ZIPP

jwshooter

how much and how good are the zipp 303 s .

i have ultegra on my bike ,im mostly into touring and light racing .

also are they much better are they than what i have .
total fred question .

honest answers thanks. jw

BryanL

Tikka v's Sako/Sauer?

Lots of €'s for high end performance

Lumen

Heavy, expensive, fragile: pick three.

If you're thinking about aerodynamics, the best wheels will supposedly make you about one second a minute faster. This difference is much smaller than the difference between riding in the hoods vs riding in the drops, i.e. almost nothing.

The more likely advantage is that you will feel a deep sense of shame every time someone passes you on a crappier bike with normal wheels, and therefore you'll be motivated to train much harder to reduce the chances of this happening.

If you only own one bike, there are obviously better ways to splash the cash.

edit: from a few reports I've read, Mavic Cosmics Carbones are pretty bombproof and make a lovely sound (great for posing and TTs, not so great for road racing). €885 from Wiggle, quite tempting.

Disclaimer: I do not own Zipps

Quigs Snr

303's are very light, but fragile and if you are getting them in tub version which you will need to in order to get the weight benefits then they are also impractical for touring and won't benefit you much in your racing, unless all you are doing is uphill TT's or long alpine stages of the Tour.

The Cosmics as Lumen mentions are pretty darn nice. You can use them for racing too, for example the Pezula team won all 4 stages of RAS Mumhann in 2008 whilst riding them. They are bombproof as previously stated, I have twice had a head on collision with an imovable object with them and the wheels were unmarked. All I have had to do is replace a freehub body which I did myself.

Ryaner

Check out the review on CRC http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=30825

Sean Kelly wrote:

sean kelly from Ireland Owner 11 November 2009 00:29
i have this set for the past two years,the wheels are bomdproof i have not once had to get them fixed in any way,i use this set on my 6grand bike.get these if u want a set that will last,the best money can buy

jwshooter

thanks for the replys the mavic comic carbon are getting great reviews.

one of the guys in the club i cycle with uses them .i must have a chat with him about them .

lumen hit the nail on the head i think . but its nice to look.