Another day working on wheels (and so on).
A customer brought in a ZIPP 303 NSW disc wheel for me to work on.
Today I only touched the rear wheel.
The NSW does have some models with a jagged profile on the inner rim edge,
but those are only the 454 and 858—the ones where the tens digit of the part number is 5.
Both Corima and ZIPP recently changed their logos.
This is now the old logo.
The centering is off a bit. This wheel is
clearly loose, and the customer wants it rebuilt.
This customer has a SMART ENVE wheel that I built with lacing
(I built it from a bare rim, not a factory wheel that I took apart),
and they say it rolls better with better engagement than a Bora One,
so compared to that, this one definitely feels loose.
ZIPP Cognition Hub 24H, all-black CX-RAY 4-4 lacing.
ZIPP rims have gotten dramatically better in build quality even compared to the early days of Firecrest,
but the wheels themselves are built with—frankly, a last-century spec,
or rather, if you compare it to well-made modern wheels, below-average—
equal-diameter left and right (always with CX-RAY) equal-spoke-count and
same-number lacing, which makes no sense to me.
It's a real waste.
The rim itself is good, but when it becomes a wheel, it's terrible.
The final crossing on the non-drive side is
very loose.
I haven't counted, so I can't say for sure,
but maybe this is a low-tension unit.
But since it ships like this,
for the customer, this is their entire experience.
If this were a rim-brake wheel,
I think most riders would experience rubbing,
but with disc brakes, it's easier to hide that the wheel is bad,
so manufacturers might find that convenient.
Tubeless tape was applied,
but there's no trace of sealant, and the tube printing is reversed and transferred,
so it seems they were riding it tubed.
I disassembled the wheel.
Black aluminum nipples that can be turned from the outside and
24 each of Sapim's new nipple washers model B,
and dividing them into groups of 4 makes it easier to visually count, which is handy.
I just casually threw out the cryptic term "Sapim nipple washer 'new B,'"
but recently, Sapim changed the spec of their nipple washers,
and among the A, B, and C versions, B was updated,
and what comes installed in ZIPP rims and what arrives when I order from my Sapim distributor
is now the new model B.
↑On the left is old B, on the right is new B.
The color and finish are different (the old B has more of a stainless steel luster),
and when set inside the rim, the front-to-back length is
shorter with the new B.
Also, the old B sticks to magnets very strongly
(in the image above, it's completely floating, stuck solid),
so any washers left inside the rim can be easily recovered all at once,
but the new B doesn't stick to magnets well.
From the state in the image above, a little shake and it falls right off.
So the recovery time is completely different.
While there are still many washers in the rim,
shaking it lets them fall out naturally,
but toward the end, you have to guide them out with tweezers.
I've never seen old B get crusty with rust,
but new B might be more rust-resistant.
Also, I have a feeling I could build rims specified for DT Squorcs nipples
with new B and generic color nipples,
but I don't want to suffer again, so when I try,
I'll test it on my own bike first for a long time.
Done building.
24H, semi-comp 4-6 JIS lacing with crossed spokes.
When converting from all-CX-RAY 4-4 lacing to semi-comp left-right alternating spoke count,
the side with steeper spoke angles needs different spoke sizes,
and the side with shallower angles needs different lengths, so not all spokes can be reused on both sides.
If not all spokes can be reused, I was told silver spokes with silver nipples is fine,
so that's what I did.
The cost is a bit lower, and the solder takes better to silver than black.
Plus, silver spokes give it that "clearly a rebuild" look,
which might actually feel fresh.
A customer brought in a ZIPP 303 NSW disc wheel for me to work on.
Today I only touched the rear wheel.
The NSW does have some models with a jagged profile on the inner rim edge,
but those are only the 454 and 858—the ones where the tens digit of the part number is 5.
Both Corima and ZIPP recently changed their logos.
This is now the old logo.
The centering is off a bit. This wheel is
clearly loose, and the customer wants it rebuilt.
This customer has a SMART ENVE wheel that I built with lacing
(I built it from a bare rim, not a factory wheel that I took apart),
and they say it rolls better with better engagement than a Bora One,
so compared to that, this one definitely feels loose.
ZIPP Cognition Hub 24H, all-black CX-RAY 4-4 lacing.
ZIPP rims have gotten dramatically better in build quality even compared to the early days of Firecrest,
but the wheels themselves are built with—frankly, a last-century spec,
or rather, if you compare it to well-made modern wheels, below-average—
equal-diameter left and right (always with CX-RAY) equal-spoke-count and
same-number lacing, which makes no sense to me.
It's a real waste.
The rim itself is good, but when it becomes a wheel, it's terrible.
The final crossing on the non-drive side is
very loose.
I haven't counted, so I can't say for sure,
but maybe this is a low-tension unit.
But since it ships like this,
for the customer, this is their entire experience.
If this were a rim-brake wheel,
I think most riders would experience rubbing,
but with disc brakes, it's easier to hide that the wheel is bad,
so manufacturers might find that convenient.
Tubeless tape was applied,
but there's no trace of sealant, and the tube printing is reversed and transferred,
so it seems they were riding it tubed.
I disassembled the wheel.
Black aluminum nipples that can be turned from the outside and
24 each of Sapim's new nipple washers model B,
and dividing them into groups of 4 makes it easier to visually count, which is handy.
I just casually threw out the cryptic term "Sapim nipple washer 'new B,'"
but recently, Sapim changed the spec of their nipple washers,
and among the A, B, and C versions, B was updated,
and what comes installed in ZIPP rims and what arrives when I order from my Sapim distributor
is now the new model B.
↑On the left is old B, on the right is new B.
The color and finish are different (the old B has more of a stainless steel luster),
and when set inside the rim, the front-to-back length is
shorter with the new B.
Also, the old B sticks to magnets very strongly
(in the image above, it's completely floating, stuck solid),
so any washers left inside the rim can be easily recovered all at once,
but the new B doesn't stick to magnets well.
From the state in the image above, a little shake and it falls right off.
So the recovery time is completely different.
While there are still many washers in the rim,
shaking it lets them fall out naturally,
but toward the end, you have to guide them out with tweezers.
I've never seen old B get crusty with rust,
but new B might be more rust-resistant.
with new B and generic color nipples,
but I don't want to suffer again, so when I try,
I'll test it on my own bike first for a long time.
Done building.
24H, semi-comp 4-6 JIS lacing with crossed spokes.
When converting from all-CX-RAY 4-4 lacing to semi-comp left-right alternating spoke count,
the side with steeper spoke angles needs different spoke sizes,
and the side with shallower angles needs different lengths, so not all spokes can be reused on both sides.
If not all spokes can be reused, I was told silver spokes with silver nipples is fine,
so that's what I did.
The cost is a bit lower, and the solder takes better to silver than black.
Plus, silver spokes give it that "clearly a rebuild" look,
which might actually feel fresh.