Zipp 404 Carbon Clincher or Shamal Ultra? Opinions please

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smootherider100
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 2:57 pm

by smootherider100

Let us be clear here, the vast majority of people who are buying these deep profile carbon wheels do not, and will never, notice any achievable difference in their "performance". It's a dopey con paid for by dopey people who do not, and probably never will, notice the difference. End of story. Spoilers on the back of cheap sports cars were made for these people.
If you want your wheels to go faster cycle an extra 200 kms a week.

by Weenie


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r_mutt
Posts: 412
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 6:33 pm

by r_mutt

i guess Cav drives a Honda Civic with tacked-on spoilers.

Tricky1
Posts: 101
Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2011 7:25 am

by Tricky1

Recently bought some Shamals and also own some 404's. They are different wheels indeed. The Shamal's are very smooth, spin so freely and quietly, and offer a more comfortable ride than the Zipp's. Braking is of course much improved over the Zipp's.
My biggest complaint with the 404's are the Zipp hubs. They require too much attention with regards to preload (unless your buying the 2014's) and the noises associated with that are annoying. I rebuilt my 404 rear hub with a White industries and was able to enjoy these wheels much more. The Zipp rims are quite strong and rarely needed truing to their advantage however.
I'm very impressed with the Shamal's overall and have been riding them tubeless which feels very smooth compared to any clincher wheels Ive ridden. The 404's are not as comfortable over road vibrations, bumps and holes, the Shamals are just so solid in every category-love them.

gitsome
Posts: 749
Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2008 3:03 am
Location: nyc

by gitsome

My 404's took a week or so of adjustment, admittedly it was annoying at first but then worked out perfectly, have ridden them 200 miles a week for last 2 years and not one readjustment needed ever.

Riding in crowded NYC I find the fishing-reel sound of the Zipps to be an excellent way of warning other riders and pedestrains of my impending bat-out-of-Hell on 2 wheels approach to them and they seem to react to that sound FAR more quickly and consistently than any vocal/verbal warnings, shouts, pssts (second best option) or any other form of warning I have ever tried. So I think there something to be said for them as an early-warning device for certain type of riding conditions at least...Im glad they are so.
My wallet is the lightest thing on my bike.

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Getter
Posts: 848
Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2009 6:30 am
Location: So Cal

by Getter

I've had my 404's (V8 hub) since 2012 and had to tension the hubs once...after the first couple hundred miles. After that no issues.

I recall that ZIPP says that there is to be slight play in the hubs.

AndreLM
Posts: 479
Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2013 11:53 pm

by AndreLM

I had both. The Zipp was a 2012 version. Riding on flats was great, but any climbing was annoying, as I could feel the flex when standing (i am 185 lbs). The Shamals are an excellent all- arounder. Good weight, comfortable AND stiff, tubeless (mine was 2-way fit). Changing between them was a hassle, since rim width were so different and changing pads in my brakeset was a PITA... In the end I was riding almost exclusively on the Shamals.


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r_mutt
Posts: 412
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 6:33 pm

by r_mutt

Tricky1 wrote:
My biggest complaint with the 404's are the Zipp hubs. They require too much attention with regards to preload (unless your buying the 2014's) and the noises associated with that ...


i think i've heard this statement about Zipp hubs every year since 2008. they must be pretty bad because despite improving every year, they still aren't there yet.

JimV
Posts: 79
Joined: Tue Apr 05, 2011 6:57 pm
Location: Chicago

by JimV

I find this comparison kind of silly. Shamals are incredibly expensive training wheels. 404's are a race wheel that you can train on.

Tricky1
Posts: 101
Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2011 7:25 am

by Tricky1

I'd race my Shamal's in a second. After tons of training miles on the 404's, I think the Shamal's are better in most categories and don't plan on using the 404's except for TT's...

kervelo
Posts: 862
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2009 6:58 am
Location: Finland

by kervelo

JimV wrote:I find this comparison kind of silly. Shamals are incredibly expensive training wheels...


It is quite easy to find a pair of Shamals for around 700-750 eur, depending on the shop and the model selected (some discounters going even lower). That is totally different than the price of 404's.

JimV
Posts: 79
Joined: Tue Apr 05, 2011 6:57 pm
Location: Chicago

by JimV

Tricky1 wrote:I'd race my Shamal's in a second. After tons of training miles on the 404's, I think the Shamal's are better in most categories and don't plan on using the 404's except for TT's...

I wish all of my competitors had that logic

jimborello
Posts: 283
Joined: Sun May 31, 2009 5:07 am

by jimborello

The Zipps would look so much better on your bike. Choose the Zipps!!! who cares about perfomance??

weightLight
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2014 1:40 am

by weightLight

Lets be clear here, if you cannot afford zipps this is the kind of rubbish you write, zipps are overpriced nonsense which give nothing but coffee shop credibility, unfortunately I cannot afford zipp wheels.

Geoff
Posts: 5395
Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2003 2:25 am
Location: Canada

by Geoff

Ok, if you are running deep race wheels, should they be tubular? Yeah, sure. But to say that a deep wheel is not noticeably faster is not accurate. For me, the possible advantage of the Shamal is running tubeless, which is interesting. I am running a set of Shamals tubeless as a long-term test now. So far, they are good...

As the snow seemed to be coming to an end, I thought I would reload my tubeless wheels with sealant again (snowed all night last night, so probably jinxed that). I almost hit myself in the face picking-up that Shamal front out of my wheel pile, it's so much lighter than the DA wheel! That is another plus for the Shamal that I forgot about.

by Weenie


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OSOK1989
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Jan 17, 2013 9:47 pm

by OSOK1989

These are two completely different kind of wheels, for me I'll choose 404 without a doubt. It simply makes both u and ur bike look fantastic.

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