In reality ... probably not.

The difference between Flo and other makers in terms or aerodynamics is minimal, with some big names actually slower. The biggest area you might see a difference is in weight since Flo wheels are not that light, but in a TT or flatter Tri, it's not going to make much difference with weight either.

Keep the Flo wheels, ride the crap out of them ... when they die, replace them.

This. I think we have long ago reached the point of diminshing returns on aero wheels, and it is equally likely that Zipp would actually be slower. In fact, Zipp had long designed for higher average yaw, so the odds are probably higher that Zipp (and others with similar design inputs) would be slower.

Did you see the movie "Dumb and Dumber"?
Performing such an act would put the movie to shame....

Take your wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend/date out for a really nice meal. You'll get more enjoyment from it.

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'It never gets easier, you just get crazier.'

I've seen plenty of people upgrade from cheap TT bikes with training wheels to things like P5s with discs and deep dish front, but haven't had massive gains in performance. A bit quicker 2 - 3mins (70.3), but then they've also upped their training, so really I think the difference in performance between Flo and Zipp is going to be negligible.

I have (had) all of the above except ENVEs.

Well, you wouldn't need to true a solid ZIPP disc, so there is that.

And quality still seems to be a notch better (yeah, some will disagree).
So in the long run there may be some benefits if you take care of your equipment.

Unless he has our new carbon clincher model wheels which are actually lighter than some of the brands you mentioned ;). Not trying to be difficult, just clarifying since many people have no idea we have a lightweight carbon clincher line now.

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Chris Thornham
Co-Founder And Previous Owner Of FLO Cycling

Tom A did a test of a bunch of different wheels in the specialized win tunnel, and while the zipp wheels weren't included, hed and specialized wheels were. The graph is all over slowtwitch, shouldn't be too hard to find it. With the right tire, the flo 90 won. If you want a light wheel you could, as mentioned above, get some flo carbon clinchers, but you might as well just find some old Continental supersonics if you can and know your wheels are at least the equal of any of the others aerodynamically.

Hell no don't do that are you kidding? Go to Tibet or something idk anything instead

Thanks for your reply Chris. I don't have the new carbon set--just the "old" carbon/aluminum set from 2015 that I have only raced on for one 70.3. I love the wheels, and am not fast enough to "deserve" the new ones. However, I'm buying a new tri bike and am tempted to upgrade...

I'm sure the carbon set could move me up to at least the middle of my age group, haha!

Chris, what about upgrading yours 2014 aluminium 90s with ceramics to carbon 60/90. As oposite to OP I tend to ride fast, which is like really fast - slightly below 44kmph on flater courses. For disc legal courses I use aerojacket. Wheels will be mounted to new Canyon Speedmax cf slx. another question is 25 or 23 on the back? Canyon originally puts there 25 for some reason.
The A start for this year is Kona.


I always dreamed of having zipps - i guess I'm not the only one, their marketing department is doing their job really good. After being in this sport for 6 years already I know that it's the logo that does the magic, not the performance of the wheels. But even though when I see those new NSW I start to hasitate what's better.

What about races where you do encounter cross winds like Kona ? Worth the upgrade ? I read the Enves are particularly good in the cross winds

I am in the OPs position and wondering the same cheers

Definitely, if it were both true and objectively quantifiable.

When Zipp and Enve started losing a lot of side-by-side wind tunnel comparisons a few years ago, they shifted their marketing to focus on handling handling over speed... The problem is that handling is essentially an intangible, and their claims read like the back of a red wine label. So, unless they can prove that their wheels handle crosswinds better, and they define what that means, then I still would not be inclined to spend the premium dollars to buy their slower products.

Ok thanks

It is so hard to look through the marketing and even at supposedly independent testing - every time I read an article , like the recent tests in the U.K. , the protocol is attacked as flawed whilst at the same time any pro who (in this case ) was sponsored by Enve comes alive on twitter 'confirming ' they are indeed the best

Minutes do matter to me but do I want to buy a new set of FLOs (old ones are battered ) or pay more than double for a set of Enves

If they were worth 5 mins in an IM I might do but no one can tell me they are

Cheers Steve

Definitely not, FLO gets you 95%-99% of the way there. The last 5% you are paying a 50-100% premium for. Unless you are gunning for Kona it is simply not worth it.

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That's true. I did IM Los Cabos last year on Flo's and frankly felt like I was dragging boat anchors up the hill. Downhill was a different story....

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Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

What year are your Flos? Are they the current gen CC?

The prev gen - from around 2015 or so.

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Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

Yeah, that would explain it. It is worth upgrading to new CC Flos from those. They were anchors for sure.

Definitely anchors :D Especially with aerojacket.

Here's a look at how the various combination compare over several courses.

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Chris Thornham
Co-Founder And Previous Owner Of FLO Cycling

I just posted comparision charts for the Old vs. New FLO wheels above. What brand/model tire are you referring to? Have you seen our interactive tire chart on our website?

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Chris Thornham
Co-Founder And Previous Owner Of FLO Cycling

No, not worth the extra cash. Should you want to move up to something lighter and slightly more aero, Chris makes a really good point about their new carbon clinchers, which amazingly are only a couple hundred dollars more.

Canyon puts on rear GP TT 25mm when you buy it with Zipp 808 NSW or GP 4000S II 25mm with basic wheels. For front wheel they always put the GP 4000S II in 23mm size.

Thanks for the comparison. 55seconds isn't close to nothing, but it's hard to justify the expenses.. :( especially that in 2015 I rode Kona in 4h40' so gain would be even smaller.