Zipp Super-9 Disc Brake Tubeless Disc Wheel

The Zipp Super-9 Disc Brake Tubeless Disc Wheel exists for one purpose: to move you through the air faster than any other rear wheel you can bolt onto a time trial or triathlon bike. It is a disc wheel in the truest sense — a single, unbroken carbon surface from hub to rim — and every millimeter of that surface has been shaped around aerodynamic intent. If you have ever ridden a disc wheel in a race and felt the way it holds momentum through a slight false flat, you already understand the appeal. The Super-9 takes that feeling and sharpens it.

Zipp's approach here centers on what they call Total System Efficiency — a design methodology that looks at the wheel, tire, and air pressure as a single system rather than isolated components. The rim profile runs parallel from the hub flange and feathers inward to meet a hookless bead seat, allowing wider tires to sit with a rounder, more aerodynamically favorable cross-section. The result is a disc wheel designed to be fastest with a 28mm tire at lower-than-typical pressures — a counterintuitive idea that holds up under scrutiny. Lower pressure means more casing compliance, which reduces the high-frequency vibration that costs measurable watts on anything other than a velodrome. The Super-9 is built for real roads, not idealized ones.

The carbon construction delivers the stiffness expected from a disc wheel — every watt you put down translates directly into forward motion — while the hookless architecture reflects Zipp's broader move toward tubeless-optimized rim design. The wheel ships with TyreWiz 2.0 pressure sensors, so you can dial in and monitor tire pressure precisely during warmup and confirm you are racing at the optimal setup. In a discipline where preparation and marginal gains compound, that kind of real-time feedback matters.

Design Benefits

1. Hookless Tubeless Architecture: The rim's hookless bead design is engineered to work specifically with tubeless tires, allowing the tire to seat with a rounder profile at the shoulder. This geometry improves aerodynamic airflow around the tire-rim junction and enables the lower pressures that contribute to better road compliance and reduced rolling resistance.
2. Total System Efficiency: Zipp designed the Super-9 around the interaction between rim shape, tire width, and air pressure rather than treating each variable independently. Running a 28mm tire at lower pressure on this wheel reduces the energy lost to vibration absorption — watts that stay in your legs rather than being absorbed by your frame and body over the course of a 40km or 90km bike leg.
3. ZR1 Hub with Ceramic Bearings: The ZR1 hub is built with ceramic bearings, which are intended to offer lower rolling friction and longer service life compared to standard steel bearings. The 66-point engagement mechanism ensures near-immediate power transfer when you accelerate out of a turn or respond to a change in pace — critical in triathlon transitions and on technical TT courses.
4. Full Carbon Disc Construction: The uninterrupted carbon surface eliminates the aerodynamic disruption of spokes entirely. Carbon laminate provides the stiffness-to-weight balance needed for an efficient power transfer, and the disc shape exploits the boundary layer of air moving along its surface to reduce drag at the rear of the bike — where aerodynamic separation tends to be most costly.
5. TyreWiz 2.0 Integration: Arriving at the start line with incorrect tire pressure is a preventable performance loss. The included TyreWiz 2.0 sensors communicate tire pressure in real time to a compatible head unit or smartphone, letting you confirm your setup is dialed before the gun goes off and monitor it through the race if conditions change.

Final Take

The Super-9 is a specialist tool — it is built for riders who race against the clock, whether that means a national-level time trial or an Ironman bike leg. If you are chasing your fastest split on a course with real roads, real wind, and real fatigue factored in, this is the rear wheel Zipp built to answer that demand. Fit it, dial in your tire pressure, and trust the system.