I own a Zipp 3001 & love it. The one glaring weakness of the bike has always been the seat clamp–just a complete ruberg POS. If you own one, I’m fairly certain you will agree. That being said, I’ve found a company that is willing to produce replacement seat brackets in titanium that will be both lighter & much, much simpler (seat clamp design identical to the Moots clamp integrated into standard triple circle triangle–all out of titanium). In addition, I was going to have them fabricate a replacement for the hunk of steel that the beam screws into (and connects to the frame). Figure that b/t the two, would probably save 1/2 a pound over current weight + would elminate both the annoying squeak that both of these parts tend to generate.
The fabrication is not cheap, however the costs can come down substantially if there is any sort of volume demand (20+ orders) for the parts. At 20+, cost would be under $300.00 and continue to fall based on demand.
So, anyone interested in signing up? Anything else you would want “fixed” on your Zipp?
i’m not only a Zipp 2001 owner, but a Zipp 2001 lover!! I’ll take at least one of both of those parts. Two would be good, one for both my bikes. How about a replacement for the aluminu seat bracket? I’d like to have a seat bracket made 1" taller then the original. Zipp has plans that can be followed for this bracket.
Slightly off topic, but: What is it with beam bikes and POS seat clamps? While I love my Softride Classic TT, it also has perhaps the biggest POS seat clamp I’ve ever seen.
Is it really more complicated to design a beam frame than a seat clamp? Or are these companies just lazy about their seat clamp designs?
Actually, I really don’t mind the seat clamp on my Zipps, except for the bolts. I seem to break them every so often. You can order them, but its $10 per bolt. I’ve broken 4 of them this year already. I think it was the XLab Flatwing I had mounted on the rails. It seemed to put enough torque on the rails that it sheered the bolts off. I have not broken a bolt since I removed the Flatwing. Once you get used to the mechanism its fine.
I’ll put up with the little problems because I beleive its the best frame ever made!
Ditto–I keep stripping the allen head b/c of the weird approach angle on mine. Plus they creak (but that is more due to my size than anything else). I sent you a private message & I’ll let you know how it goes. The extra inch isn’t a problem, and I think I’ve got the cost way down using a local fabricator as well. Don’t know if he can do the block thingy though. The seat has always been the sore spot for me.
You buy your bolts direct from Zipp?
Got a set of plans you can fax to me for your extra 1"? 6267985595
Thanks!
btw: Its interesting that 7 years later & Softride still hasn’t matched the aeroness of the Zipps. Though I do like the look of their new frame. Your buddy who built the Zipp 2001/3001–do they still have the molds? I’ve thought with the new technology that revisiting these frames again could be a nice little business for someone. Absolutely nothing is faster.
Thanks for your work. I get the bolts from the guy that hand built the Zipp frames for Zipp. He still does all the warranty work for them. I’ll get a set of plans from Zipp, scan 'em and email them them to you.
As a recent 2001 owner and rider, I haven’t had any problem with the seatpost clamp setup or the beam attachment bolt, but I would like to see what you come up with for a final result and cost. If not too costly, it might be nice to have the replacement parts in titanium as a backup, just in case.