Maybe manufacturers generally don't wont you to know. The fact that Zipp in Indianapolis, US, has so many asian workers makes me want to know what salaries they pay the operators who make wheels that cost 1 500 USD per set and upwards (in Sweden)
I doubt it. Why would they? There is nothing to gain by testing anyone else's components. Those two wheels had probably been around for a long long time and they show them to us to make you believe they test Chinese wheels. How stupid do they think we are? I've owned Chinese carbon wheels and I know others still using them with no problems. As long as Zipp prices their wheels so that it breaks the bank there will always be a market for Chinese wheels. By the way, do you or anyone know anybody who has died from a failure on a Chinese wheel?
Did you watch it? One of the Zip counterfeit wheels in question had a spelling mistake on it. I doubt that Zip would have built a sub-par wheel with a deliberate spelling mistake just for our viewing pleasure.
Those were clearly counterfeit wheels. You can tell by the Novatec hubs and the lack of correct Firecrest markings. It's also funny how every time someone brings up counterfeit someone chimes in with "well they work for me!". We know nothing about your riding style, where you live, how much you weigh, where you bought them from, etc. The biggest difference is that the QC levels are a probably not nearly as high. So maybe you got a good set, whereas others could get a really bad set. Everyone I know who has had carbon wheels living in California eventually have problems with them unless they use them only for crit racing where brakes aren't used a lot and there are no long descents.
I had my first 404's in 2005 which I loved. In 2015, I got 808 firecrest carbon clincher but hated the hub manual preload. Now, I'm on 2016 808's with new preset hubs and they are fantastic.
This was awesome! I used to work with carbon fiber and fiberglass on military aircraft and its so cool to see this. Thank you GCN for all your content.
Si!!! You GCN guys should cover the Little 500 in Indiana. Jason Fowler at Zipp raced in it, the movie Breaking Away is based off the race. It's usually the 3rd Saturday in April, you'd have a blast.
Seeing that white 3 spoke wheel at 11:50, reminded me I used to ride with a Neo-pro named Dan Vogt in 1989, he had a set of these and was sponsored by Zipp. He was also the model in the sales brochure!
I live in southern California, and if I ever decide to pony up the cash for carbon wheels (my HED Belgium C2 wheels w/ Chris King R45 hubs seem to work perfectly fine), Zipp would be the only ones I would buy. During Levi's Gran Fondo this year at the bottom of Hauser Bridge, I was waiting in line to use the SRAM Support guys' bike pump after my front tire blew on the descent, and in the 15 minutes I was waiting, there were 4 guys ahead of me with destroyed carbon wheels from the braking (it's a pretty hairy descent), all needing a replacement wheel. I'm sure there were many more failures throughout the day than just those 4 while I was there. The SRAM guy said in all the years he's been supporting the ride, he's seen virtually every brand of carbon wheel fail except for Zipp. Fortunately for my wallet, I cannot justify $3,100 for a set of 303 NSW's at the moment.
Dana Rouleau so the guy who works for Sram (the company that owns Zipp, remember) said he'd never seen his own product fail? Now there's a ringing endorsement for ya!
I dunno, when I was there, there was a failed Enve, Easton, and then two other wheels that I don't recall (some cheaper ones that I couldn't see the decals of).....so take it for what it's worth. I don't care what anyone buys really, I just know that after doing that ride and seeing firsthand what excessive heat can do to carbon wheels, I would probably listen to a guy who travels all around California supporting these events, regardless of who he works for - didn't really seem like the type of guy who was trying to sell SRAM stuff.
For guys who live an ocean away you sure do find yourselves in the Midwest a lot. Only been subscribed for a few months and you were in my home town around iron man then at trek hq and now Indiana. I must live middle of cycling county her in the US.
I got a pair of Zipp 530 wheels with aluminum braking surface flyet to a carbon rim in 2001. In 2015 I had to stop riding them since they was getting so soft several places on the carbon rim like they were delaminated. I hope the wheels are better now.
I've always wondered about this, how they get it so light. I had a Viscount Sebring in 1977, it was supposedly very light for its time. Took a concerted effort to lift it. Today, my Nishiki with Zipp carbon fiber wheels, I can lift with one arm not even breaking a sweat. Amazing. Never ceases to amaze me.
Well I don't know what to think about this video. It's always cool to see the manufacturing process but gess what ? Zipp wheels are made like any other carbon wheels. Saying all wheels are made in Indianapolis is a nice promotional lie. At #t=6m33s we can clearly see the names of the workers. Correct me if i'm wrong but Lal Tin Thang or Van Nuam are not typical names from Indianapolis. Everybody know that carbon components are made in in Taichung,Taiwan like any other brand. You should probably add 'sponsored' or 'promotional' in your title
Trying to work out if a Si Richardson 404 would be worth more or less than standard! 'unique' or 'special' could apply to both ends of the zipp newbies production run.... :-)
Hi GCN and specifically Dan. Dan you met my friend Matt Dennis at a cx race two weeks ago competing on a Vitus bike. Today he was hit by a car that opened it's door then got run over it wasn't his fault. He has a broken rib and a broken wrist and is in hospital. Please could you give him a shoutout or something on the GCN show? Would mean a lot! Thanks, Chris
How is the air bladder removed from the rim? The rim shape is closed so there seems to be no way to get the bladder out but clearly it is taken out somehow.
yeah you can, it's not all about money. Supporting your local bicycle shop may be more costly but the money is being used in better ways than buying online
I'm not advocating counterfeiting of Zipp wheels but it'll be good for consumers to see the difference of the impact test and brake track delamination test of the real wheels. I think the reason why they don't show it is because both wheels will fail in a relatively similar way albeit the counterfeit ones at less loads and stresses. If that's the case, I would prefer Zipp wheels to be more affordable by lowering their design limits so they cost less to produce. I mean who would pump their tyres up to 338 psi??!!!
@gcntech #gcntech I'm curious to understand the new "filament wound" method of producing carbon rims, rather than the more traditional cutting and shaping up of sheets of carbon. Perhaps something that you could explain on the fab new gcn tech channel?
Spent about 500 miles on it and so far so good. ru-vid.comUgkxMesz3KOGEmwmvyKQfLfrRSUXLFzfVHZA Pros:1. Very light2. Solid quality build3. Fast delivery: It arrived 5 weeks earlier than expected.4. Easy assemblyJust a few cons but nothing major:1. Cheap tin tubes and had flat on first day... but not a big deal. I replaced the tubes.2. Seat is a bit uncomfortable but that's pretty much the same situation with most bikes.3. Seat post is a bit long/high for a smaller size 48 bike - had to saw 2 inch off to fit properly. The lowest setting is too high. The post locking system does not seem to hold well (perhaps because I saw 2 inch off).4. wheels are not tubeless compatible (from what I can tell)
Notice they didn't show the impact tests on the real Zipp vs the "counterfeit". There are many documented examples of the "counterfeit" wheels out-performing the real genuine branded products, the truth is that with carbon it really does come down to each individual piece and a brands track record should not be the only consideration made when they all have had numerous products fail, and continue to do so. That includes Zipp. The big brands fail just as much as the cheaper chinese alternatives. The reality is that the big manufacturers are feeling the squeeze from the much more affordable products produced by the chinese carbon fibre cycling parts industry. Many of the cheaper option copies being made in the very same factories as some of the more well known branded options, and in addition to that, they are also subjected to the same rigorous quality and safety testing. What you saw in this video in my opinion was absolutely propaganda to create fear for the consumer that is considering whether to pay the big bucks or take the cheaper option. In my experience I bought a set of chinese 50mm clinchers which I am very happy with still after almost 5,000kms. Don't fall for the fear campaign. Paid presentation?? Yeeeeppp.
they are just mad because most the time its the same wheels being sold by one of their manufacturers under a unbadged or rebadged name for cheaper because they are excess product.. some manufacturers supply a certain line of products to various costumers( big brand name) and so of course they make some for whoever buys in or the factory sells some themselves for some marginal profit. We do get some people who collect and try to resale recasted or failed product from time to time.
Can you do a comparison between aftermarket wheels like these against the factory options. For example say these Zipp wheels versus say The wheels that come on a Giant, there SLR 0 wheels.How does a consumer know if they are really buying something much better then the ones that came on there bikes to begin with.
