Zipp 303 Firecrest Review

• Zipp's exploration of the 303‚Äôs wider rim led to the Firecrest® technology. And now that development has come full circle with the 303 Firecrest. The new wheel features Firecrest‚Äôs signature shaping designed to optimize both halves of the wheel, which creates a rim that is significantly faster and also much easier to handle in crosswinds. At just 1,310 grams, the weight of the new 303 is virtually unchanged from its predecessor and remains one of the lightest carbon wheelsets anywhere. Its 45mm deep rim outperforms much deeper rims with a traditional V-shaped cross-section. And yet, because Firecrest technology allows us to manipulate the wheel‚Äôs centre of pressure, the new 303 handles like a box-section rim. It‚Äôs ultra-stable, and suitable for even the windiest days. And because the 303‚Äôs new 26.45mm-wide brake track (at centre) has been optimised for wider tyres, the ride quality is better than ever. Firecrest® ‚Äì A better wheel in every way. Zipp's proprietary Firecrest® rim rewrote the fundamentals of wheel making, resulting in improved aerodynamics, ride quality, wheel strength and stability in even the strongest of crosswinds. As a result, the entire Firecrest family of wheels makes a bigger difference in more ways than ever. More Speed Firecrest technology, discovered as they developed their Carbon Clinchers, refocused Zipp's thinking to concentrate not only on the front half of the wheel, but also the back half. Previous rim shapes were designed to smooth airflow coming off the tyre, and tapered inward from the widest point of a toroidal bulge. But Firecrest rims have a less pronounced bulge and maintain a near-constant width almost all the way to the spoke bed. Without giving up the proven benefits of the toroidal shape, Firecrest is the first aero profile that effectively controls airflow around the back half of the wheel. Zipp used Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) post-processing capabilities to maximize aerodynamics and minimize wind-induced steering torque, resulting in a 202 Firecrest Carbon Clincher that is faster and better handling than a classic box-section road wheel. Zipp's Firecrest rim shape improves stability by moving the wheel‚Äôs centre of pressure aft and downward to sit almost directly over the steering axis, where wind-induced steering torque has a minimal effect. More Stability During the design process for Firecrest, Zipp realized that the advanced mathematics and massive computing power that helped them create a faster wheel could also help reduce the impact of crosswinds on handling. Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, Zipp discovered subtle variations in rim shape that improve stability without increasing aerodynamic drag. By moving the center of pressure ‚Äì the focal point of side forces on the rim ‚Äì to its optimal location near the steering axis, Firecrest offers stable, predictable handling at every wind angle. With the 303 Firecrest Carbon tubular they have achieved a near neutral steering torque. In real-world conditions, Firecrest rims are markedly more stable than other rims of equal or even shallower depth. More Strength As Zipp discovered when developing the Zipp 303 to thrive under unforgiving conditions at the Spring Classics, a wider rim increases lateral stiffness for sprinting and cornering yet offers greater vertical compliance for more control, comfort, and durability on rough surfaces. The same holds true for Firecrest rims. The 303 Firecrest is a proven performer on the open road in both tubular and Carbon Clincher versions, the wider design places more rubber on the road while cornering without adding rolling resistance. The new wheels retain all the small details that make Zipp wheels what they are. Exposed spoke nipples sit in the aerodynamic shadow of the rims, keeping serviceability simple without compromising speed. And Zipp's signature ABLC‚Ñ¢ rim dimples squeeze every last second of performance possible. To complete the package, Zipp® has refined its venerable 88/188 hubset, reshaping the hub body and pushing the non-drive-side flange and bearing out by 7.5mm on the rear hub to increase overall stiffness and strength.
• Code:3426537213 5360092055

As with many cyclists, be it mountain bikers, BMX riders or road cyclists we want to take the time to make sure we get the best products. Where cycling is a passion for many we often invest a lot of our time and money into the hobby. And as we know, getting the right products can give us that small competitive advantage either over our actual competitors, our mates or even just beating our own goals. But because we do invest so much in our bikes and our equipment it’s really important to buy from recognised retailers, in our most recent search, we found many products available online for ridiculously (almost laughable) prices. They were just so low that alarm bells should instantly be ringing. That’s why we only recommend buying from the retailers that you really know and trust, names like Wiggle, Chain Reaction and Evans Cycles are just some of those that we use regularly. With these retailers you know you’re in safe hands and can expect great service, great returns policies and if anything was to go wrong great customer service under a warranty claim.

But onto the reason you’re here today, let’s delve into some of the details of Zipp 303 Firecrest to help you understand a bit more about where it sits in the market against some of the many alternatives that are available out there. We’re very aware that by buying our cycling stuff online that we’ve missed out on the opportunity to actually see and test the product first. This is where reviews come in to their own, as it gives us that chance to hear from other like-minded cyclists about how good or bad a product is.

As you would expect, our first and top piece of advice before buying, is to read lots and lots of Zipp 303 Firecrest reviews. With a review score of 8.6 out of 10 it’s likely that there will be lots of great detailed reviews to help you. And if you find that actually the reviews are suggesting Zipp 303 Firecrest isn’t right for you then there will be tons and tons of other reviews for other products in the Back Wheels category. In fact we’ve got 58 products reviewed in this category alone.

Something that makes it particularly challenging is the vast range of choice, as mentioned above there are 58 products in the Back Wheels category. There are also 286 products from the brand Zipp. And then getting into the specifics even more there are 31 products from Zipp in the category “Back Wheels”.