Renting wheels for IMLP help please

Bill Bejin

I'm a first timer and looking at renting Zipp wheels for IMLP.  I am looking for some guidance on what would be the best plan.  404, 808 a mix with one size on front and a different size on back?  I have an entry level TT bike, is there anything that I should be looking to make sure is there / not there to ensure compatibility?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

John Withrow

How big are you? How comfortable are you with your bike handling skills? Do you race with power? If so, what kind? What TT bike are you putting them on?

FWIW, I raced Placid at ~180lbs with well above average (for Triathletes) bike handling skills and used a Disk on the rear and 808 on the front. A full set of 808's would be great on that course. If you are nervous about your bike handling skills and/or are afraid of cross winds, you could go with an 808 rear and a 404 front as it is the front that is most affected in cross winds (but there are only a few places on that course that you might ever find cross winds anyways.

Most new-ish TT bikes can take Zipp Firecrest wheels just fine, but some of the older bikes and a few specific frames aren't wide enough (i.e. they are very tight on a P4).

Bill Bejin

I weigh in at 140 lbs. I ride a Felt S32 (the entry level TT bike from Felt) I do race with power - I have a stages power meter. I am a reasonably confident rider - I won't be on the brakes often if I can see the road / roadbed well and the conditions are suitable - dry and road is reasonably well maintained.

Coach Rich

Posted By William Bejin on 17 Jun 2015 01:04 PM

I'm a first timer and looking at renting Zipp wheels for IMLP.  I am looking for some guidance on what would be the best plan.  404, 808 a mix with one size on front and a different size on back?  I have an entry level TT bike, is there anything that I should be looking to make sure is there / not there to ensure compatibility?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Consider buying a wheelcover for your existing training wheel vs renting a rear wheel. Then just rent a front wheel but listen to JW's advice re handling. LP has one very, very high speed descent, FYI.

Bill Bejin

I was at camp and have now enjoyed that wonderful decent 4 times - 3 times at camp and 1 last year when I volunteered.  I have no experience with Zipp wheels, how much different is the 404 from the 808 from the cross winds?  If it is windy, would there still be benefit from maybe a little more brake in the big decent but better for the rollers that follow for the bulk of the course?

Mark Maurer

I bought a rear wheel cover as Rich suggested and purchased a Flo 60 front wheel and that set up works great for me. However, I wouldn't recommend trying anything like that for the first time in a race. I have really good bike handling skills and the first couple of times I rode with the Flo 60 I had some, let's call it interesting and exciting, experiences. That's especially true if a truck or other large vehicle passes you and there's any type of wind. I also found that the handling is different in high speed descents. The rest disc had much less effect on handling than the front wheel.

Coach Patrick

Bill, head to the Zipp site to see....404 is shallower.

More specifically, you want to get:

+ Clinchers, not tubulars.
+ Aluminum rims, not ceramic / carbon, etc.
+ Tubes / Valve extenders, etc to match ^those^ wheels you rent.

I believe a 404 front / 808 rear is good, but as Rich noted, a disc cover (www.wheelbuilder.com to see if they can do for you / your wheel) is about the cost of a rented rear wheel and it's yours forevah!!!