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Zipp 404's or 60's

Dick ScruttockDick Scruttock Posts: 2,533
edited April 2013 in Road buying advice
Going to treat myself to a pair of Zipp wheels for my SL-4 and I was looking for a little bit of advice. I have a set of Fulcrum racing zeros for day to day use and would like some Zipps and am looking at 404's and the new 60's. I won't be racing on them and would probably go for the clincher option on the 404's. The big question is is the difference between the two going to be noticeable? The price difference is pretty large. Which would people go for and why?

Posts

  • foggymikefoggymike Posts: 862
    Do you mean the older alu rim version of the 404s (like the 60s but about 200g lighter with adjustable hubs) or the full carbon firecrest ones? I'd guess you're looking at the firecrests but just checking!
  • thegreatdividethegreatdivide Posts: 5,622
    I've got Zeros on bike # 2 and invested in 303 FC tubs at Christmas for the best bike. Decided on the 303s over the 404s for a few reasons:

    They're lighter
    The aero saving between a 404 and 303 is so minimal that no 'normal' cyclist would be able to notice the difference
    The 303 has a proven better cross section that the 404 when it comes to side winds i.e. it's very small thanks to the design
    They're tough as nails
  • ugo.santaluciaugo.santalucia Posts: 27,695
    thegreatdivide wrote:
    They're tough as nails

    Carbon fibre is very stiff and occasionally it has excellent tensile strength... what it is NOT is tough
  • thegreatdividethegreatdivide Posts: 5,622
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    thegreatdivide wrote:
    They're tough as nails

    Carbon fibre is very stiff and occasionally it has excellent tensile strength... what it is NOT is tough

    LOL. I reckon the abscence of any 303 FC rim failures during the last few years of Flanders/Roubaix plus a pair of wins makes them pretty tough. Your precious Nemesis are a rim of the past now Ugo. Nice 'retro' rims that have done a fine job in the past, but now very much redundant. Embrace the future...
  • ugo.santaluciaugo.santalucia Posts: 27,695
    thegreatdivide wrote:
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    thegreatdivide wrote:
    They're tough as nails

    Carbon fibre is very stiff and occasionally it has excellent tensile strength... what it is NOT is tough

    LOL. I reckon the abscence of any 303 FC rim failures during the last few years of Flanders/Roubaix plus a pair of wins makes them pretty tough. Your precious Nemesis are a rim of the past now Ugo. Nice 'retro' rims that have done a fine job in the past, but now very much redundant. Embrace the future...

    Not tough... strong maybe, not tough, wikipedia the difference... toughness is the integral under the stress-strain curve, strength is the top of the curve... nothing to do with each other... tough is if I punch you in the face and your cheek deforms... if you shatter you are not tough... but can still be strong... :wink:

    Yes, sure... problem is I don't build for Boonen...if I build a set of wheels and someone rides Paris-Roubaix and then the wheels cannot be ridden to the same standard, we are in trouble, aren't we? Boonen doesn't even ride the same wheels in the same week...
    I think Zipp rims survive Paris-Roubaix, but can they do it twice or ten times? A friend has done it four times with the same Ambrosio Excellence rims... which means 6 years of use as well, incidentally... can you do that with the Zipp?
    If you can, then I should start building Zipp rims, provided someone is prepared to pay 1200 pounds for rims only
  • pitchshifterpitchshifter Posts: 1,476
    thegreatdivide wrote:

    LOL. I reckon the abscence of any 303 FC rim failures during the last few years of Flanders/Roubaix

    *cough* http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... 4B4#t=298s *cough*
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