I could not cram all of this in the Subject line. I am looking between the 808 clincher and the Hed 3 clinchers. Tubular is not an option. I am going to commute to work on my tri bike and do TT’s on Wednesday nights this year. I need a wheel that will hold up to training and racing. I live up in New England and the roads are far form perfect. My luck with Zipp 303 and 404 tubulars have been horrible I have cracked over 6 rims. I have not tried their aluminum rim bed clincher though.
I do not want the wheels to be race only wheels. I am trying to get to work as fast as possible and I don’t want to screw with multiple wheels. Weight is not that big an issue either. I weigh 175lbs as well.
I’ve not tried the 808 but am currently racing on a HED Jet90 front. No way will that wheel hold up like a set of HED3’s. I have an older model Specialized Tri Spokes (same as HED3) that I train on everyday. They are 15 years old. They are true, round and totally bomb proof!! If you are going to train and race the wheels, the HED3’s are the only choice. Zipps are great wheels, but will not hold up to everyday use like the HED3’s will.
I’m going to swim against the tide here. I’d say the 808’s, and here’s why: the weak point on both wheels is going to be the rim bed, not the rest of the wheel. No doubt, the rest of an H3 is bombproof, but that matters little if you dent the rim. The aerodynamics of an 808 are not compromised nearly as much using a 22-23mm tire–so comparing an H3 with a 20mm versus an 808 with a 23 on bad roads, I’ll take the Zipp.
I’ve had even worse luck that you with Zipp’s carbon rims, but the clinchers have been trouble-free.
I’m not hangin’ with your logic. You’re admitting that “the rest of an H3 is bombproof.” Well if both are aluminum-rim clinchers, which is what the OP said he was considering, then where is the 808 more robust?
I’ve owned two pairs of 808s, both clincher and tubular. I’ve also owned a set of HED3s. I wouldn’t commute on an 808 unless I had no other option. I wouldn’t think twice about commuting on a HED3.
Now … if you want to talk about which I’d rather race, that would be a different story.
Looking right now at getting Zipps 606 or 808 for race only. Which do you recommend? Will race mostly flat, but possibly very windy conditions, at times.
Hed3s for sure. I used to race on Hed3s, they are utterly bombproof. Heavy, but bombproof.
Here is an even better idea though-
-buy a wheelcover, leave it at your office
-commute on spoked wheels, but NOT zipps
-put the wheelcover on for racing
I’m not hangin’ with your logic. You’re admitting that “the rest of an H3 is bombproof.” Well if both are aluminum-rim clinchers, which is what the OP said he was considering, then where is the 808 more robust?
I’ve owned two pairs of 808s, both clincher and tubular. I’ve also owned a set of HED3s. I wouldn’t commute on an 808 unless I had no other option. I wouldn’t think twice about commuting on a HED3.
Now … if you want to talk about which I’d rather race, that would be a different story.
.
Well, I know it’s a little convoluted…
My logic is that I’m assuming that the OP is going to put a tire on that actually make the wheel perform well. If he’s using a Michelin Pro Race (a common training/race tire), I’m not sure I’d put a 25mm tire on an H3 (that’s about what they actually measure). Where as the aerodynamics of an 808 seems less affected by a wider tire (I actually have some data which reflects this). So, as I said, I’d take an 808 with a 23 over an H3 with a 20, simply because the wider tire will offer more protection for the rim. If you use identical tires, then the rims will be ‘equally robust’, but I don’t think all things are equal in this case since the H3 is more sensitive to tire width.
I’m probably gonna take some flack over this, but I believe the 808 on the front is more than a lot of people can handle in anything more than pretty calm conditions. I still have an 808 front that I plan to use for certain time trials if conditions are just right. But frankly, I’ve never done as well racing that wheel as I have with the 404 or a Cosmic Carbone on the front. I have no hard data to back this up, but I believe it takes a really strong and skilled rider to get out of an 808 all that it has to offer and to realize the benefits that the wind tunnel results point to. I believe that most “normal” folks will be faster with a 404 on the front, most of the time.
So the answer to you question is, I’d go with the 606s. If you throw a wheel cover on that rear wheel, you’ll really have something extra, too.
I could not cram all of this in the Subject line. I am looking between the 808 clincher and the Hed 3 clinchers. Tubular is not an option. I am going to commute to work on my tri bike and do TT’s on Wednesday nights this year. I need a wheel that will hold up to training and racing. I live up in New England and the roads are far form perfect. My luck with Zipp 303 and 404 tubulars have been horrible I have cracked over 6 rims. I have not tried their aluminum rim bed clincher though.
I do not want the wheels to be race only wheels. I am trying to get to work as fast as possible and I don’t want to screw with multiple wheels. Weight is not that big an issue either. I weigh 175lbs as well.
Thanks for the advice and imput.
Ryan
had both and wouldnt use either of them, zipps are way to fragile, rim and hub and would be interesting if its windy.
Hed3’s are tougher but the rear hubs are rubbish and the rims dont have much alloy in them so the brake surface would wear out real quick and they dent if you hit something.
I’ve used a pair of Xentis clinchers all last year nearly everyday on my training/commuting bike in england on wet crappy country roads and had no problems ats all, built on DT240 hubs as well. Oh they are quicker than the 808 and heds as well
I am fairly certain that the Hed 3 rear hub changed late last year. The alloy dings if you hit something? How is this different than any other wheel? The Xentis is faster? Sure, maybe, I don’t know, but I kind of doubt it. It is far more expensive though.
I have had both wheels. Train and race on the Hed3’s. Never a problem. 808’s are great wheels and I never had a problem with them either. If it’s a matter of choosing between the two for both racing and training I would go with the Hed 3’s for all the reason listed so far.
Like i said the rim on the H3 is very thin alloy so will dent very easy.
Dont know about in the states but here the price for xentis and H3’s is the same i believe but if its more its still worth it, its a stronger better made wheel and from the testing ive done its faster and handles better.
never seen a broken xentis but bust zipps and heds where always coming into my workshop
What about Reynolds SDV66Cs? Structural carbon rims with a 66 mm depth, excellent hubs, and said to be very robust. Looks to be an excellent all-purpose wheel, albeit not cheap with a MSRP of $2350.
The Reynolds have a MSRP of $2350 including carbon brake pads, wheel bags, and skewers. What is the MSRP of equivalently equipped Zipp 808s? I am currently using a set of Mavic Cosmic Carbones for both training and racing, and they have not given me any problems in the over two years that I have been using them. I am looking for something that has a bit of deeper profile, possibly with a PT. The two wheelsets that I am considering are the Reynolds SDV66Cs and Zipp 404s, however, I am a little nervous about using Zipps for training purposes - this would not be a consideration for the Reynolds.
Do you have reason to believe that the 808s are more durable than other Zipp clinchers? I believe Zipp has modified their wheels for 2008 (the spoke nipples are hidden). Are the 2008 Zipp wheels known to be more durable than previous years?
It’s your world, but if money is at all an issue, commuting on a set of $2000 wheels just to save 1 minute over an hour commute seems crazy, especially given your previous bad luck. Changing wheels takes maybe a minute, and every time you hit a pothole with the training wheels you will be thinking “Phew…”
My Commute is around 27 miles each way so it will save a little time. It adds up and if I can get away with one wheelset, the better! I think the Hed 3’s will fit the bill.
Yes, I will be doing the CBTT series and the Dover TT’s. I have posted some decent times at both in 2006.
I have a set of Jet 60s (with a PT laced in the rear) that I ride almost daily, including commuting. I’ve done criteriums on horrendous pavement with them, even to the point of flatting a Tufo tubular/clincher and riding the flat back around to the wheel pit. No problems in probably 5k miles the past year or so.