I occasionally see pictures of Mark Allen and Dave Scott riding the Queen K with standard 32 spoke wheels. What is amazing to me is that it wasn’t all about the fancy gear for those guys. They would rip the legs off of most people with the “old school” stuff they had–Zipps not needed.

As promised, I took my new Zipp 999 wheelset out for a test ride on Saturday. It didn’t go as smooth as I would have liked (3 flats and eaten by bugs) but I got a good feel of them. Keep in mind, I’ve ridden my old Rolf Vector Comps for about 7 years now. They’ve been my racing and training wheel. The Rolf’s are a solid mid-grade wheel, and I feel I could objectively tell the difference between the Rolf’s and Zipp’s.

I met my buddy, Gabe at Antelope Island causeway entrance and we took off. My first observation would be that they rolled very smoothly. It was nice, but I can’t say the difference was huge. I enjoyed hearing the “woosh” of the disk, so I can say my ego was satisfied. Beyond that, it was pretty uneventful.

If you are expecting a life altering ride on Zipp wheels, you’ll be disappointed. You’ll be lucky to feel any significant difference. If you need the ego boost, do it. If you need the mental edge, do it. But, don’t throw down a huge wad of cash and expect your cycling life to change.

Definitely not worth $2,300 bucks. If I were to buy these things again, I’d buy a Hed 3 front and a Renn Disk. Solid wheels themselves without the incredible price tag. This would’ve saved me $1,000. Plus, I am a bit paranoid about riding on the Zipp wheelset. What if I drop the bike? The wheels would likely be over….$2,300 up in smoke. That would stink.

So, before rushing out and purchasing an expensive wheel, try it out and see for yourself if it would be worth the money. It isn’t for me, and if I have the opportunity to get rid of them for $2,000 I’d do it.

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