The Zipp universe never ceases to offer functional and interesting components and solutions. The American company renews the NSW wheel family which is now based on a new hub. It is made official the AXS pressure sensor which allows you to keep your tyres under control, a tool which is configurable with the Sram app. It's certainly fun, but Another step forward is made in terms of safety and performance analysis.
And then there are the new Zipp-GoodYear tiresThey are developed for to better interface with increasingly wider internal channels (of the circles) and able to support TPU air chambers, which is great news if we consider that Zipp wheels remain with Hookless rimsLet's go into detail about the various new features.
The Zipp AXS sensor
It is brought as a dowry by the new Zipp 353NSW wheel and updated 303 SW model. Allows you to monitor tire pressure not only during the inflation phase, but along the entire route being traveled. Connects to the Sram AXS app, but the pressure data land and are also viewable on Garmin, Wahoo and Hammerhead devices. Furthermore the data remain in the activity's .fit file, which can then be viewed later in the post-activity section. This is not a trivial aspect, in our opinion, because it allows for a series of comparisons/overlays when changing (for example) tires or operating pressures.
The AXS sensor is integrated into the carbon rim of the lightest wheel in the range, it has a declared weight of just 12 grams. It works with a CR2032 battery, is perfectly compatible with tubeless sealant and with Zipp's new TPU inner tube.
At the base there is a super hub
Before going into the details of the new NSW it is essential to understand what is behind it. It's called Zipp ZR1 SL and the new hub, extremely light with a gear wheel (internal engagement mechanism) with 66 contact points with six ratchets. This means a rear hub that has no gaps and very prompt engagement in any situation (and the bearings are ceramic).
The hub shaft, all of it aluminum, has undergone a slimming treatment and has rather pronounced lateral flanges, with 20, 24 or 28 spoke holes. The freewheel is available for Sram XDR, Campagnolo and Shimano (HG and Microspline). Zipp ZR1 SL is also available as an aftermarket component. The list price is 280 and 500 euro, for front and rear respectively.
Zipp 353 NSW Wheels
The biggest news is represented by the 353 NSW, the lightest in the range. It integrates the AXS pressure sensor and features the new ZR1 SL hub with ceramic bearings. The spokes are made of steel and the nipples are external to the rim. The latter is full carbon and has the classic NSW profile with variable height 35/40 millimetres. It's hookless with a 25mm internal channel in width (the The optimal tire section is 30 millimeters). The declared weight is 1310 grams and the list price is 3900 euros.
Zipp 454 NSW and 858 NSW, both have been lightened thanks to the use of ZR1 SL hubs (with ceramic balls), with a saving of over 30 grams. 1400 grams declared for the 454, 1500 for the taller 858, with wavy profile (respectively) of 53/58 and 82/85 millimetres. They do not integrate the AXS pressure sensor and bring the NSW circle as a dowry. Both have a hookless internal channel with 23 mm width. The list price is 3.800 euros, common to both models.
The 303 SWs are also updated
A type of wheel that has become a a true symbol of versatility, used both on the road and in the gravel field (including competition and cyclocross). The Zipp 303 SW now integrates the AXS pressure sensor, mounted on a full carbon rim with a 25mm wide hookless internal channel.
It is 40mm high and its profile is regular (not NSW) and in fact it borrows the concept expressed on XPLR. In this case too the new one was used ZR1 hub, without the SL suffix and without the ceramic bearings. The list price is 1900 euros, while the scale weight is 1440 grams. These wheels are optimised for roofs 30 to 35 millimetres wide.
News for tires too
The main one is related to the top-of-the-range GoodYear F1 R Z29 Aero tire, developed in collaboration with Zipp. Z29 is a suffix that represents the width of the tire once mounted on the Zipp TSS rim with a 23 internal channel. It has a 180 Tpi casing and a three-point differentiated tread patternIt is slick in the center, while on the sides it has parallel ribs and small circles (Zipp DNA) with different diameters. It is a tire developed to be fast and aerodynamic. The heels feature a Dual Angle design, perfectly configurable with hookless rims.
The second innovation in the tyre sector is represented by the GoodYear Vector R XPLR da 40mm cross-sectionIt is a larger road tyre, produced with a view to satisfying those who use the XPLR gravel wheels also in road configuration. These tires are optimized for 32mm inner rims. The two tires, available aftermarket, have a list price of 100 euros (each).
