FIRST RIDE: WATCH OUT FOR THAT...BAM!

First ride on the new wheels the other day. Cruising along 22nd St, near the famous Flatiron Building, America’s first skyscraper, and, “What the…?!” After 10 minutes my rear wheel has a hop in it. “Lemon!,” I’m screaming so Zipp can hear me all the way in Indiana. But it’s a beautiful day and there’s no way I’m stopping now. Thirty miles later I finally stop at the bike shop in Piermont, NY. I spin the rear wheel and there it is: a bulge in the tire. I was so eager to ride these wheels, that I inadvertently mounted by indoor trainer tire on the back, the one I had grinded away all winter in my basement.

Well, despite the hop, the ride isrelatively smooth. The carbon does seem to soak up the vibration. I usually train on shallow aluminum rims at 105 psi. At the same psi, the Flash-Points seemed to deaden the buzz. I’m probably biased by conventional wisdom, but carbon fiber frames are supposed to feel “wooden” on the road, right? I have not ridden a carbon bike since 2001, so I’m no expert. Well, these Flash-Points feel a little wooden in a good way, like when you foul a pitch off the handle of a wooden baseball bat versus fouling one off the the handle of an aluminum bat. These wheels do what they can to ease the almost constant bump and grind of rough NYC pavement, or what our city euphemistically calls. street defects.

Carbon fiber is, according to conventional wisdom, also delicate. So am I nuts to be spinning these on training rides in Gotham? Well, here’s one story: On Riverside Drive in Washington Heights, I get pinched between my riding buddy and the curb, so I have to bunny-hop a street grate at 15mph. I’m flying over the grate, then BAM! My rear wheel hits the metal. I’m ready to pull over and call a cab. But somehow, I just keep riding. The wheel has not exploded! At the bike shop, I spin the rear wheel and it is as true as ever.

To my surprise, crosswinds seem hardly a problem, even with the 59mm rims. I sense headwinds and sidewinds from the front-left all the way up 9W, and while I don’t enjoy the headwinds, they seem to have no effect on bike handling.

Compared to my other two wheelsets--1430-gram hand-built with aluminum rims and 1550-gram factory-made around aluminum rims--the FP60s are certainly as smooth or smoother. The maximum weight differential is .77 pounds. Once up to speed, the Flash-Points seem to hold their speed. Surprisingly, on the hills, the extra weight does not seem to bother me once I get a good rhythm going. Where they do seem to drag is on quick accelerations, like at the bottom of a roller or coming out of a 90-degree turn.