Price Paid:
$550.00
at TriSports Favorite Ride:
Brecon Beacons/ Afan Forest park loop, Swansea, Wales Bike Setup:
CX bike has carbon frame, carbon fork, FSA carbon cranks, Dura Ace levers, Chris King hubs, Tufo Elite tubs, Salsa Bell Lap bars. Summary:
These Zipp rims (440 tubular) are very light and fast-accelerating. However, they are highly underengineered. I used them for about 15 cyclocross races (no training on them at all) and they broke. I'm talking 30 cracks around the rim broken. I sent them in to see what Zipp would do about it, and they told me that I was out of luck. They said they were designed "to crack when impacted hard enough to deform the bead of an aluminum rim". That means that if you hit a rock, branch, twig, beatle with them they're designed to break. Who hasn't gotten a ding in an aluminum rim? These are a complete waste of money unless you plan to ride them on an indoor trainer, or if you get them for free. Strengths:
Fast acceleration, light, they look cool. Weaknesses:
They break if you look at them wrong. I weigh 175 lbs, and they're absolutely unrideable after 1 year. They begin by cracking through the braking surface, then the pads catch the carbon and rip them to shreds. No longer even rideable. A waste of my money. Poor braking when wet as well. Similar Products Used:
Mavic Crossmax Elite, Shimano R535, myriad others.
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