The new 808 firecrest clincher is faster than the 1080, so it is kinda redundant. There is no reason to have a deeper wheel if the shallower wheel is faster.

Unless you prefer an aluminum braking surface.

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ishi no ue ni san nen | Perseverance will win in the end. | Blog | @nebmot | Strava | Instagram |

I get that, but am wondering if they will be releasing an updated (faster) version of the 1080. They still list the 1080 tubie, as well...

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If it is, Jordan said it wouldn't be a firecrest model because the wheel would be too big for a lot of bikes so I have no idea on that.

Bontrager *supposedly* has a tubie wheel that is faster than 808 FC at only 50mm.... Whether it is just a coincidence or not, those riding it have been putting out some eye-opening performances on the bike. Time will tell what becomes of this wheel.

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You mean bontrager has a HED rim??

No I believe this is a full Bontrager rim, but yes it could be made by HED but regardless only the bonty sponsored athletes have it and they are crushing bike splits everywhere.

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Unless its a prototype its HED made, all the deep rims on their website have HED label on them.

dare I ask how you conclude that it is faster than the 808fc at just 50mm?

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

Cause people are riding faster on it DUH!!!!!!!

This is the wheel:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/...elbeke/photos/164952

You'll recall Fabian had a bunch of wheel issues in the classics this year.

So, after those wheel issues, what wheels were on the bike at PR? These wheels:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/...paris-roubaix/168050

NOT the new wheels. Wonder why...

As far as it being faster than the 808 FC, "In god we trust; all others bring data."

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

Jackmott,

It is all hearsay from some of the athletes themselves but there have been some nice performances on it including:

New Orleans 70.3 - Dibens and Jackson (1st and 3rd fastest split)
Galveston 70.3 - Lieto (fastest split and won the race on the bike)
California - Jackson (fastest split and would have won the thing on the bike had Carfrae not hit this gas pedal at the very end)
California - Zucco (only ager that I know of that has the wheel and puts 10 mins into Hola on the bike and slaughters the age group race with his bike)
2010 Tour De France Prologue - Lance has 4th fastest bike

I am sure there are lots of other stellar performances and some dismal ones too. It was interesting though with Galveston as a lot of the pros were scrambling to downgrade depth with the strong crosswinds and the 808/1080 riders seemed to have their hands full. If the statement holds it would seem Lieto got to have his cake and eat it too.

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I'm not sure a rider going faster on x equipment is conclusive enough to say that its the equipment thats faster. It may just be the rider in my opinion/ probably most likely.

Also I would just call zipp if you want to get some I'm sure they have some older stock they'd be willing to sell.

Agreed. I ride 808 Firecrest and have always ridden Zipp but it is tough to ignore the confidence some of these athletes have regarding the wheel. Rapp has a lot of confidence in Zipp and as do I, but I don't hear anyone else talking about the benefits of their wheel with such strong confidence. I will also pair this with a conversation I had with one of the athletes listed above regarding their Speed Concept last year. The person said and quote "honestly I feel like I am cheating" in regards to their SC. The real benefits besides the aero is that it is 50mm and nobody was scared off by high winds while the likes of Rasmus Henning switched to 303 clincher from a 1080 at Galveston. Versatility is a greatly underestimated property when you travel often to race.

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No, just no... you're correlation is just, no please just stop. You're talking to sponsored athletes and they come up with "honestly it feels like cheating" and you bite that hook line and sinker??? They'd be just as fast on a Cervelo P4 or even faster. Or they could be slower. You'd never know. You're argument about lower depth benefits means nothing. Are there times when crosswind is so high you'd be better off with a lower depth wheel than a high depth wheel that'll be a handful? SURE. This doesn't mean it's more aero. FAR from it, in typical cases. Might as well buy a 404 firecrest then if you believe otherwise. You're saying what akins to 404 FC's being faster than 808 FC's. Have you talked to athletes who have independently been on firecrests and these bontrager wheels?

Yes just yes. First off not everyone I listed is a Trek Speed Concept sponsored athlete so please check your facts b.efore jumping down my throat with your erroneous assumptions And secondly there is reason a 1080 firecrest is not in the works - because you can't scale the dimensions. Maybe just maybe the 50mm I am talking about can't scale to 80mm or even 60mm and thus is not feasible at those sizes. Honestly I don't know enough about the wheel to speak to the technical aspects of it but all I know is Chris Lieto doesn't just ride something because someone says it is fast and is given to him. Did I say somewhere that that the 404 FC is faster than the 808 FC? Just to clarify I am NOT saying the 404 firecrest is faster than the 808 - I am saying this particular 50mm proto rim profile by Bontrager is *faster* than 82mm Firecrest.

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ok so you have no idea how fast the bontrager rim is then.

noted

it does seem like bontrager is putting the wheel under people who would have won the bike split anyway though! good marketing ;)

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

I've been very curious about the wheel Kloden has been racing on the front in TTs. He's crushing it this year and the front wheel he's using doesn't look all that deep. Could be this new Bonty 50mm?

there is no scientific basis for what you've just said here.

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-Jason
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Is that all you've got? Are you sure?

This guy was also a big fan of riding a low-profile front wheel. And that wheel was fast!


(as a bonus boys and girls, that is correct saddle height)

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i like that he said you guys are making "erroneous assumptions." pretty awesome.

 >"In god we trust; all others bring data."

So you make a claim that the new Bonty wheel could be prone to failure based on second-hand, circumstantial evidence relating to a single rider at a single race, and then pontificate to everyone else on the need to back up claims with hard data?

The owner of Slipstream sports (Matt Johnson) mentioned that Fabian did a bike change before the cobbles to switch from the deep wheels to the more traditional ones. So I don't think the wheels failed...they weren't tested.

is that the same frame or one like the one you had? Is it a pre 2008 transition, it has a super short head tube.

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ishi no ue ni san nen | Perseverance will win in the end. | Blog | @nebmot | Strava | Instagram |