Excellent upgrade. Rolls faster at a more comfortable psi in the tires. The wider internal width of the rim has allowed the same size tire to more consistent radius across the contact patch from side to side. More round vs oval if you were to look at a cross section. Much less road chatter felt vs old aluminum wheels. And able to easily use for multiple surfaces. The Continental Grand Prix 5000 S TR tires mounted pretty easily and only required a standard pump.
Purchased these Sept '22 for easier tubeless mounting and road to gravel and back tire switch without killing myself. Also hoped for legendary Zipp performance when riding. Damn, these wheel do both. Compared to my hooked Reynolds Attack wheels I used for gravel, the 303 Firecrest hookless mounting is a dream! I change from tubeless Pirelli hookless compatible road tires to Panaracer gravel whenever I want. No problems running hookles on gravel at 40 psi. And out yesterday on a gravel ride, I just love how they climb and track through the gravel. Fun, snappy, a real pleasure. Did I buy a magically delivered 4 mph in speed? Not really, but they do everything a gravel wheel needs to do and then some. I love these wheels, they're a value, and so happy with them I want to share my expereince.
with any have used on ravel rides summer, road out of gravel season.
Easiest tubeless mounting ever. Continental Terra Speed 45mm tires just slip onto these hookless rims and mount with a hand pump. They're actually easier to mount than a tubed tire and hooked rim combo. This combo is incredibly supple and comfortable over all sorts of rough gravel surfaces.
These are excellent wheels, free hub is a little loud, which is good if that's your thing. Running these tubeless with 28mm tires; I know that's "controversial" in the current times...I like living on the edge!
Currently set up with Schwalbe Pro One 32s for road use on a Giant Revolt. Noticeably faster and lighter than stock wheels. Definitely feel the cross winds but manageable. The feel like the get up to speed quick and are easier to maintain speed. Tubeless set up was a breeze and running 32s between 55-65 psi ride is great. Had some 38s on for a few rides at lower pressure and they were very plush. Have a few road events planned before switch tires to a gravel setup. Looking forward to that!
The wheels were in perfect condition right out of the box, perfectly true with no visible defects. They are quite light, and not bothered by crosswinds, but also deep enough to provide some aero goodness. The hubs are an unknown quantity since they are a new design, but out of the box they are super smooth, and Zipp's warranty lends some confidence. Great all-round wheels for an endurance bike, especially for riding that includes lots of climbing on poor-quality pavement.
Replaced a set of Zipp 303s with the new Firecrest. I like the rear hub engagement over the 303s and the wide rims really spread the tire out for maximum comfort. I mounted 32 mm tires and the they measure 34 when mounted. This is the most comfortable wheel set I've ever ridden. I ride a lot of rough payment and these really reduce the chatter. Plus the wheels are light and aero and I've not experienced any issue with crosswinds. The most perfect wheels I've owned and fairly priced when compared to similar brands.
If you are looking for a great tubeless wheelset, then look no further. My prior experience with tubeless was on Reynolds wheels and was poor. They were easy to mount, but I couldn't reliable get them to hold air and ultimately lost trust in them and went back to tubes. Anyway the zipps were a challenge to mount, I couldn't do it by hand, but with some levers and a lot of expletives I finally mounted schwalbe pro one tle. They sealed up with only a track pump and have held air perfectly to the point I don't even think about it anymore, the way it should be. My 30c tires measure 32 on the zipps wide width. They spin up nicely and ride great. I have only had them just over a month, so not a ton of miles given the pretty terrible weather lately, but I am looking forward to a lot of blissful rides once the weather improves.
This is my first set of carbon wheels and there is no going back! I'm not a racer or peloton rider and mainly ride for fitness and fun. I put around 300 miles on these so far, and they are really nice. Well made, very light and fast. Happy I made the upgrade.
Nice upgrade. Lighter than my Dura Ace carbon wheels for climbing and faster acceleration. I can run 50 psi with 28mm tires for lower rolling resistance and comfortable ride. The hubs are excellent and roll fast. I can use these on my gravel/cx bike as well.
Mounted the wheels up with 32mm Conti 5K-str tires. Tubeless set up was easy with a track pump. The ride is fantastic. Not cheap but money well spent :-).
Great wheels for the money
Great rolling, light weight and handles very well in cross winds. Even better when they were on sale, hard to beat.
Was lucky to buy these last fall before prices went up and production times lagged out 6 months. I put 44mm tires on these, tubeless, on my gravel bike with an Eagle 10-50t cassette. Tubeless setup was surprisingly easy. I had been riding a set of 650b wheels with 2.25 inch tires on the gravel bike, so the Zipps made that bike feel like a rocket ship. Fast, light, smooth, durable. Great hub sound. Zero trouble with the hookless design.
I was told that the firecrest 303 would not fit a bmc road machine. How close was your tolerances?What tire did you use. I believe bmc road machine only has a 32 mm clearance which does not leave enough room for the 30 wide firecrest plus tires.
thanks for a resposne
Well, at least faster than my Black Inc. thirty fours which are also very nice wheels. The are easy to mount tires and set up tubeless and handle gravel roads with ease and spin fast.
Well, at least faster than my Black Inc. thirty fours which are also very nice wheels. The are easy to mount tires and set up tubeless and handle gravel roads with ease and spin fast.
Bought this to replace Roval CL 50 wheelset on my BMC Roadmachine. The Firecrests are lighter, have a hub that engages faster, are less buffeted in the wind and the wider width allows me to run lower tire pressures. I like a stealth look so I peeled off the decals. I set them up with Schwalbe Pro One TLE 2020 tires and Orange sealant. Tires were easy to mount, air up and sealed with no issues. Great wheelset.
I've been enjoying these for a couple months now. Big upgrade over my stock DT Swiss wheels. No issues getting my tires mounted and seated.
Great upgrade to stock wheels, they work well for both gravel and road. Hub is fast and the wheels look great!
