As I’ve said before I’m in the tentative stages in purchasing a deep, aero wheelset and am a little apprehensive about buying a disc. There are 2 reasons for this; the first being all the horror stories I’ve heard about the handleing issues of a disc and 2. It seems disc are for the elite, the studs who blast by you at 25mph up a hill while your struggling to maintain 21. and by no means am I that guy { or girl for that matter }.While drooling through the zipp brochure I found the section on 606’s and it seemed like a dream come true. With the 404 front and 808 back they look relativley noob bike handler friendly, but am I right? What I’m really trying to say here is would you reccomend a pair of 606’s for me if I am a newbie at bike handling but still want something aero? Hope I got the point across…
Reality is that it is largely the front wheel that is affected by wind, hence the torque steer. Frontal discs are a no-no but you won’t notice any difference between a rear disc and a rear deep dish. I’ve raced both and will testify to this. In fact if you where to run a front trispoke with a rear box rim, you’d notice way more front torque steer than if with a rear disc. The disc tends to balance out the front wheel in cross winds.
There is absolutely no logic why discs are banned in Kona and unless you’re expecting to qualify don’t shy away from the disc. And discs are not just for elites. Everybody will pick up the same % performance gain regardless of your speed. This means in terms of actual time gained, the BOP rider will gain more time with a disc than the FOP rider.
And your point is? 
Maybe the peace of mind or confidence you get by not riding a disc wheel will make up for the time differential between the 606 and a disc (on a hilly and windy course).
You could always later sell the 606 and buy a disc 
Keep in mind that this comment comes from a person who prefers to race on 404s…
How about looking at the performance data on the difference between the 808 rear (which is what the back half of a 606 set is), and a full disk. I think a full disk was at best a few seconds over a 40TT. Zipp should have this data on their website.
Disc, 606, and 404 wheels, are all very sensitive, high performance products that should only be used by racers with 4-8 years of experience. Think about it. If it were safe for newbies to use these type of wheels, why wouldn’t bike manufacturers put them on the expensive 3-6,000 dollar bikes?
you’re not serious right??? maybe they make a bike a touch harder to handle IF it’s windy but the confidence and experience to ride a deep wheel can be learned in months not years… They don’t (usually) put them on bikes because: a) most people prefer not to train on race wheels, b) race wheels are expensive and at that price people usually want to pic which wheels they buy versus them being spec’d with the bike, and c) it’s much more fun to upgrade to race wheels than to later downgrade buying a pair of training wheels.
Please tell me you’re not serious or I need to put my disc in the closet for a while and a bunch of my fast friends do too;)
BTW Litespeed, QR, & Felt all spec bikes with high end wheel sets
Don’t buy a disc wheel, try an inexpensive cover 1st.
I don’t think there will be much of a performance or handling difference between the 808 and the disk. Go with whichever one you like the looks of more and then forget about it. I think discs are sexier and a lot more fun but I doubt it makes me much faster than if I had an 808 rear. But it does sound cooler!
One thing to think about if you’re a newbie is to get a cheaper aero wheel set for now like a RENN disc or something. I have a Zipp that’s a few years old and love the light weight but it is a big investment.
if you have the money, get the 808 rear and add some $50 disc covers to that. Rich at wheelbuilder can help you. He cut my covers and did a great job. This will allow you to ride very aero deep rim rear wheel or a very lightweight disc. very nice options to have.