Zipp 202 Firecrests

pedalbasher
pedalbasher Posts: 215
edited February 2014 in Road buying advice
Hi

I'm looking to upgrade my wheel set and wonder if anyone has any thoughts on Zipp's 202 Firecrest wheels?

Currently riding a Canyon Ultimate CF SLX with Ksyrium Elite S's, which I like - bombproof, light (for their place in the market, at least) and a solid all round wheel.

I've never ridden carbon clinchers but I'm sorely tempted by a deal on the 202 FC's - I can pick up a brand new set for £1,350.

Is it worth the upgrade? Will the ride quality and speed be noticeably better? I tend to ride high tempo 30 milers and long rides up to 100 miles at weekends. Plus sportives and the odd triathlon.

Clearly these are lower profile than the 303s, 404s etc but ultimately I want them to be as light as possible so I can fly up the mountains on my annual trip to the Alps / Pyrenees :)

Thoughts much appreciated, including any alternatives. I appreciate there are probably better options (i.e. people are bound to say "go for ENVEs", but at a deal price of £1,350 I think the 202s are looking pretty good?

Thanks very much

Comments

  • pedalbasher
    pedalbasher Posts: 215
    Ps I am talking about the 2013 model...
  • DiscoBoy
    DiscoBoy Posts: 905
    Are you aware of the hub issues?

    viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=12957781
    Red bikes are the fastest.
  • pedalbasher
    pedalbasher Posts: 215
    Thanks. Yeah I stumbled across one of those threads when searching the forums. I'm probably setting myself up for a bashing here, but... can the issue really be that bad? If Zipp are making wheels that are likely to fail, they're in serious trouble. Reputationally and worse. If there was a serious likelihood of catastrophic failure, surely the wheels would be recalled and taken off the market?

    Is there any press on this, aside from a couple of bad experiences reported in the forums? I'll have a look.
  • Grill
    Grill Posts: 5,610
    Merlin has Xentis Squad 2.5 clinchers for 1k. Better braking (probably the best), good design, top quality carbon and 1.252g a pair.
    http://www.merlincycles.com/xentissquad-25-clincher-wheel-front-66564.html
    http://www.merlincycles.com/xentis-squad-25-clincher-wheel-rear-shim-sram-66566.html
    English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    I seem to recall we have 3 members of the forum who had a front or rear hub exploding, one of them is a paralympian and world champion, so not just any web scammer.
    Is it likely to happen to you? I would assume the number of forum users who own this type of hub is maybe 100-300 pushing it... so I would say you have a more than 1% chance of that happening.
    The number of cycling related deaths in London last year was 16 I seem to remember, that is over about 100,000,000 journeys, give or take... so cycling in London you've got 0.000016% chances of dying every time you head out on your bike... yet, psycologically I bet you feel safer riding your Zipp in the Pyrenees than you do commuting at rush hour in the capital...

    Perception... such a misleading thing... :wink:
    left the forum March 2023
  • DiscoBoy
    DiscoBoy Posts: 905
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    I seem to recall we have 3 members of the forum who had a front or rear hub exploding, one of them is a paralympian and world champion, so not just any web scammer.
    Is it likely to happen to you? I would assume the number of forum users who own this type of hub is maybe 100-300 pushing it... so I would say you have a more than 1% chance of that happening.
    The number of cycling related deaths in London last year was 16 I seem to remember, that is over about 100,000,000 journeys, give or take... so cycling in London you've got 0.000016% chances of dying every time you head out on your bike... yet, psycologically I bet you feel safer riding your Zipp in the Pyrenees than you do commuting at rush hour in the capital...

    Perception... such a misleading thing... :wink:

    If feel safe in the mountains, you aren't descending fast enough :lol:
    Red bikes are the fastest.
  • Bobbinogs
    Bobbinogs Posts: 4,841
    So, you have some wheels that are generally acknowledged to be great for climbing...and safe descending due to an alu brake track. Instead, you want to drop £1400 so that most weekends you can get home from a pleasurable ride about 2 minutes quicker...or get a possible 'podium' place in an occasional wannerbe race, oops, sportive.

    Logic? Where does that come into it? Just buy the nicest looking wheels and enjoy them for what they are.

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