Just bought a look 576 for next season, doing two 70.3 and some smaller ones. I am 150 lbs and am looking at new wheelsets. All three brands seem similar except zipp are more expensive. Ate there real differences between the 404, fp80 and SRAM 80? I don’t think shaving a few grams of weight is worth many hundreds of dollars. Thanks
Here are the differences…as I understand them.
FP vs. SRAM = different paint job…same wheel (maybe a different hub, but same toroidal shape)
FP/SRAM vs. ZIPP = Hubs are better on the zipps and the zipps have the amazing wonderful…dimples!
That’s about it. Zipp makes flashpoints and the sram wheels (because zipp acquired sram this year) so the shape of the carbon surface is the same patented toroidal shape that is used by Hed as well. I say get the SRAM or the Flashpoints and you will not regret it!
ZIPP 404 are lighter, and made with some much larger number of layers of carbon or something (4 vs 14?), so maybe stiffer also?
because zipp acquired sram this year
Other way around, IIRC. Sram acquired Zipp.
good call! haha…in my mind when I wrote that I was trying to remember the article I read about the deal and for some reason as I was writing it it seemed weird that zipp would acquire sram because sram is most definitely is a whole lot bigger than zipp.
OK since I’m looking at about the same situation (going to run wheel cover on rear so can use PT)—how about a HED 3 up front vs. the FP’s??