Zipp 404 tubular race wheels - do they feel faster?
 

Some of you have them. They seem to deliver a demonstrable +1mph or so @ 27+mph speeds. Can you feel it? Yes? Not really? My pal that has them says yes you can feel it.

And puh lease, spare me the 'work on the motor you idiot' sermons. I'm too old for that ****.

I need all the help I can get. I have tapped my reserve of wheelsucking secrets. It is vast and deep but my WSR (wheel sucking reserves) are almost as depleted as Bush's approval ratings. Almost. The only thing THAT depleted is Leiphemier's hair.

And no, this may not be the final Zipp 404 tubular thread I foist upon you no matter how sick of them you may be. Enjoy them while they last.

My Cosmic Carbone SL's most certainly feel faster.

fscking fast sounds about right

Then promise that the next thread will be: "Patentcad: I bought my Zipp 404 wheels today!"

Meh, not especially. I notice the rail-like ride quality alot more than the percieved speed gain now that I've been on them a few times. Though the first time I was on them I thought I was faster, but then the first time I drank in middle school I thought I was drunk...in hind sight neither was that true. But then, I've only been given sets to ride for short periods of time and then given them back as opposed to dropping a grand and a half on a set, so I certainly feel skeptical of them.

And from the Poor, Frustrated Racers' Bible from the book Collegiate, passage 12, lines 9-13 "Thou shalt not buy the Zipps if thou art slow and rich, thou shalt work on thy motor and sacrifice, or else I shall rain great vegance upon thee - or at least great frustration on the part that I'll never own a pair of those cool things - you idiot."

Edit (I'm pretty sure there's a book for better off folks later on in that bible, I'm just not there yet. ;) )

I notice the ride quality and the handling in the wind more than I notice a speed difference per se. I know that they accelerate quickly, and until I find a reason not to, I will continue to use them (I figure that lots of others have already done wind tunnel testing...if they have not, then I am just a sucker for advertising...oh well, sucker or not, I will use them until I read I should not)

To what other wheels are you comparing the Zipps?

Assuming you already have decent wheels, there's no way the Zipps are worth anywhere near 1mph at 27mph. No way in hell. And I say that as someone who owns a pair of Zipp wheels. Most people put the benefit of aero wheels at between 30 and 60 seconds over the course of a 1-hour 40km Time Trial. Assuming a best case scenario of 60 seconds (meaning your current wheels suck suck suck), that's 0.4 mph.

--Steve

Part of it is conditions. Deep aero wheels in crosswinds to me feel noticeably faster, they are a handful then sometimes but they are quicker, think sailboat.

Above 30 I notice that I have to put in less effort to keep things rolling at that speed.

I'll TAKE it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sometimes 30mph = you're still there and 29.6mph = you're gone. The amount of watts my little pathetic legs can generate will not necessarily vary. And yes I am killing myself with intervals, hill repeats, eating nothing, praying at the altar of St. Dura Ah Chee, etc.

My new 404 tubulars feel amazing i was coasting past a pack that was pedaling down a hill this weekend.

Thank you. That of course is what I wanted to hear.

The truth will be revealed in all its lactic ugliness regardless. No doubt.

just buy them! no need to be rational here!

so either the wheels are awesome, or you're really fat.

Or both!

Dude....seriously....JUST BUY THE ****ING WHEELS....

Oh, and while you're at it, put a deposit on the System6.

But tormenting all of the collective BF Race Brain Trust with my hand wringing is cheaper and funner.

And no System Six for me this season. I'll wait to see what everybody has up their sleeve for the 2008 model year which is nigh anon mon petit weenies. July/August (2008 model year intro time) is but a few weeks away.

Hmm.

Well....in that case, here's what you do.....

Buy the set of 404's and send them to me for extensive testing. Let's say 3 months. If they can make me faster, they can make anyone faster. Then you will have your answer. And as an added feature, your wheels will be all nice and broken in for ya. Or perhaps just plain broken, depending on potholage.

Either way, it's a win-win situation for everyone involved.

That's a good enough reason.
On the other hand, I thought one of patentcad's rules was that if you can't ride like a pro you can at least look like one. By that measure, you should have the wheels already.

At least I wear one iPod earphone while riding on group rides and tell everybody it's my team radio.

^^^^^^^^^
ahahahhaa

Buy the damn wheels before we form a BF lynch mob and hunt you down like the indecisive bike weenie you are.

I heard there is high praise from Liquigas about the Synapse SL.

Get the clinchers.

I would prefer to be burned @ the stake like that witch Floyd Landis.

That can be arranged...I'm just a hop, skip, and a jump from Salem.

Buy the wheels, would you?

I will buy them, race with them once, get shelled, and think that the answer is Lew borons for morons wheels @ 4K+. I will be back for even more hand wringing and teeth gnashing as you all threaten me with assault, burning, death, etc.

The fun never ends @ BF if Pcad has anything to say about it boys.

In the meantime if you need me I'll be the slow guy with the trick bike/wheels bleeding off the back.