Looking for new wheels for my bike. Considering Zipp 404, Reynolds Attack or Williams Cycling...?

Question

So here's the deal. The Zipp 404's are very highly regarded, yet, I'm confused because they're heavy (more than 1650g). Yes, I know they're aerodynamic, but they're also $2000.

An alternative is from williamscycling.com (wheel system 58), which uses Zipp 404, with a different hub and weighs 1350g. These are only $1,200, so I'm wondering what I'm sacrificing with this.

The third option is the Reynolds Attack, which are 1485g, and I can get for $800.

I ride aggressively for 20-40miles (approx 20-22mph), and weigh 175lbs.

What would you recommend and why?

Thanks!

Answer 1

I think it kind of depends on the kind of riding you are doing.  In my opinion heavier aero rims are OK if you are doing a lot of riding on flats and tend to ride at fairly constant speeds.  While rotational mass of a heavy rim slows acceleration, if you are riding at constant speeds you pay little penalty and hopefully get some advantage from the aero design.  On the other hand, lighter rims are better if you ride in hilly areas and/or have a lot of speed changes.

I've never actually ridden any of these wheelsets.  However ,I recently had to replace my old wheels.  On the recommendation of a couple of friends, I got Mavic Ksyrium SL wheels and have been very happy with them.  These wheels are around 1400 grams for the set.  My friends claim they are practically indestructible.  My mechanic like them because the hub is easy to take apart and service.  Even better Excel Sports has a close out special for last year's stock!  In case you are interested, here is the link:

http://www.excelsports.com/new.asp?page=...

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Actually the Zipp 404 clinchers are more than 1650 grams, the tubulars weigh 1252 grams. The rims that Williams Cycling are using however are the 'pave' rims, which Zipp use on their cyclocross wheelset, so they are reinforced to take more punishment and hence they weigh a little more (in fact Zipp claim that the 'pave' rims have twice the impact resistance). That may be a good thing for you? I don't know depends on what you plan to use them for.

For myself, standard Zipp 404's are what I race on most of the time, and when I need a rim with more impact resistance I switch to a set of standard 32 hole Ambrosio Nemesis tubulars that are practically bomb proof.

I guess you have to weigh up a few things that may or may not be important to you:

1: price difference - $800 can buy you a lot of spare tubes.

2: weight difference - keeping in mind that 100 grams of rolling mass is equivalent to 1kg on static mass, do you think that will make much of a difference. It certainly would for some, but that's something you will need to decide since I have no idea what wheels you are currently using, I mean if this is your first set of race wheels then I'm sure any of them will be an improvement.

3: Impact resistance: do you need the rims to be twice as impact resistant?

4: The bearings? I can tell you now that Zipp have fantastic bearings, even better is their 'Zedtech' range of wheels, but not having used the Williams before I cannot say what they are like.

Hope this has helped

(oh and you may have noticed I didn't even mention the other wheelset, and there is a reason for that).

Hope this has helped you.