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It's important to note that the primary advantage of hookless rims is reduced manufacturing complexity and cost. All of the "benefits" for the rider are post-hoc rationalizations. Especially if you are not a waif (165 pounds, 20 pound bicycle—don't forget to include your saddle bag, water bottles, shoes, pedals, etc.), the recommended tire pressures for road-size tires will put you within a couple of PSI of the maximum. If you have even a moderate wheel impact, the pressure will spike well above the maximum. The safety factor built into these systems is not up to the expected range of conditions they'll need to accommodate.
And probably okay for gravel where you’re running 37 and wider with pressures in the 30s and 40s.Thanks for posting - this is pretty compelling. It also seems consistent with my understanding which is that right now hookless rims for road cyclists ask riders to make a different tradeoff than hooked rims and the net benefit is at best arguable.
For MTB, totally different story.
Same, I ran my Roubaix with hookless 303FC's for the last three years w/no issues. Kept PSI within spec (high 50's, low 60's) and used "approved tires". First season was the 30mm Schwalbe Pro One and then went with the 28mm GP5000 STR. That bike currently has S-Works 33mm CX tires on it (also on the approved list) and has run fine. I've been riding that infrequently over the last month or so when we get a warm day. I don't mind getting it dirty.
The Aethos has hooked Roval Alpinist wheels (also tubeless). The benefit of hookless really is in their manufacturing (less expensive) but I'm not worried at all about hookless being dangerous to ride.
I've really liked the pair of 303S wheels I've been using since last season. It's a little scary when I hit a cross wind while descending at higher speeds, so I wouldn't go with any deeper rims unless you are planning on doing flat time trials or something. Having had a pair of Mavic Cosmic rims fail on me, Zipp's lifetime warranty is worth a lot.how do you like the 303FC vs the Alpinist? trying to decide how "aero" to go with my wheels.
The 303FC's are a 40mm depth and the Alpinist are 32mm and I think they are fairly close in overall weight. I honestly don't notice a significant difference between the two. The Alpinist "feel" lighter to me when in my hand but again, to me it's not noticeable on the bike. They are both stiff and very responsive. I am surprised at how light the Zipp's are even with a 10mm deeper profile.how do you like the 303FC vs the Alpinist? trying to decide how "aero" to go with my wheels.
Nice jersey - what is it?New bike is fully dialed and I got some new kit!
Also signed up for my first race of the season, a 2ish hour circuit race in about 2 weeks. Needed the motivation to get into race shape and looking pretty decent so far; 20min power ~380w and 5min power ~450
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Nice jersey - what is it?