cheeseflavor

Wondering if anyone having experience with these wheels has noticed this before. I've got a pair of '05 Zipp 404 clinchers that have about 1,000 miles on them. Since the time they were new, the front wheel has made this sort of once-per-revolution shish-shish-shish sound (for lack of a better description) that's fairly loud. Almost sounds like something is rubbing. I cannot reproduce this sound on a bike stand.

I have checked and lubed the carbon dust caps on the hubs thinking that might have been it, but no go. I've backed the brakes way off temporarily just to see if they were rubbing under load, but no go. Could this be the tire making this noise? I haven't tried another tire on the wheel...

Any ideas?

TIA,

Steve

cheeseflavor

*bump*

No one?

Steve

bassplayinbiker

they are destroyed, give them to me...

cheeseflavor

Now, why didn't I think of that?

Steve

operator

Jesus cheeseflavor you look very mad in your avatar. Anyways, bearing problem?

cheeseflavor

No, no... not mad at all. I was actually smiling in that pic

Anyway, no, I don't think it's a bearing problem, as they've done it since new. It's possible I suppose, but they've done it for over 1k miles and haven't gotten worse or better.

Thanks for the thought though!

Steve

operator

Check spoke tension by just squeezing the pair. Anything really loose should be evident. At the same time try taking the tire off and spinning it, then try putting on another tire.

cheeseflavor

Ok. The tire is one thing I haven't tried replacing yet. Will try that.

Thanks!

Steve

AnthonyG

I can't coment on Zipp 404's specificaly but aero wheels in general are pretty noisy. I was marshaling at a national tour race recently and all the riders that came past me with disk wheels in the prolouge time trial were also generating a LOT of wind noise. Its possible the wheel was also amplifying the road noise as well.

Regards, Anthony

hi565

I remember one time when I was passed by a guy on a TT bike, that I thought a motorcycle was coming because it made this loud voo voo voo voo type sound. Which could be whats up

mcollet

I know this is a super old post, but has anyone found a solution to this problem?

My brand new used 2004 Zipp 404s have the same problem, i.e. swish sounding front hub (not wind noise)

Thanks

operator

Well that's nice. He passed you while coasting...?

urbanknight

Yes, the solution is to get a shallower rim section. Send me your 404s and I'll send you a nice, quiet set of Open Pros. Seriously, it's hard to tell from descriptions, but I can tell you my Shamal wheel resonated the sounds of the road inside the deep hollow section of the rim. A 404 is even larger and carbon resonates better than aluminum, so it will be even louder. A guy at the velodrome raced on 404s and I could tell when he rode by without seeing him.

mcollet

Thanks. But I'm sure that the sound is coming from the hub. And, more importantly, this sound is clearly there when I hold the front of the bike up (while I'm stationary) and simply spin the wheel around.

urbanknight

If it's happening in the hub, the bearings are shot or something is loose. Does your hub have cone bearings or cartridge bearings?

operator

Interesting. What kind of bearings do the zipp 404's use?

Waldo

Our hubs use cartridge bearings.

As for the noise, on some older hubs the clip holding the carbon dust caps can slip from its locating flange on the end cap of the hub. If this happens, the carbon cover can rotate in a different plane than the rest of the hub, thus rubbing as the wheel spins. To check the caps, insert a 5 mm allen wrench into each end of the axle and turn one wrench counter-clockwise. This will loosen the end caps, leaving you with a cap in one hand and cap/axle assembly in the other (the axle will simply pull out of the hub). You will see a black clip on the inside of each carbon cover. Check to see that each clip is fully seated on the flange of the end cap and that there is no axial movement of the clip or cover. If necessary, press the clip further towards the outside of the cap until it snaps into place.

PM me if this does not take care of your problem; I don't get to check the forums too often lately.

mcollet

Thanks, Waldo. This sounds like the culprit. I'll check it tonight. Hopefully the clips aren't broken.

Waldo

You're welcome, I hope that takes care of the problem. Typically there is not an issue with breakage, they just slip off the flange and you should be able to fix the issue. If not, we've got live online support on the website or you can call 1-800-472-3972 from 8 AM-5 PM E.S.T.