Zipp 454 NSW Carbon Tubeless Disc Brake wheelset

The Zipp 454 NSW Carbon Tubeless Disc brake wheelset sits at the top of the Zipp pile in terms of price and performance, and feature the sawtooth rim design that is designed to be as aerodynamic as possible without hindering crosswind stability. I did indeed find that the wheels were fast, handled well and were also impressively light and stiff, but the price and some quality niggles make them hard to recommend over some much less expensive alternatives.

The most obvious visual difference between the NSW range and cheaper Zipp wheels is the sawtooth rim design. Zipp says that varying the rim depth between 53 and 58mm 'simultaneously reduces both aerodynamic drag and side force for the ultimate in Aerobalance'.

> Buy now: Zipp 454 NSW Carbon Tubeless Disc brake wheelset for £3,376 from McConvey Cycles

The rims measure 23mm internally and 28mm across the external width for both front and rear wheels, unlike many brands who have opted for different rim profiles and widths between front and rear.

Like much of the rest of Zipp's carbon wheel range, these are hookless rims which means that they must be used with tubeless tyres that appear on this compatibility chart.

Zipp also says these are 'optimized for 25mm tubeless tyres for all out speed'. Now, a quick look at the compatibility chart will tell you that 25mm offerings from some of the biggest tyre manufacturers are NOT compatible, namely Pirelli, Continental and S-Works. I don't personally find that a huge problem – I now both train and race on 28mm tyres – but it is worth remembering before hurrying out to buy the first set of tyres you think the wheels are 'optimized' for.

Weight

The wheels have an extremely impressive claimed weight of 1,358g, which appears accurate seeing as they weighed in at 1,420g on our scales, fitted with the heavier SRAM/Shimano 11-speed freehub body, rim tape, and a pair of tubeless valves. That makes them just over 100g lighter than the already competitively light Zipp 404 Firecrests, and only a tiny bit heavier than the very light Roval Rapide CLX wheels (1,410g).

The 454 NSWs feature the revised Cognition 2 hubs with the rather interesting Axial Clutch technology designed to reduce drag by disengaging the ratchet mechanism when coasting. In most systems, more points of engagement in a freehub will increase drag when freewheeling, but with this technology, Zipp can use a high 54 points of engagement without increasing the drag.

This second version of the wheelset uses a Sylomer (an advanced material used in a variety of high-tech industries) to create a wave spring that re-engages the rings when you start pedalling. Zipp says the new system is simpler and more durable.

The wheels ship with 12mm front and rear end caps, which is all but standard across the road bike market. The disc rotors are fitted using the Center Lock interface with a pair of lockrings included, and there are 24 spokes both front and rear.

From disassembling my wheels, it was clear to see that some of the bearing seals were black, so not ceramic (those get a blue seal on either side). I would rarely opt for the increased price of a ceramic bearing as the benefits are marginal, but at this price I would expect the best – and in most people's opinion that's ceramic.

Set up

The rims come taped ready for tubeless installation, and this was a neat and tidy affair with no peeling or tape creeping up the walls. There's also a pair of plain black tubeless valves included, but I had a bling set to review so tried to fit them instead. It's here that I found that the sawtooth rims are not compatible with all tubeless valves, because the wavy rim is not perpendicular to the valve stem; you need quite a fat rubber O-ring and a small valve collar ring to ensure a proper seal and to ensure the valve is tightened adequately.

The remainder of the tubeless installation was a breeze. I fitted a set of 28mm Goodyear Eagle F1s with a track pump alone and the wide, hookless rims create a very smooth transition between tyre and rim with minimal 'ballooning'. This is important as I often find this makes a large difference in crosswind stability, and according to manufacturers this is key for aerodynamic performance as well.

I was a little disappointed with some of the finishing. For example, the drilled drainage holes in the rims were full of burring and the hubs had sharp edges where they had been machined; both would have benefited from a going-over with a file. This is something I'd happily overlook on a much cheaper wheelset but when dishing out this much money I'm expecting perfection.

In use

Let's get the negative bit over and done with first. On just my third ride with the wheels, so about 300km in, I started to notice a slight creaking on my bike, which took me a while to diagnose. I took my cranks out and checked the bottom bracket, oiled where the spokes crossed, changed the cassette... and yet the problem proceeded to get worse.

After about 1,000km the noise became unbearable in a kind of raunching and something-is-going-to-break-imminently in a high torque situation kind of way, and was only remedied by removing the wheelset. Note: this is the most expensive wheelset I've ever tested.

Having consulted Zipp's warranty department, I received a nice document on the freehub maintenance procedure and set about disassembling the wheels. Thankfully this was quite a simple process with no proprietary tools required, and gave me a good look at the unique ratchet system.

> Six essential tools for cyclists who do their own bike maintenance

I gave everything a good clean and found some tiny metal filings in between the ratchets, which was most likely the cause of my woes.

Having now used the wheels for a further 3,000km without discovering any further filings, I am confident that this was a bi-product of manufacture and not premature wearing of any internal components.

Whether this is a one-off or not I cannot say, but having received my last set of Zipp wheels with dry bearings I do think the quality control of its hubs department has room for improvement. Of course, both issues would be covered under Zipp's lifetime warranty policy, but regardless of this it's not an issue you expect to have with any wheelset, let alone one that costs over £3,000.

The good stuff

The 54T ratchet gives the 454 NSWs just a 6.67-degree engagement angle, which is as quick as just about any road wheel out there. This means that acceleration feels instantaneous even from low speeds, helped by the low weight – it's light for any depth wheel and even more impressive given how deep they are.

The wheels climb well too, which is obviously in large part again thanks to the weight, but I often find that stiffness plays a factor in this too. For example, the Hunt 48 Limitless Aero wheels climb far better than their 1,690g weight would suggest. I have happily left the 454 NSWs on for hilly road races and group rides.

On the flat the wheels hold speed very well, and are up there with some of the fastest 50mm and 60mm-deep wheels out there. In back-to-back testing against my Roval Rapide CLX wheelset, I was unable to find any meaningful difference in speed, and I regard that as one of the fastest wheelsets in this category.

Crosswind stability is also good, though it didn't blow me away – pun unintended. In this regard I found the Zipp 404 Firecrests almost as good, with a saving of £1,776...

The 454s feature dimpled rims, which Zipp says helps with vortex shedding, and the sawtooth design also helps to produce more regular but less powerful shedding when the wheel stalls. In the real world I am confident this works, but as far as I can tell it's only on par with cheaper competitors' super fat front rims (~33mm vs the 28mm Zipp). Whether this makes the Zipp more aerodynamic, I'm not in a position to say – that would require back-to-back wind-tunnel testing.

Value

At £3,376 these are some of the most expensive wheels we've tested on road.cc. The Zipp 404 Firecrests that I keep referring to offer much better value for money at £1,600, costing less than half the price and adding about 110g, but delivering nearly all of the same performance.

If tubeless isn't a bit of you then the Roval Rapide CLX wheels I tested in 2020 offer similar weight, speed and stability for £2,200, up from £1,980 in 2020.

> Buyer’s Guide: 10 of the best road bike and gravel bike wheels

Other luxury options include the Campagnolo Bora WTO 60 wheelset (now up to £1,999.99 since Liam tested it in 2020) with a very good looking glossy finish, but it's a fair bit heavier at 1,590g.

For a similar price there's also the Princeton CarbonWorks Wake 6560 Tune wheelset, now up to £3,399.99 since we tested it; the wheels are a bit heavier and deeper but also feature an oscillating rim design.

Conclusion

Overall, the 454 NSW is a very fast wheelset that is impressively light, can be used on courses and routes that contain plenty of climbing, and hold speed very well. The wheels are also very stable, but the price and quality niggles that I experienced make them hard to recommend over much cheaper (and still very good) wheels.

I'm all for money-no-object products as it's usually here that we see the pinnacle of engineering. However, as good as this wheelset is, I think Zipp has failed to make this the 'ultimate' wheelset. On paper it's brilliant, but to be ultimate the wheels require ceramic bearings, better quality control and finishing, and maybe even different rim profiles from front to rear.

Verdict

Fast, light and very expensive hookless wheels