think they only run about 800-900 for the set.

garethzbarker

I know a lot of clydes are clydes b/c they are tall but i'm just fat. I really have no excuse to be on expensive wheels unless I lose like 45 lbs. On the bright side, losing 45 lbs will probably do more for my cycling than a pair of Zipps. A bike store was trying to talk my into some aerodynamic ceramic wheels the other day and it just seemed ridiculous to me. I told them they should be giving me diet tips not trying to make my bike weigh less. As it is, even though I know there is no weight limit on my bike; every time I step onto my carbon I expect it to snap haha. But just like the other guy said, if I could afford Zipps I'd put them on all my bikes.

Homeyba

Zipp wheels are not uber-light, they are fast because of aerodynamics. There are a lot of lighter wheels out there but not many that are faster. The 101's look pretty cool. They may be the ticket for those who are afraid of the carbon rims. Probably a pretty darned good training wheel too.