I know a disk is ideal, for almost every occasion, but I can only afford one set of wheels. I would like to use these for St. Croix and then for IMLP.
My background is road racing and I am about 170lbs. I only mention this for the 808 on the front question.
Thanks.
And they WILL be tubular.
I ran 404’s at St. Croix last year, vs. Hed Superlight and H3, and they were perfect.I was actually surprised that more people don’t run disks there. I would suggest getting a disk and then renting a rear wheel (404 or 808) for St. Croix if you feel you need to. I have been debating purchasing a set of 404’s or 808’s this year to put a power tap on and I’m a little undecided as well. I think either would be ok on St. Croix.
Burt’s advice may be better than mine here since he has done St. Croix and I haven’t yet. It is one of the remaining epics I want to try.
One thing I have heard, and perhaps Burt or someone else who has done St. Croix can speak to this from experience, is that the bike course in St. Croix is about more than just The Beast.
It is also about some pretty rough pavement in spots and a lot of wind on the back side of the bike course after you climb The Beast. Those are things to consider when deciding on wheels.
It might be nice to have something with very light rim weight for the sustained climbs at Lake Placid too. The guy to ask about Lake Placid might be Chip (record10carbon on this forum I think). Chip is veteran of more than one Lake Placid race and knows the course well.
If you take a que from the pros there are a lot of deep section (808 depth) rears being used on a wide variety of terrain. I think if I were limited to one set of race wheels (heaven forbid…) I would use Zipp 606’s, which is a 58 mm deep front and an 80 mm deep rear, effectively, an 808 in the rear with a 404 up front. That is a reasonable compromise between weight, aerodynamics and cross wind stability.
I hope that helps.
i ran a disk at st. croix last year and it was the right wheel for me. the course usually kicks up some heavy wind gusts which make a disk powerful. the important part is to remember a 25 or 27 rear cassette. i used a 23 last year and this was nearly not enough (it’s nice to have the option of spinning up the beast). 808’s would also make for a powerful wheelset on the course with the 30+ miles of rollers after the beast. this course kicks ass!
This was close to what I was thinking as well. I’ll preface my thoughts by saying that I didn’t go to race the course. I went to just merely partake in the event, thus a 2:54 bike. But I did come away thinking I could have ran a disk on my bike and raced the course effectively. Right gearing would be essential. 808’s would probably be great. I think if I had a pick I would choose the 808’s for St. Croix.
606
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How about 808’s for IMLP? I am leaning more in the 808 direction, sounds like they would be great for St. Croix.
I think the 606 gives you more options down the road. Add a 999 and you then have almost limitless options. Also, depending on your size it may be nice to have the 404 upfront.
999 is a 900 disk in the rear and an 808 up front. I think what you’re referring to would be him running a 606 combo plus the 900 disc for times when it is appropriate. That would be like having a 606 and a 909, not a 999, for that you’d need an 808.
I think that an 808 for Zipps or an equivalent set of another, Blackwell 100s, are probably the best all around set.
Several ITU guys have been using 808 front and rear for ITU races.
I think that the rim weights are only 40-50 grams different, and I don’t think that you’ll reall notice that. Maybe they are more, but it seems like when we weighed a set there wasn’t that much different.
I’m not sure what xfalcon was saying , but I have a 999 set and if I wasn’t buying a new roadbike, I planned on getting a 606 set. That way I would have disc or 808 rear and 404 or 808 front. Short of very hilly course I’d think that pretty much covers both road and tri racing.
For the OP, I found my 808 great on rough roads and little handling issues. It takes some getting used to descending through corners with wind but the only real crosswind issue I’ve had is big trucks passing in the opposite direction and close. So just large gusts and that wasn’t too bad.
Kevin
My point was… buy a 606 for IMLP and St Croix. Then buy a 999…
606 + 999 = 606, 808, 999, 909
4 sets for the price of two… 
I like the 606 and 999 - good call. Add a 404 rear and you have 5 sets!!
Why not just buy the whole company?
Did Joshatzipp pay you to contribute to this thread? If not, you should convince him he should. That’s a lotta zipp wheels there.
Is it for sale?
Did I mention that you should go with Z series wheels as well… It all comes down to ball bearings…