Just curious what Zipp frame owners have to say about the downsides (if any) to owning a Zipp carbon frame and beam. I am thinking of purchasing one for a tri-race bike, and was wondering if it requires a lot of wrenching/maintenance (similar to what I hear about Softrides). The fork and headset are fairly new/threadless, so that’s not a factor.
Once it is properly built up & initially fitted, how much or how often is maintenance required? I will do mainly local races, so re-assembly is not an issue once it is built.
Only current/previous owners/riders of Zipp frames need respond…
Thanks,
Keith
Here are a few things that gave me some frustration when I owned a Zipp 2001 (in no particular order):
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cable routing…mine had a kink in the rear derailleur sleeve in the frame, it was a PITA to route a cable to the rear derailleur. The front derailleur and rear brake cables were easier. If you’re buying a frameset, you might want to check that out first.
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the rear brake’s braking power sucked. Not a big deal, as I don’t use a rear brake in most of my other bikes. It was strong enough to stop a wheel from rotation when spun off the ground at “bike checks”, which is all it needed to do for me.
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the beam moves laterally…not a whole lot, and there are things you can do to remedy this.
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the bolts that hold the seat clamp to the beam tore up the inner thigh part of my shorts…albeit I like to pedal with my knees close-in, so this may not affect everybody
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adjusting the seat height was kinda of a pain, as you had to rotate the elastomer thingy close-wise/counter-clockwise…but you have to remove the beam each time to do it. Not all that hard, but not as easy as a regular bike. But that’s one of things you pay for…
Regular stuff is easy…not much different than a standard frame, other than needing to find way to hold it on your workstand. I clamped around the nose of the seat with my Ultimate…worked well enough.
In short…despite the mechanical idiosyncrasies due to the design, it was easy to work on.
Good luck.
Dave