404 or 808 front with 900 rear?

5’8, 150lbs. Cervelo P2C and my dealer(25% rebate from tri-club) does not sell HEDs. I can average close to 25mph on a sprint.

I’m thinking of going with 900 simply because I don’t want to try to change a tubular during an HIM or IM. Otherwise I’d go with sub-9 as the price difference is small.

Basically I’m wondering how bad can the 808 really be in the wind for someone as light as me. I’d be willing to switch for the normal OEM wheels for extremely strong winds as I’m not looking to qualify for Kona or anything like that.

5’10" 160 - My LBS sold me a 808 to go with my 1080 rear wheel. I raised the same concern you had and was told the 808 would not be a problem. I also spoke with Zipp and was told the same thing.

Is there a Zipp demo center in your area with a 808 front you can test? I think you will be surprised how easy a wheel the 808 is to ride, especially when you pair it with a disc. I would even consider a 1080. The crosswind performance difference between a 404 and 1080 is not all that high, especially since you rarely experience a true crosswind anyway. Think about the races you are currently doing, and the ones you want to do, is wind likely to be a problem? For most of us the answer is no. Sure it is windy sometimes at some races, but do you really want to make a wheel choice based on what might happen? As you mentioned, you have training wheels, so if you show up for the race and there is a 60mph crosswind use those.

Second, no matter what aero wheel you choose, get out and ride it. Train on it, especially on windy days, get used to riding an aero wheel in the wind. Get used to what happens when a semi passes you. People who have problems riding aero wheels typically have one thing in common…they only race on them. You wouldn’t do anything else on race day that you hadn’t tried first…don’t do it with your wheels. Carbon aero wheels are not as fragile as some think they are. Sure you hear about broken wheels, but no one gets online and posts about their ride “I rode my 404s today, they didn’t break, I will let you know how tomorrow goes.” There is a very low percentage of wheel returns compared to total sales, and a relatively small percentage of broken wheels in the pro peloton as well. Ride your race wheels, maybe not everyday, but at least once a week or so. I probably wouldn’t ride a disc this often, but I would train on it some, especially at first, until you became familiar with it.

Also, on the tubular vs clincher thing…don’t change a tubi during a race, use Vittorria PitStop. It may not work everytime, but it is by far the fastest option you have in case of a flat. If it doesn’t work, your race is probably over in anything shorter than a half anyway. Tubulars are lighter, and more aero. Rolling resistance can be debated, but fixing a flat is by far faster using the PitStop.

Whatever you chose, good luck with your race season. You can look up Zipp demo centers on www.zipp.com, go to dealers, demo centers have a yellow “D” logo beside them. Call and see if they have a 404, 808, or 1080, and try before you buy. If there isn’t one close, just know that whatever you chose is going to be fast. The speed differences between 404, 808, and 1080 are huge compared to a box section rim, but compared to each other, they are much closer.

808 front is not as bad in the wind as some claim. I think that if it were actually too windy to safely/easily ride an 808 front you would not be able to ride a 404 either

Great info - I had similar questions/concerns. Appreciate your rec on using PitStop for a tubi flat. Curious as to your opinion on filling the tube with slime. I’ve had some folks say it works great - they had a puncture, the slime sealed the tube and they were on down the road. My LBS says it adds unwanted weight. I’m 5’11’’ 180lbs, so I’m thinking the weight is not much of a factor for me.
Any advice or experience?

Looks like the 808 is a better choice for me.

Now you got me thinking again about tubular vs clincher. I’m really worried about getting tubulars and then in the middle of an Ironman I registered for 1 year before Iget a flat that I just can’t fix and have to DNF. Otherwise I’d go tubulars.

Exact reason I went with clinchers. Better to finish a little slower than DNF.