Zipp 202 Firecrest Carbon Disc Brake Wheelset Tubular

Cyclists of the climber species are well familiar with the old adage that what goes up must come down, and few wheelsets on the market are suited to fulfilling both directional duties as Zipp's 202 Firecrest Disc Brake Tubular Carbon Wheelset. Multi summit races don't care how fast you climb if poor, unreliable braking on the descent costs you the gains you suffered for in the small chainring. By combining tubular tires and disc brakes with a carbon climbing rim that itself doesn't shirk on aerodynamics, Zipp has built what may be the perfect competition climbing wheel. It goes up, it comes down, and it's even tough and tubular enough to race 'cross. Hell, the only races it doesn't belong in are sanctioned events that don't yet allow disc brakes and time trials. While Zipp is mostly known for bestowing free speed through aerodynamics, the disc brakes do something that rim brake carbon can only dream of: surpass alloy in terms of modulation, responsiveness, and overall stopping power. These qualities are a big deal for climbing wheels, as knowing you can depend on your brakes means you can carry more speed into corners, brake later, and not worry about locking your wheels up when an unexpected obstacle an off leash dog at a trailhead, the inevitable sudden motorist, rubble sloughed off of a canyon wall materializes. It also eliminates any fear of testing carbon brake tracks on rainy descents or during muddy cyclocross conditions. Don't get us wrong, we've had positive experiences with the second generation of Zipp's Showstopper brake track that features on the 202 NSW wheels however, when it comes to virtually perfect stopping power, disc brakes are all but impossible to match. Though adding discs means that the front wheel requires two cross spoke lacing instead of the standard Firecrest's lighter radial lacing, the lack of a the structural features required to mount a clincher means the tubular disc model ends up weighing less than the clincher model wit...