Zipp unveils new 30 Course Disc wheels with wide tubeless-ready rims

Zipp has unveiled new 30 Course Disc wheelsets, with a 25mm wide aluminium rim available in tubular or tubeless-ready clincher versions, weighing from 1,610g and costing £800. The new wheels are aimed at the increasingly popular endurance, gravel, adventure and cyclocross bikes where discs brakes and wider tyres are commonly preferred features.

The new wheel represents Zipp’s first tubeless-ready wheelset. We’re big fans of tubeless tyres here at road.cc, especially on bikes built to be rugged and versatile, and able to tackle a bit more than just smooth tarmac, but there’s not really been a great deal of choice if you want a tubeless and disc-ready wheelset, but we are seeing new offerings all the time and it's clear Zipp has been paying close attention to changing habits.

There’s also a big trend towards wider tyres, but fitting a wide tyre to a traditional narrow rim is far from ideal. Zipp has stretched the internal rim width out to 21mm, with an external width of 25mm, which will be a better platform for fitting wider tyres, from 25 up to 32mm or so. Zipp says the rim “incorporates design innovations from the Zipp 202 Firecrest Carbon Clincher profile for low aerodynamic drag, greater stability and predictability in crosswinds.”

The new rims are laced to Zipp’s 77 front and 177D rear hubs, the same as used on its 202 and 303 Firecrest Disc wheels. That means the hubs are thru-axle compatible, using different end caps so you can fit them to most bikes. That’s a common approach with mountain bike wheels and future-proofs them, as most disc road bikes at the moment are sticking with conventional quick release axles but there's every chance they could all switch over to thru-axle in the next few years.

The hubs have precision set bearing preload, so no need to adjust them yourself. The hubs also feature improved bearing seals. The hubs are supplied with new quick release skewers with a more ergonomic handle. The hubs are laced to the rims with Sapim CX Ray spokes, with 24 in each wheel.

The Zipp 30 Course Disc-brake Clincher weighs a claimed 1,650g, the Zipp 30 Course Disc-brake Tubular come in at 1,615g. They both use the same profile rim, with a 26m depth and 25mm width. Both wheelsets will be available in June and both cost £800.

More at www.zipp.com