What is the deal with the Training / Racing wheel life expectancy? I am 180 triathlete and yearn for some 404’s or similar (Flashpoint FP60) but am reluctant to spend so much for wheeels only to be used for racing. What do you guys and gals think is the median life expectancy for 404’s on for training and racing around So Cal hills and river trails? What are the variables? I mean you see guys selling wheelsets on EBay at 5 years old with 300 miles on them! do they need to be this babied? Are they shot at 500 Miles? Help!
it’s all luck honestly. Under normal riding, baring smacking a big pothole or railroad tracks Zipps last for thousands of miles. That being said they are a bit more fragile than your typical “training wheels” as that’s the trade off for the light weight. I’ve seen 10 year old Zipps in great condition and 1 year old Zipps quickly destroyed. Again mainly depends on luck although riding style and habits have a bitto do with it as well.
If you’re worried pick up the flash points, a pair of Zipp clinchers or a pair of clydesdale 404s.
I agree with Tai that it is distinctly a matter of luck in whether the road eats a wheel or not…That said, I have a set of Zed 6’s that I use only for racing and not for daily driver training. It’s simply too big a risk to run them everyday. Plus I want them to last for years to come. Yes, I ride them a bit before a big race, but otherwise use a set of Ksyriums or my PT which was built into a set of DT Swiss wheels.
I have a set of Zipp 404 clincher rims laced 32 spoke to Campy Record hubs. These have been my training wheels for the last 3 years. Have 20,000+ miles on them, have hit pot holes, ridden terrible roads, etc. The rims are sturdy and durable. Yes they have some dings in them, but they keep ticking.
If you are going to use them for training, I would suggest buying the rims with a higher hole count, such as my 32’s, and lacing them to a durable hub proven to last a long time.
I have Zipp 404s (clincher) and I use them as training wheels, however what are you talking about with “river trails”? If you mean dirt, gravel, tree stumps and other hazards, then I’d say no way. Tim
I have a 10 year old set of ZIPP 440’s( similar to the current 404) tubular wheels, that are doing just fine. I broke my first spoke on these wheels last summer. They were built up by one of the best wheel builders in Vancouver at the time and the wheels have performed amazingly well. They are only used for racing( Triathlons, TT, and road races) and the odd time that I am doing a training ride or century and want the flash, lightweight and aero wheels. My better half, MissP used these same wheels to race to second place at IMC three years ago!