At 650g the 202 was Alberto Contador’s wheel of choice during nearly every stage on his way to victory at the 2011 Giro d’Italia, proving that it’s a formidable weapon on any terrain. And Zipp® triathlete Jan Frodeno won an Olympic gold medal on the 202. Proving its durability, the 202 had even been ridden to a fourth place finish at Paris-Roubaix. To get to the base of the climb, the 202’s 32 mm toroidal profile was developed in the wind tunnel to roll on the flats as efficiently as many 45 to 50 mm rims. After the summit, the 202’s high lateral stiffness delivers precise handling on tricky descents and crisp accelerations to finish off the competition. New for 2014, the 202 Tubular is built with a the latest iteration of our 188 rear hub, the V9, along with new spoke-lacing pattern for the rear wheel. The refinements result in improved stiffness and durability. The new hub was developed in cooperation of superstar sprinter Mark Cavendish of the Omega Pharma – Quick-Step Cycling Team and already is in use by other top pro cyclists and triathletes including Pete Jacobs and Mirinda Carfrae. Cavendish received early hub prototypes in January 2013 and logged 13,000 kilometers (8,078 miles) on continually refined variants, including his stage victories at the Giro d’Italia and the 2013 Tour de France. The new hub has larger precision Swiss steel bearings for increased durability. Our new “virtual 3 cross” lacing on both sides of rear wheel improves stiffness, achieving 3 cross stiffness in a 2 cross pattern with a new spoke geometry. The 188/V9 has 25 percent more torsional stiffness than a leading competitive hub. This measure of stiffness is crucial for the direct power transfer to the rear wheel for out-of-the saddle sprints and climbs. The new hub also is laterally (side-to-side) stiffer that its rival or predecessor Carbon Bridgeâ„¢ The 202 features Zipp's Carbon Bridgeâ„¢ by adding Kevlar®, stitched into a 6 bundle co-axial thread and placing this at the rim edge, allows Zipp to 'capstone” the top of each outside diameter bridge, providing an improved way to distribute impact forces. This gives from 28 to as much as 50 % improvements in impact depending on the rim type and allows us to increases the lateral stiffness with minimal weight penalty. Kevlar® with 1/3 the stiffness of carbon, 7 times as strong as steel by weight, but is 3 and a half times more resistant to impact shear forces (there is a reason Kevlar® is used for body armour), helps distribute the compaction forces generated during an impact further down the rim sidewalls. This novel lamination process, which more evenly distributes heavy point loads across the entire rim structure has been achieved with none to very minimal weight gain. Just as the key-stone caps the long standing Roman arch, distributing loads and allowing taller structures, so our Carbon + Kevlar® bridge serves to protect and strengthen the structural carbon laminates that make up the Zipp rims. Placing the right materials in areas where they are most needed while selecting materials that are the very best fit for the function, places Zipp ahead of the pack in advanced rim design….
– Zipp 202 Carbon Tubular Rear Wheel 2015 Performance Wheels – £1036 (RRP – £)
