dvdslw

I'm looking at the Spinergy wheels right now for my new Warbird. They check all the boxes and are priced right.

chaadster

I agree. I have a pair of GX for my new T-Lab, but the build isn’t complete and I haven’t ridden them yet. Hopefully the drivetrain arrives this week, which would allow me to get out and give the wheels a roll.

Foolishly, I didn’t do any custom spoke color; a spoke or two in purple would have looked cool.

dvdslw

Let me know when you finally get a chance to give some feedback on those wheels. I was quoted a 10-14 day build/delivery time on my GX's. I have some reservations about the spokes but for cost, spec, and lightweight, I couldn't pass them up.

chaadster

Bummer, but will-do. 2 weeks’ll fly by, mate, so no worries!

These are my first Spinergy, too, but I’ve known about them for years, so while it’s new tech to me, I’m comforted knowing it’s not really new tech, and seems to have been working for years. That I got my cycling chops during the MTB golden era in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s, when innovation was everything, has fixed in me the notion that the roadie community is always slow to embrace new and different stuff, so I’m not surprised that Spinergy is not well known. In other words, it’s a familiar narrative to me, and I actually think it’s cool that Spinergy are fringe dwellers!

Koyote

"Strong, light, cheap: pick two."

-- Keith Bontrager

Nothing will end your ride quite as surely as a broken wheel.

dvdslw

Party Pooper!!!

chaadster

The meaning of cheap is often misunderstood.

Chi_Z

carbon wheel is super nice until you get a bad pitch flat

tdilf

The reason is not obvious to me - please explain.

dvdslw

Change of plans for me, I ordered the Spinergy GX wheelset last week but their build time was longer than expected so of course I got impatient and cancelled the order. After digging around online yesterday I stumbled across a bunch of reviews for the new Zipp 303S wheelset and ended up ordering a set. I wasn't really in the market for carbon wheels but at full msrp they are priced right, I had a 15% off coupon, Zipp offers a lifetime warranty, and a 50% off crash replacement plan for the life of the wheels. Spec's are 1,530 grams (set), come setup tubeless with stems and tape included, xdr driver, 45mm deep, 23mm int width, and new stealthy Zipp decals. Can't wait!

chaadster

Deep! Nice! Gettin’ aero bennies of CF is where CF makes sense, because you can go deep and stay light.

Great grab!

dvdslw

Thanks, I've always wanted a set of Zipps and this was the right time and right price for me to do it. Will I see Aero benefits? Who really knows? They say the wheels are optimized for a 28mm road tire and I see swapping in a set of Pro One's every so often for the longer asphalt rides. Cost, weight, warranty, and reviews sold me on these. I hope they live up to the hype!

chaadster

For sure! Zipp are primo; I’ve never had any either, but hope to some day!

msu2001la

Nice! I've been eyeing up that same set for a while and would love to hear some reviews after you've got some miles on them. They look great.
My understanding is that you won't see much in terms of aero benefits with gravel/cx tire sizes, but this is the case with pretty much any carbon wheel.

Congrats on the purchase.

dvdslw

Thanks, and I'll be sure to keep you guys updated. I have high hopes for them and really want to throw some 28mm road tires on them to see what my bike is capable of on the tarmac. I took it out on a 52mi ride yesterday and while the bike felt great and had a smooth ride, I could feel the sluggish weight of those stock WTB i23 wheels and low end 42mm tires.

franswa

I feel that sluggishness of my stock i23 wheels too and am looking forward to getting my carbon 650b set, hopefully shipping next week.

Kapusta

Don’t know about Carbon Wheels on a Gravel Bike, but I love Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.

Koyote

Great album! I saw her on that tour… At a club in Denver. I think they had booked it before the album blew up and was nominated for a Grammy. Great show.

woodcraft

I'm guessing that he is referring to the possibility of damaging the hook bead edge of the rim from bottoming out on a rock, etc..

What might dent aluminum in that case could fracture CF & make the wheel less rideable.

Chi_Z

indeed, cracked a zipp 303 firecrest from a pothole pitch flat, and that was rim brake version with much thicker sidewall, disc version will be even more fragile

dvdslw

Just a partial follow up on my Zipp's, only the rear has arrived so far which is disappointing but I understand that FedEx is having problems right now due to the winter weather that rolled through the country last week. I also found out that FedEx is prioritizing Covid19 vaccines over regular and priority mail so until they get caught up with that all of our parcels sit in either their Memphis or Indy hubs. Bummer!!!

Anyway, I did get the rear wheel and it came with the tubeless tape already installed so I just had to install the included 60mm tubeless valve and mount the tire. I haven't decided on which size or brand gravel tire I want to use permanently but as of now I'm thinking about the Challenge Gravel Grinder pro tlr's as a go to for versatility on and off road plus they are some of the lightest 42mm tires out there that actually have a protection belt @ 408g per tire. I did mount up one of the Travail Cannonball (protection) tires that came stock on my Warbird to see how that performs for now until I decide on a new set. They are 42mm wide and 540g ea.

Weight difference is huge, on the scale my new setup weighs 1,792g for the Zipp 303s wheel, XX1 10-42 cassette, valve, tape, trp 160mm rotor, tire, and sealant.

The old setup weighed 2,535g for the WTB 123 wheel, Sram PG1130 10-42 cassette, trp 160mm rotor, tube, same tire.

That's 1.6lbs of rotational weight just in the back so far!

I still have yet to ride it with the new wheel, I'm hoping the front will finally show up soon and I will post some ride impressions and pics as well.

chaadster

Hot damn, dvdslw ! Knocking off over 1.5lbs on wheels gotta feel good!

dvdslw

Feels Good is an understatement, the front wheel showed up yesterday and after getting it mounted up I went for a quick spin around the hood and all I can say is Holy S***, what a difference!!! These wheels have completely changed the bike. All said and done after adding 100oz of sealant to each tire for the 1st time tubeless setup the total weight lost was 2.25lbs. I plan to get a new set of tires like the 42mm Challenge Gravel Grinder's that will shave another 1/2 pound compared to these Travail Cannonballs I have on there now but to be honest, if the bike feels as good as I think its going to feel out in the hills today I might just wear these tires out and not worry about them for now. I just so happen to be off work today and its going to be a nice sunny day in the mid 80's here in Central Florida so I'm headed out to ride. I'll let you know how it goes and probably start a new thread later on with my post ride impressions and average Joe review of the Zipps.

msu2001la

Wow, that's a lot of weight that has been dropped. Nicely done. The downside of course is that you've committed yourself to riding fancy wheels forever, because after this stock wheels will feel like absolute garbage!

What kind of tires are you running?

dvdslw

Bike came with a set of 42mm Travail Cannonballs (protection model) that weigh 540g ea installed. I ditched the tubes and put them on the Zipps tubeless. Just got home from a 30 mile shakedown ride and the bike felt great. So much easier to get up to speed and they upped the compliance a bit too. I took it down a brick road that I went down last week with the other wheels and it was immediately apparent that there was some added comfort with the new wheels as well. Very happy with my purchase so far!