XC Wheel Showdown: Trek VS. Specialized VS. Zipp 

I actually built a set of xplr 101s also haha. Back when availability was really tough and I didn’t wanna wait for the zipp built version.

Totally fair. I don’t think it’s a secret that you’re paying for a warranty when you buy one of these wheel sets. But also you could have bought a roval control 1350$ wheelset with slightly worse measurables vs the light bikes but with the warranty

@@bicyclestation I considered that but the $1350 roval set is pretty chunky for XC standards at 1450 grams. A better comparison spec wise to what I built with on carbon ti hubs would be the Control SL (~1200g like mine) but spesh also wants 2500 plus tax for those. Meh. I'm a Spesh fan boy when it comes to their frames, but I feel a set of Dukes or LB hoops laced to Carbon Ti or DT180's is just a much better buy. I know you own a shop so your perspective and your clientele is gonna be different and I respect that.

@@jaredjackson8097you could get Roval Control SL for around $1200-$1500 range on private market now if you search around. I got mine not long ago for $1200 and got warranty transferred over. I’ve had 3 of them along with regular Roval in which none of them I paid MSRP. In terms of stiffness I didn’t feel SL any worse. So far one of my favorite light wheels I can actually beat on. Also I’d recommend Kovee XXX if you can get hands on those. I have a set from 2022 that I scored for $900 last year & I love them. In fact I’d recommend them over Kovee RSL for the same reason the guy is talking about. If you’re a weight weenie like me you can remove that annoying plastic rim strip & tape it to shave off 150g or so. Mine came out exactly 1300g taped with valves & manufacturer claims 1290g so no complaints there. In terms of ride quality Kovee XXX is a lot stiffer than Roval Control SL but neither of them are fragile nor give you that sketchy full out XC wheel feeling.

I sent Berd spokes my hubs and rims. Absolutely amazing wheel’s with Hadley Hubs Ti freehub RaceFace rims. Going custom built is the best way to go when you want high end hubs with your rims of choice.

Eh I still think that kinda stuff is cool tho. Most people wouldn’t go the extra mile to even know about the brands we’re talking about and I know I would if I didn’t have as much access to product as I do.

For the high end ones or the middle tier? I don’t have any real world experience with the middle tier ones currently but can try to help.

i mean both would be interesting, but the mids are what would bither me since its prob. something i will get (will build my fist mtb this year so i dont want an need to have the top tier i guess)

Just on paper I’d go zipper or roval

thanhs, thing the zipp is my fav so far, have the 303fc on my roadbike and realy like them. so will kepp it zipp i guess

Let me know if you want us to get you a set

You can just take em off and put normal valves in no problem and still have the nicer wheel

@@bicyclestation Even better! Thanks

I 10000% agree. When Trek released the Kovee RSL I sold my two XXX wheels and honestly kinda regret it. They were really cool looking also.

Not trying to be biased due to direct to consumer but it’s a you get what you pay for situation with hunt.

@@bicyclestation I’ll plan on the zipp wheels just wanted an opinion since I didn’t know much about the brand. Thanks!

Which Zipp wheelset did you have that broke?

I’ve broken a 454 and seen a 303 break but that’s it. Both were replaced under warranty no problem

Eh they are fairly outdated in comparison to all three of these wheelsets I tested. Super narrow rim for today’s standards. Would be stoked to see a new revision of the m5 tho. If that happens the comparison would be more fair.

Did you warranty it?

@bicyclestation contacted SRAM ZIPP and they said to return to JensonUSA. Not a very good resolution since Jenson doesn't have any more in stock. Will try to get Zipp to send warranty replacement. Might just pay to get it trued.

Zipp will send jenson a replacement. That’s standard warranty procedure. If I shipped you a wheel and then you wanted me to warranty it I’d have to have you ship it back to me for evaluation and then if it was deemed to be a claim then sram would exchange it for a new wheel. I get billed for the new wheel then once they get the old one back I get a credit for it. You are probably better off having a local shop do the warranty so it cuts out the initial shipping step

I’d sell you a used roval control sl wheelset for 1500$. I don’t think that’s a good deal on the xxx. But when it comes to the xxx being good wheels they 100% are. I personally regret selling mine haha.

@@bicyclestation, thanks for the quick response, i really appreciate it. But for that price i can buy the xxx ones brand new, that's why I asked you about the spoke tension and the quality of the rims overall. I guess they are better quality than the new ones RSL? Would you agree on that? One other thing that i need to figure out is about those torque caps.

Oh yea if they are brand new with warranty that’s a great price

I don’t think there’s a tourq cap for that wheelset either to be honest

@bicyclestation ,Yeah, and the thing is, I just can't find something better for that price. The cheapest I can find the roval control sl where I live is 1700$ for the wheels again brand new

I can’t speak on the kovee pro. Definitely not an anomaly. I’ve tested two wheelsets myself and had other people tell me the same thing about them.

Kovee Pro's use the same spokes and lacing pattern so probably will have spoke rubbing noise unless you grease between spokes but that'll collect dirt

wondering if the hub difference between the bontrager kovee RSL and pro make a difference in the spoke spacing.@@frankschock9981

100%.

Someone bought it. I’m working on getting another one lol.

Actually there’s a new Roval Traverse SL wheelset that looks really good for that kinda bike. I almost got a set for that Scor 2030 I build recently.

@@bicyclestation Since I am in Europe, I dont want to buy roval products unfortunately... Their crash/it happens warranty does not apply to non US customers. I smashed the stock Traverse SL's that came on my stumpy evo, and Roval/Spec wont even answer my emails. Local bike shop says that Specialized wont help them with it either. Fun when you've spent $14k on a bike, and smash a $2k~ wheelset within 3 hours of riding, with a cushcore insert, and they cant even give me a discount on a new set. So went with I9 instead So thats the reason I am looking at other brands with actual worldwide warranty/crash support

Not sure what happened with your wheels but the specialized website specifically says they cover wheels in the UK www.specialized.com/gb/en/roval-warranty

@@bicyclestation Yeah im not from the UK unfortunately

Zipps cheaper Hitop S wheelset uses 6-bolt brake mounts only