Zipp 202 Firecrest Carbon Clincher Disc Front Wheel

Zipp 202 Firecrest Carbon Clincher Disc Front Wheel Info

Your disc-brake bike that fits 700c wheels, be it a road bike, gravel grinder, fondo, crosser, or 29’er, will get both tougher and faster when you secure this Zipp 202 Firecrest Carbon Clincher Disc Front Wheel to it.

The first big thing is the Firecrest clincher rim. It’s a wind tunnel tuned, dimpled carbon-fiber hoop that is stronger than most aluminum rims. Zipp took the technology that they used to build wheels to withstand Paris-Roubaix and applied the thinking to clincher rims, which need to be even stronger thanks to the unsupported sidewalls. It’s the same rim as their rim-brake 202, as the strength needed works not only to support the rim from side pressure, but from vertical impact and the tube and tire pushing outwards.

The 202 is the climbing shape, which means it’s the lightest clincher in the Zipp stable, great for not only moving uphill, but accelerating quickly, and grinding away at slow speeds. It has a depth of 32mm and a width of 24.62mm at the brake track 23mm is about the narrowest tire you’d want to install, but it can take the widest cyclocross 700c tires you can find.

Whichever tire size you choose, the rim itself is fairly invisible to the wind, whether it is coming from the front or the side. The Firecrest shape was conceived to give the rider greater stability by minimizing the side loads that can create steering torque in crosswinds. The 202 itself is more stable in a crosswind than a conventional box-section clincher, which is a pretty cool feat. You’re not going to get blown around by this wheel.

The hub, the 77D, is Zipp’s disc-brake specific model. It weighs in at 140g and the bearing pre-load is set at the factory. 24 straight-pull spokes arrayed in a two-cross pattern and populated with Sapim CX-Ray spokes for optimal aerodynamics. The rotor mounts on six bolts. Zipp, knowing that the ideal fixing mechanism for disc-brake wheels is still being debated, designed the hub to work as a 9mm quick release, 12mm, and 15mm thru-axles. It comes with the quick-release, a long-throw lever designed to provide extra clamping power, but you change the method just by pulling off end caps and replacing them. All three sets come with the wheel. As you can imagine, these end caps also provide excellent shielding to keep water and grit away from the bearings.

This 705g wheel also comes with a Zipp skewer, a roll of Zipp rim tape, and a Zipp valve extender.

The Zipp 202 Firecrest Carbon Clincher Disc Front Wheel does amazing things