WhyFi

Yeah, that is weird - they seem to want and have faith in certain brands yet don't agree with the direction that those brands have chosen.

Vavida52

I have just recently discovered Latex tubes for myself. I am pretty impressed by them. It says that Latex tubes come the closest to tubeless.
I can see the comments incoming saying that nothing compares to tubeless. Fine for me (I don't care). Latex tubes can also be driven with lower pressure than regular tubes. An other factor is weight saving with tubeless. But how much will you save on a road tyre? Other than that, this weight difference is another thing that I don't care about.

I am looking forward to test the Zipps with the new setup.

Razorrock

In my case, I have very little experience in buying a $2,000 wheelset. I searched by name brands that I've heard about or seen on other bikes, Enve, Zipp, Hed. I forgot about Reynolds and am checking them out. Allied bikes are made here locally where i live and they must have a deal with Enve. Those wheels look pretty sharp and I found a deal last summer on a set for $1,200 that normally retails for $2,600. Was about to pull the trigger and noticed the whole hookless thing.

Why buy a set of Linglongs when you can get Goodyears.

N2deep

Im also considering a set of Zipp carbon wheels but the math doesn't work for me. My current set, Bontrager Paradigm Comps, weigh in ~1600 grams or 200 grams more than a nice set of carbon wheels, not a lot of savings for the cash. Have you looked at HEDs? I have a sweet set of Ardennes on my gravel bike and the new Emporias are nice also..

Koyote

I don't know much about such wheels, but I am impressed with some of Bontrager's offerings - as are others, apparently. I think Specialized makes some killer wheels, too, under the name Roval. I'm not sure if they are hooked or hookless rims, but they are probably worth checking out.

Also, have a look at Whisky Parts Co. wheels. They make a couple wheelsets in the $1600 price point which look very nice - carbon rims, DT Aerolite spokes, and DT Swiss 350 hubs. Since Whisky is made by QBP, pretty much any shop can get them for you. (If they are in-stock, which is always the issue right now.)

masi61

I don't want to deter you in trying the latex tubes. I like latex tubes as well. But I use latex tubes with regular clinchers and they are not the easiest tubes to mount pinch free with clinchers. Since it sounds as if Zipp calls for tubeless compatible tires only you should know that by nature of the bead design being manufactured to higher tolerances, getting a latex tube under there without pinching it is not going to be easy. And then there is the issue of weather this type of rim should be used with tubes at all. I thought this rim design ran the risk of blowing the tire off when used with a tube. I am somewhat jealous that you are in possession of such great wheels since my tubeless experience is with the lower end DT Swiss R460 tubeless rims.

GhostRider62

I'm just waiting for the pic....and the Gatorskin label on the sidewall.

Vavida52

Today was the day of the day. First Ride with the Zipp (afterwards I really regretted to ride today because it was so wet and dirty everywhere outside). From riding experience it was just as expected. No issues at all. Latex tubes are fine with the wheels after the first ride. Also had some descents but I could not test the wheels on quicker turns because of the weather conditions. I hope that I won't have issues as well.

masi61

Vavida52 - can I ask what front/rear tire pressures you are running on the Panaracer’s? Also what width are those tires? Oh, and on more question - I think you mentioned you were running “tubeless ready” - in your case is the tire bead very square to where when you mounted the tires the first time , rather bead had to “pop, pop, pop” like full tubeless? Thanks….

Vavida52

Pressure is slightly above 4 bar on front and rear (maybe even a little less pressure is also fine). Gravelking slicks with 32mm (tubeless Ready). Panaracer confirmed to me that the tire can work on hookless (they have tested with other zipp hookless wheel but not the 303S). Don't know how square the bead is. When mounted the banging sound was quite loud (several times) which gives me a good feeling that the tire is seated well.

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masi61

Sounds like you did your “due diligence” in checking out if this combo will work. The lower pressure (4 bar ) that you mention I would imagine would be super comfy. I’d imagine they will roll fast too.

I wish Panaracer would bring back their “Race A Evo tubeless” tire. I have a set of the series 3 Race A Evo’s which I ran all season this year full tubeless. I never had a flat at all. I wore out the rear tire after about 2,000 or 2,500 mile. The grip and road feel of those tires is excellent. I thought about trying the Gravelking slicks if they are full tubeless - I’m curious if they come in a 25mm width and how much they weigh.

Vavida52

The slicks are also available in 700x26. Dont know how much they weigh.

oris

How are you liking the Panaracer's on the 303's? I was looking at picking the Gravelking slicks for a winter tire.

Vavida52

I think they are great "road" tires and quite fast for what they are. Will use them in the summer as road setup. For gravel I would prefed other tires with more Profile.

TeddyHints

I’ve never used a forum before so have no idea how this works. I was hoping to use inner tubes in this wheelset as well (yes I know that’s doesn’t really make sense) My question is have you done this and did it work out ok? Plus the valve holes on the 303s don’t look like they have been drilled very well, mine are certainly not round and a little rough. Are yours a perfect circle ? I can’t post a pic as I haven't done 10 posts.

WhyFi

The valve holes get used whether you use tubes or valve stems; mine are certainly round and well-finished. If you have a concern about yours, I'd contact the dealer from which they were purchased.

As far as it "working out okay," yes, using them with tubes works. The manufacturer says that it does, I've done it and so have many others. No, it doesn't necessarily make a lot of sense to purchase them with the intent of running tubes, but yeah - it works.

Vavida52

On my wheels the valve holes are fine. I have Installed Latex tubes since day one. To be fair I only had 1 Ride outside and a handful of zwift rides. Also had some inflations of the tires because Latex looses air quite fast.
Will only Ride them outside when the bike season begins. Will then probably switch from the Gravelkings to Schwalbe Pro One TLE in 30 mm (someone uses them on the 303s?)

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TeddyHints

Great thanks for the response

TeddyHints

Great thanks for the response