From the FP website:
“The typical Zipp rim requires 60 pieces of CNC cut carbon fabric plus all the hand-labor required for proper lay-up of those 60 pieces. While this minimizes the amount of excess material and overlap in the rim and pairs weight down to the bare minimum, it’s incredibly labor intensive and therefore expensive to produce these rims. With Flash-Point we can create the same rim strength and durability with just 4 cut pieces of carbon. So what’s the trade off? Well, about 497 grams of weight in the FP40 finished rim and about 588 grams in the FP60 finished rim.”
My question is: Is the old non-dimpled 404 built with 4 pieces of carbon like the FP wheels or is it built with 60 as described above?
In peace,
CQ
My 2002 404’s looked to be build of four pieces. You can see the separate pieces in the rim any ways.
60 pieces? geez its even worsen the chinese with all there cut and paste
we need one cloth we make our rim totaly wrapped around out of 1 piece and no CNC machine just human hands that cuts the end of the cloth
well what can i say you have rim makers and rim makers
Of course your cheapest wheelset is over $1000 USD more than a Zed Tech set, right?
Another comparison is that 3 normal 404 wheelsets could be had for a set of your basic wheels, 4 sets of 404’s for your top-o-the-line set.
Nothing wrong with that, just pointing out what I’ve read.
My 2002 404’s looked to be build of four pieces. You can see the separate pieces in the rim any ways.
Thanks tjs. I am looking to buy a new
set of wheels but can’t afford a new pair of Zipp’s. The FP’s are
offered at a pretty attractive price point however used non-dimpled
Zipp’s can be had for about the same price or slightly less. I guess
if the lay-up is the same I will go with FP.
I looked at your website and your wheels look nice but your prices are way out of my price range. It also seems to be a bit of a hassle having to send you the wheels if they need to be trued (?). Anyway, I like small independent companies and I hope your can stay viable in what appears to be a very competitive industry where good marketing seems to be more important than a quality product.
well i can say the the price of the total wheel has nothing to do how you make the wheel , as least it very minor
its more the quality of the carbon and the specs
we use certified aerospace materials as i look on other brands they use the cheapest carbon you can get
its more the way how you look at cycling i guess
well we can made rims and easy compete the price with zipp but hence i cannnot produce so much and already have loads of work
but meaby we should just make some rims and steel spoke wheels with carbon rims
(at least we have to wait after olympics ,lots of other things going)
.
I just picked up a pair of '07 FP60’s and the build quality is very nice. They also spin incredibly smooth. I haven’t had them out for a test ride yet, but for 80g in additional weight and ~$1,000 less vs. the clincher 404’s I don’t think you can go wrong.
No way, by all means keep making them as you have been! There is nothing wrong with it in any way, I’m just saying that you can’t compare your wheels to Zipps. It’d be like comparing a Mustang GT (Zipps) to an Enzo Ferrari (yours). The Mustang is a cool car and fast, but it has nothing on the Enzo. But then again, the Enzo is CRAZY expensive.
Either way, you get what you pay for and you seem to be making quite a product.
Cool! I think I know what to do. I am glad to see they offer the FP80 this year. I’ll probably go with 60/80 combo unless I can find a killer deal on a Hed 3 rear clincher. Thanks for the feedback.
well i can say the the price of the total wheel has nothing to do how you make the wheel , as least it very minor
its more the quality of the carbon and the specs
we use certified aerospace materials as i look on other brands they use the cheapest carbon you can get
its more the way how you look at cycling i guess
well we can made rims and easy compete the price with zipp but hence i cannnot produce so much and already have loads of work
but meaby we should just make some rims and steel spoke wheels with carbon rims
(at least we have to wait after olympics ,lots of other things going)
.
That is just the outside layer. Your old 404s are made essentially the same way as the new ones, I don’t remember if the piece count is the same as current wheels, but there are significantly more than 4 pieces.
Also, the “Zipp” wheels use various pieces of uni-directional carbon, where the “Flashpoints” use less pieces of bi-directional carbon. It gives the Flashpoints and Zipps completely different ride quality.
I am not an engineer, so I can’t comment on why so many pieces, vs ADA usuing only 1, but since it is obvious Zipp is able to produce different wheels with different numbers of pieces, you have to assume there is a reason. Maybe Josh will comment.
The new FP80s are going to be nice. Probably the most speed you can buy for the price.
I hate you and I hate your wheels…then again, I hate lottery tickets, golden geese…I hate everything I cant have but wish I did 
.
How would you compare the ride between the FP60’s and 404s?
I feel like the 404s are stiffer. I have never seen testing data on this, so it could just be feel, but I ride both 404s and FP60s a lot, and they just feel stiffer/more responsive. It isn’t huge, but enough I notice it. It could be completely the weight difference, or that the 404s have better hubs.
I do like the ride of the Flashpoints. I have done a couple of 6 hour rides on them this year, and they feel fast and comfortable. I am really excited about trying the FP80s. I often ride with the 808 rear/404 front combo, and I can’t wait to try the FP80/FP60 combo.
The new Flashpoints are getting better hubs and spokes, which should make them an even better value.