carleton

I rode my personal best F200M on a set of Mavic Ellipse. They are pretty fast wheels. They are popular for a reason.

mcafiero

Nice

Dalai

Personally haven't - but they get some good comments on the UK Time Trialling forum https://www.timetriallingforum.co.uk.

Look to be just generic rims and hubs at a good price. Though I don't believe they are the in vogue wider rim or toroidal rim shape.

I am thinking of buying the 250g 20mm carbon tubular rims (I have read these are the same supplier for FFWD), as I should be able to build a sub kg climbing wheelset with a light set of road hubs I have waiting to be used...

carleton

Update:

The 404s laced to Dura Ace hubs are very light. Dual 404s with Dura Ace hubs are 400g lighter than the Mavic IO/Comete set.

Great for mass start racing for sure.

JMR

I picked up a barely used Zipp 808 Zedtech front on ebay for a REALLY good price, it goes nicely with my Zipp 900 Disc.

Keep an eye out at the end of triathlon season and you can usually pick up something for a good price... they have usually been used for one race before the owner realizes that regardless of how much money you spend on gear, you still need the legs to push it.

JMR

Jaytron

When's the end of tri season?

JMR

Over here in Austalia it finishes up in late march... not sure over there, I assume it would be towards the end of summer.

JMR

myth001

Sorry for digging up this old thread, but this is great to have such info in one place...

Would love to hear any updates on newer models of these wheelsets and/or others?

And how would custom ones like BladeX, PlanetX etc fare against these (saw quite a few of those in the races recently)? Considering the perfomance/$$$ value...

gtrob

Its a timeless thread I think

My race wheels are the zipp 900 combo (1080 front, flat dimpled disc in the rear). The wheel set is very light, and from the data I have seen the 1080 is nearly as fast as a disc, but not much faster than an 808.

I have a few chinese wheels built up, I think the build matters more than the rim itself. They are solid hoops, but I would rather buy the hoop and have a local builder lace them.

wens

Raced last season on planet x tubulars for both road and track. They spin, and they're starting to get the blunt talking edge profile. Fwiw they're gigantex hoops, available pretty widely.

garlic_rice

I've heard pretty much nothing but good things about Wabi's wheelset, but only from people who use them on the street. On paper, they look like they'd be perfect starter wheels:
-Price (around the same, if not cheaper, than Deep V's to Formulas)
-Weight (supposedly lighter than Ellipse and Open Pro/Phils, according to Richard from Wabi)

Has anyone here ever used them on the track? Would these go up there with the Velocitys as a great starter set?

Brian Ratliff

^^^*shrug*^^^

At the cheap end of wheelsets, the bar isn't high. If it rolls and accepts a cog and tire.... it'll work.

Quinn8it

I stay away from any wheel that doesn't use a track nut

TrackMonkey7

This has probably been asked and answered elsewhere, but I can't seem to find it. How do Cometes compare aerodynamically to the bevy of Zipp discs?

carleton

For all intents and purposes, they are the same. Ride the one you get for free...that's what the pros do

Quinn8it

Zipp makes excellent disc wheels. The mavics are likely slightly better..

It would be up to the user to determine if the significant difference in price justified the marginal gains..

Jared.

I used them last season and plan on doing so again this season. They work perfectly fine as a starter set for the track. I have the older version that uses track nuts. They are light and durable.

queerpunk

i figure if you've got a rear disc wheel, changing it in some way probably has a very marginal effect on aerodynamics.

the reason that sprinters and most other top-tier riders use Cometes is because they're lenticular, and that makes them stiffer. modern Zipps have a reputation for being a big pliable under the weight and power of elite sprinters at speed on banking.

so, that's why the Comete, PRO, and FFWD discs are used at high levels.

enduros tend to be a bit less discriminating.

Quinn8it

I just switched from a brand new set of FFWD: Linticular disc rear/ 5 spoke front
to a used set of Zipps: 900 Disc rear/Spoked 808 front

there is zero perceivable difference in the stiffness of the rear disc-

but the Zipps weigh a lot less than the FFWD!!!

Carleton is right- the Pros ride what they get for free!!!

TrackMonkey7

Thanks carleton and Quinn!

And given that I'm 5'10" and 155#, I probably won't have to worry too much about stiffness

carleton

Yeah, I agree.

I've had the Zipp 900 (borrowed) and Mavic Comete (owned) at the same time and I didn't notice a difference in feel. And I'm pretty picky about how things feel. The sound was different, but that's because the Zipp is filled with a honeycomb pattern of filler with a carbon-ish outer layer. The Comete is hollow with a carbon shell.

The Comete sounds cooler I was told that it sounds like a freight train when I'm bearing down on someone as I approach to pass.

taras0000

Bet it sounds even better on a wooden 'drome! Like a freight train on a wooden rollercoaster.

FPC

I recently got a set of Cane Creek volos track used.

Tubular, never street ridden/skids, and cheap!

I'm looking to replace the bearings (the rear hub bearings will need attention soon) but haven't had any luck.

carleton

I'd venture to guess that any good local bike shop can replace them for you. Bearings on those wheels are probably "normal" and nothing exotic.

If you want to do it yourself, maybe ask in Bicycle Mechanics. They will help sort you out on tools and part numbers.

taras0000

If they are cartridge bearings, hen they will bear a stamp designating the bearing type. You can use this stamp to source out replacement bearings yourself if you wish. A shop will know what to do when it comes to getting you replacements.