Weight Weenies

I searched but didn't see a thread about the 202 Firecrest clinchers that were announced at Eurobike this past week:

http://www.zipp.com/wheels/202-firecres ... -clincher/
http://road.cc/content/news/64602-eurob ... rear-wheel

1375 grams (625 front, 750 rear)
32mm depth
25.4mm maximum width
18 spokes front, 24 spokes rear

I think this is the wheel Contadore is riding a the Veulta (or whatever the name). Nice looking wheel but, given its weight and the fact its carbon I would rather have the DA 7900 C24 in a heart beat. Virtually the same weight and with aluminum brake surfaces and no weight limit. I already have two pair of the 7850 C24 wheels and they are outstanding. Zipp needs to get this wheel down to 1200 grams.

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I could almost bet that the 202 will be quite flexy.

I also could almost bet that Alberto is riding the tubular version..........correct me if I'm wrong.

tommasini wrote:I also could almost bet that Alberto is riding the tubular version..........correct me if I'm wrong.

Without a doubt, not sure why they bothered with the clincher.

I'm with Neal.......all the extra weight with none of the benefits. If you are gonna pay top dollar for Zipps at least get tubulars. The sad thing is they'll get a bunch of suckers to fork out the dough for these. I'd buy the tubs in a second, however.

CBRE wrote:Without a doubt, not sure why they bothered with the clincher.

Same reason as CarbonSports: Because of all the girlie-men with a lot of money, but who aren't man enough to ride tubulars.

When is the 202 Firecrest going to come in mens?

I am nursing a broken collar bone because of some moron who rolled his tire in front of me. He probably believes tubulars are the only to go too. Each system has its flaws and neither is perfect. If it were up to me right now I might go along with a ban on sew ups for everyone except pro's, Because a 1/2 race is no guarantee.

A blown clincher inner tube can cause the tire to roll, leading to a dangerous crash.

HammerTime2 wrote:

CBRE wrote:Without a doubt, not sure why they bothered with the clincher.

Same reason as CarbonSports: Because of all the girlie-men with a lot of money, but who aren't man enough to ride tubulars.

Or live in a place where tubulars doesn't make sense because of the probability of punctures. Also, aerodynamically, the clincher versions of the newer, wider generation of wheels are superior to the tubulars.

oooooo! a Tubular vs. Clincher debate?
Awesome.

Mario Jr. wrote:

HammerTime2 wrote:

CBRE wrote:Without a doubt, not sure why they bothered with the clincher.

Same reason as CarbonSports: Because of all the girlie-men with a lot of money, but who aren't man enough to ride tubulars.

Or live in a place where tubulars doesn't make sense because of the probability of punctures. Also, aerodynamically, the clincher versions of the newer, wider generation of wheels are superior to the tubulars.

Odd, I ride with guys who get flats damn near every ride with clinchers, I have not flatted a Veloflex tubi yet. Was at a race early in the year that had a steep 2 mile decent, 9 guys overheated carbon clincher flats on one down hill. Not trying to start a debate here but a properly glued high quality tubular is hard to beat, especially when compared to a carbon clincher rim. Poor Tony Martin flatted twice in the tour with clinchers!

The more I hear of that kind of talk the more I step back from even thinking of a carbon clincher.

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I've flatted 5 tubular tires already this season. These are Veloflex Carbon, Roubaix, Conti Competition and Schwalbe Ultremo HT. I'm not exactly buying crap tires. The roads here have a lot of sharp crap on them and I get 4-5mm cuts in my tires all the time. As much as I love tubulars, this is getting expensive.