RE: IMMT mechanical guidance

Stephanie Garrett

 

During my last RR, I noticed a clanking sound coming from my bike. I brought to the bike shop as soon as possible and after a long process of elimination, my bike mechanic concluded that my old rear Zipp 404s were the issue. Apparently, the sound came from the lose bearings in the hub.  He told me that he would have to research how to fix the wheel and what type of bearings I needed. I would have to overnight ship bearings that Zipp said it had in stock. Realizing I was about to spend lots of money without feeling completely comfortable about the solution, I called Rent a Race wheel and luckily they had just one last set of Zipp 808's for me to rent. Again due to the timing, I will not be able to test them out until race day. My question (s) are:

1. If I decide to ride my 404's with an intermittent clanking sound... will that eventually spell disaster in terms of ride and safety?

2.  For the 808's: I have never ridden tubular tires nor have I ever changed a flat tubular. Any insight.

3. I have been riding my 404's consistently since MT training camp a month ago. Is there a different ride experience with the 808's?

Thanks for any insight and guidance.

Stephanie

 

George

As a novice flat changer with a front 404 tubular and 808 clincher my comfort level with a changing a tubular is ZERO. So during a race with a tubular flat the race my race would be over. At least with a clincher I could change the tire in 15-20 mins. You can also try Jason, In and Out Sports, (828)768-3962. Although In and out Sports is not the official race wheel provider for IMMT Jason may have a race wheel to rent as Racewheels.com is sold out on their website.

As far as the bearings in your current wheel some of our other peeps may have more insight but I believe there is only a small risk of wheel failure during the race.

The ride experience between the 404 and 808 are only noticeable to me on the windiest days. For IMMT the 404 will be easier to handle for the windy sections. If you are a strong rider then this may not be a concern.

Stephanie Garrett

Thanks George. You gave me something to think about. I got the last set of 808's from Racewheels. Marc the owner was super so riding 808's is definitely an option. I am not sure if the 808's are tubular or clincher. I have to call to check Monday. I am assuming that they would be tubular , but I may be wrong.

cdkayak

If your front 404 is good and the rented wheels are clinchers you can still use the 404 on the front and the rented 808 on the rear. The handling changes would be minimized doing that.

I can't speak on the likelihood of failure of the bearing, but I'd be hesitant to risk it myself. I've also only ridden clinchers so I'd be worried about throwing a tubular into the mix on race day. Hope the rented wheels are clinchers.

Have a great race!