http://www.competitivecyclist.com/...64_M1&mv_pc=r105

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

New hubs look nice but would like to have seen the internal width increase from ~17mm to maybe 21mm but even then, at that price point I would go fror a custom set of Enve carbon wheels with Extralite or Tune hubs.

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¯\_(ツ)_/¯

True but with Firestrike there is no risk of getting dropped by your coach mid season

Boots, my friend, that's gold right there.

Post-Of-The-Week for sure!

On the serious side - it's called R & D and innovation. You watch some of the features in this wheel will trickle down and be available on less expensive wheels by ZIPP in the future.


Cervelo did this with the California Project frame. Who's going to buy a $10,000 frame? They only made about 300. I know some were bought and others used by the Garmin-Sharp team, but then, some of those features and technology introduced on the RCA, was available in the other R-series Cervelo bikes, within a year or two, at a fraction of the cost!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

But they use silicon carbide....

(if you aren't a top gear fan, watch the first minute here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE_WqdKbTvY )

My bad... i got too tri focused. Yes in road racing I've smelled my pads many of times. They like to mostly water down most bike courses for the masses in triathlons.

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TrainingBible Coaching
http://www.trainingbible.com

Agreed. Anyone can spend their money on premium gear if they can afford it. To a poor person, buying a bike for anything other than getting to a job would be considered wasteful.

That said, the socialist side of me would like to think if I ever had that kind of dough I would invest in altruistic projects...

Mm hmm.

OK, I'll just pop over to the FLO website and place an order. Oh, they're out of stock? OK, I'll just order and let them fill their backorders at their own pace. Oh, they don't do that? OK, I'll get on the preorder list. Oh, they don't do that? OK, I'll just wait around for the next order shitshow and pray that my click-fu is up to snuff. Oh, there were server issues again and I missed out because some dentist made his receptionist buy him his 4th set of FLOs?

It's been discussed ad nauseum elsewhere, and this is kinda off-topic, so I think we'll just have to agree to disagree. I'm just really happy that I'm not in the market for a wheelset, FLO or Firestrike or otherwise.

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Eliot
blog thing - strava thing

I've ordered twice - including on the pre order and haven't had as much difficulty as you believe there to be. You go on a couple minutes before the start time and then make you selection. If you miss out there's another order the following month roughly. Seems worth it to save some money.

I must be smarter than you I guess. *shrug*

Funny, I thought when you buy something you are "spending" money, not saving it!

As to the Firestrikes, they seem to be trying to say that they are the absolute "best" wheels on that market to command such a premium over their already very good other wheels. I wonder if these new wheels will come with hubs that don't crap out every few thousand miles...

Classy. Have a nice weekend.

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Eliot
blog thing - strava thing

I am curious to see if they will still sell the Firecrest wheels.

In the world of expensive wheels, $3600 is not that expensive really. Lightweight wheels are in the $7-8k range. Reynolds Rzr's are $4500

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Kevin

http://kevinmetcalfe.dreamhosters.com
My Strava

I don't have a dog in this fight, but I just bought a pair of FLOs in the order week before last. I went on the web site 5 minutes before the sale began. Buying my wheels took under 60 seconds, since I knew what I wanted. It was effortless and I really don't understand what all the fuss is about.

Well, something you're making out to be a huge deal many people have done many times. What's your explanation for why they can all handle it and you can't?

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The point is, ladies and gentleman, that speed, for lack of a better word, is good. Speed is right, Speed works. Speed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

Shoe cover speed gains are rider dependent. Jim at ERO sports has confirmed that shoe covers don't always reduce drag in their testing.

 

>On the serious side - it's called R & D and innovation. You watch some of the features in this wheel will trickle down and be available on less expensive wheels by ZIPP in the future.

Zipp seems to be putting very little effort into their less expensive wheels. Right now that seems to include the Zipp 30 and 60, and those are Zipp circa 2010, in just two depths, with no Firecrest-like shape.


The trickle down seems to be happening with Zipp->other manufacturers.

I'm a bit befuddled by Zipp's line as well. IMO, a wise business strategy would be three tiers: low, medium, and high. Their low end could be something like a zipp 101: aluminum with a toroidal shape and steel bearings. Middle ground would be a firecrest shape but on an aluminum wheel with steel bearings. High end would be pure carbon (tubular or clincher) with the new "firestrike" shape and ceramic bearings.

I guess they have this now but, IMO, their price points are way off. Ideally you'd make the "middle choice" wheel the one with the highest margin as consumers tend to gravitate toward the "middle choice" so long as it is within their income. Use the high-end product as a "halo" if you will.

Well, with the 60 and 80 being the old 404 and 808, those at least have "trickled down". There hasn't been much time since the FireStrike was announced to see if the FireCrest shape will migrate downwards - I'd give it some time.

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The point is, ladies and gentleman, that speed, for lack of a better word, is good. Speed is right, Speed works. Speed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

Where is this Zipp 80 that you speak of? I don't see it on their website

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

I thought there was a Zipp 80 that was the old SRAM S80, same as the 60. Guess I just assumed that when they did the 60.

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The point is, ladies and gentleman, that speed, for lack of a better word, is good. Speed is right, Speed works. Speed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

I'm not in the market for a wheelset, and thank god I'm not. Every indignant response to my post IN PINK has seemed to miss that.

Listen, I applaud the FLO guys for embarking on a difficult adventure and making a good product. I acknowledge that they've delivered to lots and lots of happy customers. I also can't ignore the however-many-hundreds-of-posts thread that debates their business model ad nauseum, nor the dueling "Yay I successfully ordered a wheel" vs "FLO order problem" threads every single time they release a new batch of wheels and sell them out in 90 seconds.

There's a certain elegance in being able to just buy a particular product when you'd like to, no?

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Eliot
blog thing - strava thing

This is one of the best posts I have ever read on Slowtwitch

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

I contacted Zipp and asked about a future Zipp 80 (the old 808). They said they have no plans to release one. Therefore we are stuck with the Zipp 60s. I think there's a market for a Zipp 60 and Zipp 80 for the mid level crowd. They should really think about making a Zipp 80

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

Meh... I really don't get the Zip focus anyway. I'd rather go with November Rails (which I have) or HED Jet 5 Express and get wider rims that work better with 23c tires. The classic hybrid toroidal is old and busted.

Or, soon, the Hadrons. Or Flos. So many better options...

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The point is, ladies and gentleman, that speed, for lack of a better word, is good. Speed is right, Speed works. Speed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

I agree with you 100%. The toridal shape is definitely outdated. But the budget crowd really doesn't care and would probably buy them.

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/