Zipp launches carbon clincher 404

Both Jodie and I race on Zipp wheels. We paid full RRP for them because we like them. Jodie rides the 404's and I've got a custom set with a 303 front and a 404 on the rear built into a power tap hub.

I had ridden a few deep profile wheels before but I like the Zipp wheels for one major reason. These wheels ride really well in cross winds. When you get put into the gutter in a road race during a cross wind section of the road the Zipp's seem to provide the best performance.

Zipp have launched their new 404's. My 303 on the front has a similar profile and I just love it. 

I have republished their marketing blub here... Please note that I don't get any kick backs from this. Remember, both Jodie and I race on Zipp wheels (that we paid full RRP) because they are our wheel of choice.

Zipp launches carbon clincher 404
By Zipp

After two years of near-constant prototyping and refinement, Zipp carbon clinchers have arrived. Featuring a revolutionary aero rim shape and carbon materials found nowhere else in the world, the all-new 404 Carbon Clincher is the wheelset you've been waiting for.

Its Firecrest™ rim shape is the first deep-profile carbon clincher design to offer the superior aerodynamics, ride quality, strength, and handling of a wider rim body. Yet the 404 Carbon Clincher weighs just 1557 grams per wheelset, putting it among the lightest deep-profile carbon clinchers available. And like all Zipp carbon rims, the 404 Carbon Clincher is handmade in Speedway, Indiana.
To account for the differences in airflow patterns between clincher tires and tubulars, Firecrest employs a complex set of high-radius curves to adjust the width of the rim from 25.5mm at the braking track to 27.5mm at the rim's widest point. This less tapered version of our proven hybrid-toroidal clincher rim shape particularly improves the aerodynamics of the wheel as it rotates within the frame. With Firecrest and Zipp's ABLC™ dimples, the 404 Carbon Clincher far exceeds the aero performance of any other clincher wheelset in its class.

As Zipp engineers have shown with designs like the Paris-Roubaix-winning 303 Tubular, a wider rim also increases lateral stiffness for sprinting and cornering yet offers greater vertical compliance for more control and comfort on rough surfaces. The same holds true for Firecrest rims with clincher tires. Because the hook beads are farther apart, the tire takes on a more stable shape. A shape that places more rubber on the road while cornering without adding rolling resistance. Increased air volume also reduces the likelihood of pinch flatting compared to narrower rims.

Heavy, continuous braking on carbon surfaces can cause spikes in rim temperature, and clincher tires are more susceptible to the effects than tubulars are. To solve this challenge, chemists and engineers from our composites supplier made repeated visits to Zipp's R&D lab to test and refine a new heat-resistant resin based on the materials used in motorsports brake systems. Available solely to Zipp, this new technology resists heat for more consistent braking performance and tire pressure on long descents.

Naturally, we've chosen to launch our groundbreaking carbon clincher designs with our most versatile wheelset, the 404. Its 58mm rim depth is a classic all-around performer that has carried athletes to victory in every kind of event – triathlons, criteriums, breakaways, field sprints, even Grand Tour mountain stages. Now, the 404 is available with the convenience of clinchers, the light weight of an all-carbon rim, and the unrivaled performance of Zipp technology.

Sold as built wheels only and includes Zipp Steel Quick Releases, Tangente High Performance Cork Brake Pads, Zipp Rim Tape, and Valve Extender.