Considering that Tour Magazine aero data shows the 808 FC carbon clincher stalling at 17 degrees with 23mm GP4000, and Tri Germany tests out to 15 degrees with 22mm Conti Tubular tires and shows no stall, so seems to me that the Mavic tire used in the test doesn’t hold onto the air as well as either of the Conti tires tested in the independent testing. Other than that, the rim shape looks a lot like a combination of the pre-firecrest 808 and the Trek D3 rim, only wider in the brake track region, and of course the plastic strips.
Obviously time will tell, but as far as wind tunnel data goes, the numbers change, but the curve shapes and stall angles generally run very close to each other across tunnels…tires on the other hand can make or break a wheel, and I’ll bet that’s what we’re seeing here, Mavic’s tire is pretty good on Mavic’s wheel, but as a system this doesn’t look much different than the 808 with a Tangente, GP4000s, Bonty, Pro4 or similar.
And while I hate to constantly get into this debate about Firecrest timing, I remind you that 404 Firecrest and the technical presentation about the design or stability, handling, center of pressure and all the other features happened well before any of this 808FC vs Stinger9 stuff happened. For all intents and purposes, Zipp and Hed had blunt nose rims at the VN test, ours as a prototype, theirs claimed as production, both of them became officially available fall of 2010, but all of this was well behind the technology launch of the 404 and the Firecrest design theory, not to mention the use of Firecrest shaped rims in the pro peloton months before the official 404 launch. There really is no debate here.
Hi Josh, what is the best non-zipp tyre to choose for the 808 carbon clincher? GP4000s 23mm or Conti Attack 22mm? You posted that the GP4000S 23mm was superior to the attack on the wider 303CC but I am wondering what I should put on the fastest clincher… Oh, and speaking about zipp tyres: will there be a good difference between the 21mm and 23mm tangente on a 808CC?