Tubulars: Reynolds or Zipp

I have the opportunity to get a pair of tubulars for road racing /
climbing and am trying to decide between the Zipp 202 and the Reynolds
Cirro KOM wheelsets. On the face they look comparable but am wondering
if you guys could help me decide.

I've seen reviews mentioning Zipp has had some problems with some of
their carbon tubulars (303 iirc) but also remember hearing about
problems with Lews (pre-Reynolds) many years ago. Reliability and
quality are key factors.

Any comments whatsoever would be appreciated - scientific or anecdotal.

Thanks,
WaltA

If you get ZIPP, go for the 303s instead of 202s. They weigh the same
and I can't see why anyone would use the 202s except under the
assumption that smaller is lighter.

Also, three are lots of great manufacturers that use the 303 rim.
American Classic has a wheel that is 1 Kilo even and costs less.

Both Reynolds and ZIPP are fine brands but lower on the cost \
performance scale than other less advertised choices.

Wrote:
I have the opportunity to get a pair of tubulars for road racing /
climbing and am trying to decide between the Zipp 202 and the Reynolds
Cirro KOM wheelsets. On the face they look comparable but am wondering
if you guys could help me decide.

I've seen reviews mentioning Zipp has had some problems with some of
their carbon tubulars (303 iirc) but also remember hearing about
problems with Lews (pre-Reynolds) many years ago. Reliability and
quality are key factors.

Any comments whatsoever would be appreciated - scientific or
anecdotal.

Thanks,
WaltA
I have ridden 303s and 404s and now ride Cirro KOM - IMO the Reynolds
wheels (I also have Stratus and Alta) are far better then the Zipps -
better build quality and much higher spoke tension. Great wheels.


--
peterwright

On 4 Feb 2006 19:34:06 -0800, "Chris M"
wrote:

Both Reynolds and ZIPP are fine brands but lower on the cost \
performance scale than other less advertised choices.

What are some of these others?

JT

****************************
Remove "remove" to reply
Visit http://www.jt10000.com
****************************

wrote:
I have the opportunity to get a pair of tubulars for road racing /
climbing and am trying to decide between the Zipp 202 and the Reynolds
Cirro KOM wheelsets. On the face they look comparable but am wondering
if you guys could help me decide.

I've seen reviews mentioning Zipp has had some problems with some of
their carbon tubulars (303 iirc) but also remember hearing about
problems with Lews (pre-Reynolds) many years ago. Reliability and
quality are key factors.

Any comments whatsoever would be appreciated - scientific or anecdotal.

Thanks,
WaltA

After looking at the innards of the two rims and seeing the tech specs,
like maximum tension of the rims, I would say Reynolds. Neither have
great hubs, need a good lube and adjust when new but of all the
prebuilts out there, and I don't really like many, Reynolds are the
'best', small 'b'.

wrote:
I have the opportunity to get a pair of tubulars for road racing /
climbing and am trying to decide between the Zipp 202 and the Reynolds
Cirro KOM wheelsets. On the face they look comparable but am wondering
if you guys could help me decide.

Don't know about specific carbon tubulars... but I doubt you would be
gaining anything in speed... in fact you may be slower than with a pair
of $400 clinchers. All of the rolling resistance tests I've seen show
that tubulars have a higher rolling resistance... enough to hurt you
more (even on a steep climb), than the tiny weight savings would help
you. The *deep* carbon rims (40mm+) can give significant aero benefits
in cross winds, but this doesn't help much in most road races.

But, as long as you know that...

Thanks to you guys for all the replies. I appreciate your help.
Best regards,
WaltA

John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
On 4 Feb 2006 19:34:06 -0800, "Chris M"
wrote:

Both Reynolds and ZIPP are fine brands but lower on the cost \
performance scale than other less advertised choices.

What are some of these others?

JT

****************************
Remove "remove" to reply
Visit http://www.jt10000.com
****************************

Not sure if the others alluded to are in this "review" or not, but here
are a few other carbon tubular wheels.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=32909

The website may or may not come up. RoadBikeReview has an awful
server. Or something.

wrote:
I have the opportunity to get a pair of tubulars for road racing /
climbing and am trying to decide between the Zipp 202 and the Reynolds
Cirro KOM wheelsets. On the face they look comparable but am wondering
if you guys could help me decide.

I've seen reviews mentioning Zipp has had some problems with some of
their carbon tubulars (303 iirc) but also remember hearing about
problems with Lews (pre-Reynolds) many years ago. Reliability and
quality are key factors.

Any comments whatsoever would be appreciated - scientific or anecdotal.

Thanks,
WaltA

I've owned Zipp, Reynolds, and Cane Creek (Zipp rims on CC hubs) wheels
and would NOT recommend the Reynolds wheels, as they require you to
peel the tire off to true 'em.

As I'm not an engineer I can't definitively say whether the Zipp or CC
hubs are better, but I can say that the CC wheels built w/ the Zipp
rims are less expensive than the Zipp wheels, which makes them my
choice. I have heard from a number of 'techie' friends that they are
very impressed w/ the internal workings of the CC hubs.

S