Hi everybody,

Do you know where I can buy in the UK the Zipp 404 (for tubulars) with black spokes and hubs? I love these wheels but I can't stand the colour of the steel. Black would be much better.

Is there a particular reason for the metallic colour? to save weight?

Cheers

You can get a pair build. I have a pair of ZIPP 404, tubular with black American Classic hubs and black aero spokes and besides looking much nicer than the standard ZIPP (IMO) the wheels are also lighter. They are 1245g on my scale...

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not sure 1245g is lighter than stock is it? zipp claim 1232g so i guess not much in it.
legs 11 could build you a set that would be black & lighter.

1232g is for the new 2009 version, the 2008 version was heavier than my 2008 version, 1245g custom builds. Anyway the weight was just a ''bonus info'', the main point was, that if you want black hubs and spokes you must get the wheels custom build...

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My BMC SLR01 Team Machine: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=75502

Thanks for the reply.

But I would like to keep the Zipp hubs (88 and 188) because I heard they are excellent. And I heard that the CX spokes are also excellent...So I guess if I get the custom built zipp it won't be the same as the production one as I will certainly opt for black Hubs and black spokes...I'm not sure whether the CX spokes exist in black...The custom built wheels will have Zipp rims only, is that right?

Can anybody recommend a good wheel builder in the UK? I live in London (South West).

Cheers

...Also another question, I noticed that it's possible to buy the Zipp 404 with the Si3N4 ceramic bearings.
Is it worth it? my local LBS sells the Zipp 404 and with an extra GBP75 I can get the Enduro ceramic bearings. Is this a good deal? Is it worth it? I know nothing about ceramic bearings. Is it more maintenance? if so it's not for me. I'm after performance but balanced performance. I don't want to become my bike's slave (e.g. it's raining > I can't use the bike with the Zipp > oh God I wish I had some cheap Fulcrum on it).

If you want Zipp hubs (88 and 188) and don't want the standard silver spokes, nipples and hubs, then you use Zipp's Zedtech customization, but a Zedtech Z4 wheelset will cost you more than a standard 404 wheelset.
http://zipp.com/zedtech

The Zedtech hubs are not black but "smoke" (paragon grey). For the Zedtech hub caps and hub nuts you can choose between 6 different colors.

PM legs 11