Zipp 808 Firecrest Carbon Road Wheel - Clincher

When it comes to sheer speed, nothing overtakes the Zipp 808. It's been proven from Kona to Paris, and with addition of Firecrest technology, the Zipp 808 Firecrest Carbon Clincher has raised the bar even higher. New to this year, the 808 Firecrest receives Zipp's new 188/V9 rear hub, which increases both rigidity and durability without any sacrifice to weight. A number of components went into making the Firecrest 808 carbon clincher the fastest and most aerodynamic clincher in the Zipp arsenal of "Speed Weaponry." First is the Multi-Material Co-Molding process that permanently fuses a sub-200-gram aluminum hoop to a dimpled carbon structure that acts as a leaf spring for road vibration and impacts. The next step in the process is the implementation of VCLC, which involves the insertion of a visco-elastic material between carbon laminates in the rim, which delivers a ten percent reduction in road vibration. When it came to carbon resin, Zipp faced obstacles in relation to applied heat. It found that clincher rims handle all of the air pressure along with the tire, resulting in catastrophic failure when over-heated. Part of the solution came from the development of the Firecrest clincher rim shape, and the other came out of an exclusive deal with a Formula One carbon resin manufacturer. Together, they worked out a new resin that improves heat dissipation enough to pass European safety testing without setting limitations on rider weight or brake pad options. Zipp's Firecrest design is steeped in a wider-is-better ideology. Zipp found that a wider rim offers greater vertical/lateral compliance for increased control, comfort, and rigidity. For the clincher, it found that distancing the hook beads further apart allowed the tire to take on a more stable shape without adding rolling resistance. For the strength and rigidity, the Firecrest 808 utilizes both unidirectional fiber and woven fiber. With this design, unidirectional fibers are used to handle the tensile and ...