I took in the front wheel of a ZIPP 353NSW from a customer.
This is the previous model.
The current model, which came out about half a year ago,
has the rim height (low/high) on the inner rim edge
changed from 40/45mm to 35/30mm,
and at the valve section, a sensor from Quarq
that displays tire pressure information to the cycle computer
has had its tire width embedded in a shape that matches
the rim profile.
Because of this, the valve hole is positioned
slightly off-center rather than in the middle between the rim holes.
Both the current and previous models are hookless rims
with a maximum of 5 bar, though in practice
they're usually run around 3 bar, but
since even 0.1 bar affects the ride feel,
being able to manage tire pressure precisely
is really appreciated.
I don't worry about it much,
but I wonder if the wheel balance is okay
Cognition V2 hub, 24H
All-black CX-RAY, 4-cross reverse Italian lacing.
For what you'd expect from a stock ZIPP wheel,
the radial and lateral runout trueness and wheel center precision
were impressive.
I thought they should have done this from the start.
But the story about it coming in for inspection was a lie—
It's another wheel day (and so on...).
I took in a 353NSW rim from a customer.
The hub and rim were from matching eras,
and I rebuilt it to the same specifications
as ZIPP's complete wheel builds.
↑The hub flange is jagged to match
the jagged inner rim profile
This is a Cognition V2 (Version Two) hub, but
the Cognition's rear hub ratchet mechanism
and hub bearing longevity have issues
(though ZIPP won't admit it),
so the current model uses the ZR1SL hub.
Originally, the lower-tier 303 Firecrest model
used the ZR1 hub,
while the Cognition hub was heavier than the ZR1 hub
but was positioned as the higher-tier model
thanks to its unique rear hub ratchet mechanism being impressive.
However, the Cognition hub developed
some awkward baggage—not quite a recall situation,
but something they wanted to quietly phase out—
so they decided not to use it in the current model.
But if they simply used the ZR1 hub
already employed in the lower-tier model,
it would leave the impression that
"there was a defect in Cognition, which is why we stopped,"
so they adopted the ZR1SL hub—
basically a slightly lightened version of the ZR1.
The hub flange profile is shaped to match
the jagged outline of the NSW rather than being perfectly round,
but the jaggedness isn't as pronounced
in height variation as the Cognition.
Looking at ZIPP's history, whenever they do
particularly unique structures or
proprietary spoke arrangements,
they almost certainly end up discontinuing them within a few years (※),
so I wish they'd just stick to normal structures
with standard hooked-spoke hubs like the current ZR1-series.
Also, sell the rims separately.
They do sell hubs for some models,
but those aren't what I want.
(※) Like hubs with a narrow carbon body shaped like a pen,
with a lubrication port in the hub flange root
(the lubrication port itself doesn't matter much—
it's just that the structure is flimsy,
so the hub bearing fails quickly),
or hubs with zero-trail lacing on the free side radial pattern
where no matter how you build them,
you get a garbage wheel for sure, and
overlapping with some of those, hubs where
a ring that keeps spokes from coming off the hooked flanges
is held in place by spoke tension, requiring you to loosen
all the nipples on one side of the wheel
just to replace a single spoke—
there are plenty of examples like this.
The original model had a claimed weight of 88g front,
188g rear, which is where the model name came from,
but ever since, they keep reusing the 88/188
front and rear hub model name
even though subsequent versions are heavier.
This hub went through V10 (Version Ten),
and looking at the progression, it doesn't seem like
consistent philosophical evolution,
but rather something that's kind of floundering
with random ideas.
This is the previous model.
The current model, which came out about half a year ago,
has the rim height (low/high) on the inner rim edge
changed from 40/45mm to 35/30mm,
and at the valve section, a sensor from Quarq
that displays tire pressure information to the cycle computer
has had its tire width embedded in a shape that matches
the rim profile.
Because of this, the valve hole is positioned
slightly off-center rather than in the middle between the rim holes.
Both the current and previous models are hookless rims
with a maximum of 5 bar, though in practice
they're usually run around 3 bar, but
since even 0.1 bar affects the ride feel,
being able to manage tire pressure precisely
is really appreciated.
but I wonder if the wheel balance is okay
Cognition V2 hub, 24H
All-black CX-RAY, 4-cross reverse Italian lacing.
For what you'd expect from a stock ZIPP wheel,
the radial and lateral runout trueness and wheel center precision
were impressive.
I thought they should have done this from the start.
But the story about it coming in for inspection was a lie—
It's another wheel day (and so on...).
I took in a 353NSW rim from a customer.
The hub and rim were from matching eras,
and I rebuilt it to the same specifications
as ZIPP's complete wheel builds.
↑The hub flange is jagged to match
the jagged inner rim profile
This is a Cognition V2 (Version Two) hub, but
the Cognition's rear hub ratchet mechanism
and hub bearing longevity have issues
(though ZIPP won't admit it),
so the current model uses the ZR1SL hub.
Originally, the lower-tier 303 Firecrest model
used the ZR1 hub,
while the Cognition hub was heavier than the ZR1 hub
but was positioned as the higher-tier model
thanks to its unique rear hub ratchet mechanism being impressive.
However, the Cognition hub developed
some awkward baggage—not quite a recall situation,
but something they wanted to quietly phase out—
so they decided not to use it in the current model.
But if they simply used the ZR1 hub
already employed in the lower-tier model,
it would leave the impression that
"there was a defect in Cognition, which is why we stopped,"
so they adopted the ZR1SL hub—
basically a slightly lightened version of the ZR1.
The hub flange profile is shaped to match
the jagged outline of the NSW rather than being perfectly round,
but the jaggedness isn't as pronounced
in height variation as the Cognition.
Looking at ZIPP's history, whenever they do
particularly unique structures or
proprietary spoke arrangements,
they almost certainly end up discontinuing them within a few years (※),
so I wish they'd just stick to normal structures
with standard hooked-spoke hubs like the current ZR1-series.
Also, sell the rims separately.
They do sell hubs for some models,
but those aren't what I want.
(※) Like hubs with a narrow carbon body shaped like a pen,
with a lubrication port in the hub flange root
(the lubrication port itself doesn't matter much—
it's just that the structure is flimsy,
so the hub bearing fails quickly),
or hubs with zero-trail lacing on the free side radial pattern
where no matter how you build them,
you get a garbage wheel for sure, and
overlapping with some of those, hubs where
a ring that keeps spokes from coming off the hooked flanges
is held in place by spoke tension, requiring you to loosen
all the nipples on one side of the wheel
just to replace a single spoke—
there are plenty of examples like this.
The original model had a claimed weight of 88g front,
188g rear, which is where the model name came from,
but ever since, they keep reusing the 88/188
front and rear hub model name
even though subsequent versions are heavier.
This hub went through V10 (Version Ten),
and looking at the progression, it doesn't seem like
consistent philosophical evolution,
but rather something that's kind of floundering
with random ideas.