Is anyone else seeing ads on the homepage for a Zipp 303 XPLR SW wheel? “Go big, go gravel”?
Can’t find anything on the Zipp site about this but is this the new gravel wheels that some of their riders were on at Unbound? Have I missed a launch here as I’m in the market for some upgrades for my gravel bike!
Is anyone else seeing ads on the homepage for a Zipp 303 XPLR SW wheel? “Go big, go gravel”?
Can’t find anything on the Zipp site about this but is this the new gravel wheels that some of their riders were on at Unbound? Have I missed a launch here as I’m in the market for some upgrades for my gravel bike!
SRAM dropped a buncha new stuff today, including a pretty cool new 1x groupset which i’ve written about on the home page today. they (thru Zipp) also launched wheels as you note and there are 2 versions of this wheel:
303 XPLR SW: $2,100 per pair
303 XPLR S: $1,400 per pair
as you see, this wheel at the XPLR S level is really aggressively priced. my one problem with Zipp is that they don’t make a 650b gravel wheel and this disqualifies the brand from being of any use to me.
we have some real advantages available to us now in terms of product. but this entire industry has almost completely lost track of the most basic understanding of how bikes are correctly made. it is absolutely spot on at the micro level. the carbon layups. dimensions. mechanical performance. but at the macro level, when you zoom out, if you want a 50mm tire or wider this wheel handles like shit on any bike made for a wheel that is built around a 38mm or 40mm wide gravel tire. it’s not this wheel. it’s any 700 wheel.
so, bike makers need to start making gravel frames built for, say, a 53mm wide tire on a 700 wheel. just as they do with 29er MTB. or they need to start making wheels that go on bikes designed for smaller tires (e.g., 650b). either is fine, with the proviso that anybody sufficiently small in stature will find a 29er a hard go with those large tires.
32mm internal width hookless rim. Am I reading their tire compability chart correctly? They are only compatible with the two Goodyear tires they designed for this rim?
The pricepoint on the 303S XPLR seems like a great deal.
32mm internal width hookless rim. Am I reading their tire compability chart correctly? They are only compatible with the two Goodyear tires they designed for this rim? The pricepoint on the 303S XPLR seems like a great deal.
i haven’t looked on that chart lately but my understanding is it’s the opposite: a certain new line of goodyear tires is only compatible with the zipp wheel as it is made specifically for that wheel. the wheel is compatible with all sorts of tires.
32mm internal width hookless rim. Am I reading their tire compability chart correctly? They are only compatible with the two Goodyear tires they designed for this rim? The pricepoint on the 303S XPLR seems like a great deal.
i haven’t looked on that chart lately but my understanding is it’s the opposite: a certain new line of goodyear tires is only compatible with the zipp wheel as it is made specifically for that wheel. the wheel is compatible with all sorts of tires.
No I think it’s as originally stated: per Escape Collective (who I trust on these things!) it’s only compatible with 2 models of tyre from 2 brands. So if you don’t want to run a Goodyear XPLR or Schwalbe G-One then you’re SOL. Unless of course you want to play fast and loose with ISO/ETRTO standards. Hard pass from me
32mm internal width hookless rim. Am I reading their tire compability chart correctly? They are only compatible with the two Goodyear tires they designed for this rim? The pricepoint on the 303S XPLR seems like a great deal.
i haven’t looked on that chart lately but my understanding is it’s the opposite: a certain new line of goodyear tires is only compatible with the zipp wheel as it is made specifically for that wheel. the wheel is compatible with all sorts of tires.
No I think it’s as originally stated: per Escape Collective (who I trust on these things!) it’s only compatible with 2 models of tyre from 2 brands. So if you don’t want to run a Goodyear XPLR or Schwalbe G-One then you’re SOL. Unless of course you want to play fast and loose with ISO/ETRTO standards. Hard pass from me
you might be right. but as to some of those tires - like the goodyear tire - zipp is recommending that certain tires be ridden outside of the ETRTO rim width to tire width range, and if you want to ride outside that range those are the only tires where you can do that. mind, for the 32mm internal the ETRTO says the tire has to be pretty huge, as in, something well over 50c. what zipp is saying - and this makes perfect intuitive sense - that the delta between inner bead with and nominal tire width doesn’t have to be 20mm or 25mm. i have a call with zipp next week on wheels and i’ll dig a little deeper on this.
Yeah, only two tires approved at launch. Apparently Zipp has plans to test many other popular tires. If they pass Zipps tests, zipp will send wheels to the tire manufacturer for them to test. If both agree on compatibility, the tire will go on the list.
HI All,
Our tire compatibility chart is here:https://www.sram.com/en/zipp/campaigns/hookless-tire-compatibility#xplr We have 2 models of Goodyear tires made specifically for these wheels. We also have EVERY Schwalbe G-One tire (G-One R, RS, Overland 365, Overland, Ultrabite, Allround, Bite, and Speed) with sizes ranging from 40mm to 60mm approved. We are currently working with other tire brands and getting their tires through our 2 way validation process. Once we have confirmation and agreement with these tire brands we will be pushing out new compatibility charts as we have updates.
I would love to know the brands of tires you are riding for your specific gravel. Please feel free to respond to this thread with your preferred tire.
Any other questions about the 303 XPLR I am here to help. Please ask.
Nathan
Zipp Product Manager
HI All,
Our tire compatibility chart is here:https://www.sram.com/...e-compatibility#xplr We have 2 models of Goodyear tires made specifically for these wheels. We also have EVERY Schwalbe G-One tire (G-One R, RS, Overland 365, Overland, Ultrabite, Allround, Bite, and Speed) with sizes ranging from 40mm to 60mm approved. We are currently working with other tire brands and getting their tires through our 2 way validation process. Once we have confirmation and agreement with these tire brands we will be pushing out new compatibility charts as we have updates.
I would love to know the brands of tires you are riding for your specific gravel. Please feel free to respond to this thread with your preferred tire.
Any other questions about the 303 XPLR I am here to help. Please ask.
Nathan
Zipp Product Manager
Hi Nate. I ride Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M and H ties. Thanks for putting this list together.
Specialized Pathfinder Pro 42 AND 47
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