for anyone that owns either or has even used both, which wheelset do you think is faster?
I have both sets of wheels. Right now I am favoring the Nimble. They seem to hold their speed better. They are stiff and accelerate very well. I plan on racing with them at IM CDA in June. The Zipp wheels are very good as well. They are about 250gm lighter. I rode those wheels in a Hill Climb tt on my road bike. I hope that helps a little.
H, what weight are you? I have heard a couple of times that the Crosswinds are flexy, but your comment suggests otherwise.
I am 195 pounds. Not sure kilo wise what that is perhaps 88.5kilo? Not to add confusion to the debate, but a friend of mine 135 pounds rode a nimble front and a 909 rear at ralph’s. She had the fastest bike split for her age group. She loved that combination and said that she is going to ride that at IMCDA this june. Her critique of it was great. THe downside she said was at the steep climb in the race she could feel the weight of the wheel but the downhill she grew wings and flew. LOL.
I’m 150 and usually down to 140-145 in season so will probably not have a problem with flex. Sounds like it could be a good combo with my Renn disc, a good alternative to my Alpes set when crosswinds are an issue for front wheel selection.
Horatio- so you dont feel that the extra 250g for the nimbles is noticeable compared to the zipps?unfortunately i’m at the stage of the process now where i’m counting each and every gram, but if you say they hold their speed a little better, who really cares, right? also, do you run tubulars or clinchers?
Well, I don’t worry about it. It is really about 9 ounces. For my tri bike my first concern is aerodynamics. I carry 2 tubular spares, 2 co2, an inflator and two water bottles (a lot heavier then 9 ounces). All this sits behind me nicely. The next consideration would be what type of course am I usually competing on. If I am on rolling hills it will be the nimbles every time. I usually reserve my 404’s for my road bike. That bike weighs in at 15.4 pounds with the Zipps (61cm frame).
Where are you geographically?
I live in PA and most races i do would be classified as rolling, although i do a couple really flat ones as well. I was thinking that the nimbles would definitely be more aero than a set of 404’s, but more than 909’s? Also, I race a road bike- would a set of aero race wheels but somewhat of a waste on a bike with round tubes? Nah, those nimbles are too damn sexy to pass up…