Zipp 303

It depends on what you paid for them.

List price is $2725 and I paid 75% of that.  The 303 model is not usually discounted. I am guessing that since the 303 model came out in 2013, a newer model must be in the works. So Zipp and their dealers are selling out their existing stock of 303's at a discount. I keep stuff for years and years so being out of date is going to happen anyway. I am happy.

I am replacing some older model Zipp 404 tubulars.  The old wheels are about 10 years old. I bought them used from KathyG on BT.  I will be putting them on sale here if anyone is interested.  The rear wheel has an older model PowerTap hub.  The hub sensor is wired to the head. I didn't want that so I have never even hooked it up.  I suppose the batteries are dead by now.

I have another bike with Zipp 101's.  The idea behind the 101's was to build an aluminum version of the 303s.  So I know what to expect of the 303's. With 25 mm Conti GP4000, I can run much lower pressure in the 101's than wheels with skinnier rims and tires. The ride is plush and really secure in corners.  I would have bought 101's again but Zipp stopped building the 101's and just sell the foreign made Zipp 30's and 60's.  I guess I wanted the higher tech hubs in the 303's and to get wheels manufactured in the US.  Yet again I have bought equipment that is way better than I need for my recreational riding style.  I will make a lot of people riding hybrids feel good about themselves for passing an old slow guy on really nice equipment.  It is a service I provide to the biking community.

did you even read the original post?

It gets even better.  Bike Tires Direct gives points with your purchases that can be used to buy future purchases. It amounts to another 10% of the value of the purchase.  I've got $220 in the BTD bank that I can use for other cool stuff.  It is not 75% off but it is a pretty good discount.

TW

Update:  The wheels arrived but were mismatched.  One had black logos, which was what I ordered, the other had white.  Bike Tires Direct was nice about sending them back.  Shipping the wrong wheels back from Tennessee to Portland and then shipping the correct ones mean it will be another two or three weeks before I have the new wheels on the bike.  If anyone was hanging on edge waiting for me to put my old 404's on sale, you will have to wait a bit longer. The good news is that I will have some nice boxes for shipping them to their new owner.

I have been looking around for some news about new Zipp wheel models.  Nothing so far.  This time of year would not be very good for a product launch.  This sort the end of biking season.  Maybe the cause for the price reduction was just weak sales this year due to  competition from low-priced, foreign-made carbon wheels.

TW

You might want to return them completely and just get a brand new set of the new stuff.  

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/article/zipps-firecrest-gets-better-and-much-cheaper-45104/

Thanks for the information.  In looking for new versions of the 303, my search did not turn up the new Firestrike 404's.  There is undoubtedly a Firestrike 303 in the works, which accounts for the sale price on the older version that I bought.  Looks like the new version of 404's is quite a bit more than I paid.  I will probably just keep them.  

I also bought a bike with the last Dura-Ace 10 speed group ever produced.  I have a knack it seems.  I paid full price of that bike.  In fairness, it is a wonderful drivetrain.  But it would have been nice to have the coolest equipment for a day or two at least.

TW

My Zipp 303's are finally here.  There was quite a delay.  I had to cancel the original order.  When the mismatched wheels arrived back at the retailer, they admitted that they did not have a matching set available and would have to order them.  Two emails and a phone call later that order was canceled.  Eventually, the company agreed to the cancellation but if you want prompt results, call rather than email.  I re-ordered from Excel Sports in Boulder, CO who had a set in stock at a better price ($1898) than the original company. No VIP points offered at Excel so it is pretty much the same deal.  

As I originally suspected, a new model of Zipp 303 is coming out.  According to the Zipp web site, production on the original Firecrest 303 ended in July 2015.  The manufacturing date on my wheels is July 1, 2015.  I have continued my string of getting the last of a product line.  It is certainly ok this time.  I was wrong in my response to Jason N.  The new model of 303 wheels are much cheaper than the older model.  The price has come down from $2725 to $2150 for set.   Still, I am happy with discount I got on the older model. 

These black on black wheels will look great on my Litespeed Siena.  I will post pictures when I get them mounted.  It will be next week sometime when I am in Atlanta.

If you are on the Silver Comet next weekend and you see a guy with white hair on a Litespeed smiling wildly, it is probably me. Be sure to wave. 

TW

I will be putting them on a Litespeed Siena.  The frame is bare titanium with yellow decals.  It has carbon fiber fork and seat stays.  The carbon chain stays look really beefy and strong.  With big 25 mm tires, it will look really rugged, sort of cyclocross-y.  I shall post a picture.  The Siena is in Atlanta and I am in Oak Ridge, TN so it will be a few days.

Today, I shall do battle with a pair of Continental 4000's to get them to agree to mount on the rims.  Zipp wheels are made at the high end of the standard diameter range for 700 mm wheels.  I do not expect it to be easy.  

An update.

I mounted the GP 4000's. It was easy compared to most tires.  I had more trouble with Zipp's rim tape.  The tape has no glue.  It is nylon tape that comes joined together in a loop that you pop onto the rim.  Problems occur if you fail, as I did, to match the valve hole in the tape to the hole in the rim or if the tape is not centered in the rim.  For a moment this seemed like an unrecoverable mistake.  Good news is that it is possible to get a fingernail, if you have one, under the edge of the tape then progressively slide it over the edge of the rim to remove it.  Then, you can go for a second try and better positioning.

I was surprised by how easy it was to get the Conti tires on the rim.  I mounted the front wheel in the fork, adjusted the brakes, tightened the cable up and every thing looked great.  I was feeling pretty good at this point.  Then I slipped the rear wheel into the dropouts.  I lowered the bike to the floor and put some weight on it to seat the axle in the dropouts, closed the quick release, and lifted the bike to give the wheel a spin.  It did not spin.  I fiddled with the brake for a second before realizing that the tire was rubbing on the frame.  The carbon seat stays are formed as a single piece.  This assembly attaches to a lug at the back post.  This bit of complex fitment means that there is a less clearance for the tire than on conventional metal seat stays that are welded to the sides of the seat post.

I removed the wheel, removed the tire from the rim, and put on a 700x23 tire that was an old spare.  This one fit with plenty of clearance.  I like the ride of the 700x25 Conti's.  I also like the gray reflective strip that matches the titanium of the frame, but the tires don't fit.  It will be a while before I have some matching tires front and back.  As of 2015, Conti is only making bland black/black 4000's.  Apparently, I got the last of old stock again.  I can't get the same color combo in 700x23 tires.  Too bad.  I could go with Michelin's or Vittorio's and get most any color on the sidewalls, but I was set on the Conti's.  I haven't decided.  I am really caught up on the looks of the bike right now for some reason.  There was a time in my life that the only thing that mattered about a tire was that it held air.  I was a lot faster then too.

I think that the colors were recently discontinued. When I ordered the 25s in August, they had some colors in 23 but not the full range.  Apparently, that. was the last of them.  I looked several places.  All my usual sources did not list colors other than black/black or black/no skin. .  I could get colors from Amazon from Japan, but at exactly twice the U.S. price.  I will keep looking for a while I ride the mismatched tires.  I've read that it is hipster to ride a very mismatched bike.  

I got to ride the new Zipp 303's this weekend.  The bike is in Atlanta and we haven't been there much in the past three weeks.  When we were, it was raining.  We were in town from Friday evening to Sunday morning.  On Saturday, the weather was marginal with intermittent light drizzle.  The roads were mostly damp or wet.  But I rode anyway just because I wanted to see how the 23 tires felt on the road.  My impression is that there is very little difference between the old Zipp 404 with tubulars and the new 303's with 23 clincher tires.   I ran the tires at 100 psi.  I think the tire diameter makes the most difference.  I wish the 25 mm Conti GP4000's had fit.  

However, in the looks department all is good.  The bike looks great -- the plain black rims with the carbon rear stays and carbon front fork, the bare titanium.  It is ready for a criterium.  To make it look racier, I took off the frame pump and the bulky Topeak beam rack that I had when I used this bike for commuting in Atlanta.  It looks really spare and rugged.

I find my thoughts on the looks of the bike amusing.  I am embracing my inner Fred.  I have really changed about bike gear in the last few years.  I used to ride a Raleigh 10 speed and by 10 speed I mean 2 gears in the front and 5 in the back for total of 10 gear combinations.  It was a carbon steel frame.  I rode it to work, for weekend rides for fun, and for some errands.  I was most disdainful of those who had fancy bikes and did not ride them fast, hard, and frequently.  Sadly, I am in the other camp now it seems. 

Last question, do you think some nice carbon bottle cages would make it look sharper.  Would a carbon seat post be too much?  Do you think I should go for a titanium post and bottle cage instead?  Titanium skewers?  Those would look good?

No pictures?

I did not have time to set the bike up for pictures.  We really were only there for a day.  Next trip.  I think we are going back this weekend.

A picture of the new wheels.  I rode it yesterday in somewhat nicer weather than the first ride a week ago.  

I have ordered Zipp carbon bottle cages and I have a Zipp Beyond Black stem to install.  While I am upgrading I may get a new saddle.  This one is not the most comfortable one I own.

Next step is to list some of the parts removed in the classified.  I will put a good price on them.

Very cool.