I hate to be a dick about this but why ask ST when in the same amount of time you could have sent this in an email to Zipp or even called them?

I thought about that too but Slow Twitch is full of guys like me (plus or minus a few dicks....jk!) so I thought is would be worth seeing what experiences people had had with this. Zipp has been very good to me with wheel problems over the years so I don't even want to bother them if my request is out of line. I just thought it would be worth some discussion.

Carbon doesn't bend.

Is the wheel just out of true?

Actually, the wheel still seems to be pretty true it just has a bulge in the rim which fractured the carbon just a tiny bit. The brakes make a "thump thump thump" sound. All the spokes are still tight (as far as I can tell).

The aluminum rim is bent and the carbon is cracked.

You might want to try to find a new rim and have it rebuilt.

That rim is done. Check with Zipp about any crash replacement deal they can offer.

...since when does carbon fiber not bend?

When a 404 rim hits a rock and looks bent, it is actually fractured.

I had a near identical issue with my FLO front wheel. I hit some large rocks at about 30 MPH. The rim was bent, but the carbon fairing was in tact. Everyone said that the wheel was toast. I took it to my LBS & my guy was able to carefully bend the rim back & file down any sharp edges. The wheel spins true. That was over a year ago & I have ridden that wheel weekly since then.

Your situation is a bit different though because it looks like the damage extends into the fairing. Given the age of the wheel, I would agree that it's likely toast, but if you have a good LBS mechanic who knows his shit, have them take a look.

The carbon on a Flo wheel is not structural. The carbon on a 404 is. The OP's wheel is toast, and it would be extremely dangerous to try to ride it.

Gotcha. I assumed the 2008 404 with the aluminum rim was similar to the FLO. My mistake.