Zipp 303s vs ENVE Foundation 65

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souplesse
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2022 12:50 pm

by souplesse

I'm currently using a pair of 303s on my SL7 that I'm borrowing from my gravel bike. I really like these wheels, but I always intended to use them for gravel and get a separate, deeper set for my SL7.

I've been looking at the EVNE Foundation 65 as a decent value proposition. However, due to my schedule this year I'll not be riding my gravel bike much and can keep using the 303s for most of the season.

My question is if it's worth getting the Foundations now and put the 303s back on the gravel bike (which I won't be using much until the end of the year) or if I should keep the 303s on the SL7 and get a better wheelset at the end of the season?

TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12444
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

Only you can answer this question. The ENVEs will be several watts faster at 40-45km/h. It is doubtful that anything truly revolutionary will come out within a year. Also Zipp and ENVE are not the best value propositions these days.
Last edited by TobinHatesYou on Wed Feb 08, 2023 10:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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voicycle
Posts: 167
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2021 8:38 am

by voicycle

All signs point to steeper and steeper discounts throughout this year. I got my Roval Rapide CLX IIs in a Black Friday sale last year for 37% off RRP, which at the time seemed like a rare and amazing deal, but I wouldn't be surprised if by the same time this year that kind of discount is fairly standard. I'm not sure I'd make a major purchase like that for less than 30% off RRP in 2023.

If you're genuinely not going to make any use of the 65s for anything competitive this season and you really won't miss having the gravel bike ready to go then you'll probably end up with the most wheel for your money by sitting on the cash and waiting for a killer deal to pop up. Saying that, even a rare road race or gravel bike outing this season has some value, but only you can put a number on it.

Potentially also worth trying to assess the resale value of the 65s and/or how useful they would be as a spare wheelset, so you know what your options are if you buy them now and then find something you want even more towards the end of the year?

souplesse
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2022 12:50 pm

by souplesse

Thanks for the input!

I've been giving it some thought and I think I'll stick with the 303s on the SL7 for the time being and prioritize a more significant update later on.

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