by The CXM Test Crew
Cyclocross, gravel, mountain biking and disc brake pavement pounding are now all possible on one wheelset, and can help justify putting down more of your hard-earned money knowing the wheels could get year round use. In Issue 29, we rounded up many of the latest “do it all” wheels, hoops that promise to handle your rides and races on several different bikes, or in several different disciplines.
And in Issue 30 we looked at the go-anywhere disc brake tubeless wheel options seen here. These wheelsets are easily swapped between bikes or help extend the versatility and performance of a single rig. Want to enter a road race on your cyclocross bike? Or add volume to your rubber for some more gnarly adventures? High pressure-tolerant, aerodynamic or wider rims can help get you there. And of course, they can help you ride lower pressure, flat less and shed some rotating weight come cyclocross season.
Our test crew rode these wheels on trails, pavement, gravel and even up and down stairs to see if they’d remain round, true and burp-free under typical rider use and abuse. Read on to see if there’s a wheel here that's right for you.
ZIPP COURSE 30
Zipp’s do-it-all, tubeless disc aluminum wheelset introduced this spring is the company’s long-awaited entry into the tubeless market. The Course 30 is targeted at cyclocross, gravel and road disc bikes and is and able to accept a special road width XD driver for an extreme wide range cassette to support the SRAM 1 single ring systems. On paper, you might yawn at the Course 30 specs. Not cheap at $1,000 USD, and not very light at 1,650 grams, with moderate width and depth at 21mm and 26mm, respectively. However, after miles of mixed terrain riding, the Zipp wheels have proven themselves as highly-capable, low maintenance options for the cyclocross and gravel racer, and yet they wouldn’t be out of place on a mountain bike.
Zipp 30 Course tubeless disc wheels. © Cyclocross Magazine
TUBELESS: The Course 30 wheels offer easy tubeless set up with the tight-fitting WTB tubeless Cross Boss and Cross Wolf tires, but they’re also easily set up with Vittoria XL TNT tires using just a floor pump. We also tested a conversion, using a Bontrager CX0 non-tubeless 34 tire, but this set up did not pass our finger pinch test, but was rideable for a 155 lb rider at 30 psi without problems.
Zipp 30 Course tubeless disc wheels. © Cyclocross Magazine
DURABILITY: The Course 30 wheels feature a durable, attractive matte finish and graphics. The wide, blunt profile is said to inherit elements from the wind tunnel-tuned Zipp 202 Firecrest design, and the bladed spokes and rim shape will help you solo off the front in cyclocross races and group rides, but in appearance, they’re not really dissimilar from other rims out there with the same dimensions. Despite repeated rim strikes with low pressure tubeless tires, the rim has held up unscathed, and the wheels have remained very true. A thousand dollars is still a lot of money to spend on wheels, but the Zipp Course 30 should deliver years of happy, tubeless riding without calling attention to themselves.
Zipp 30 Course tubeless disc wheels. © Cyclocross Magazine
PRICE: $1,000 USD
WEIGHT: 1,650 grams
OPTIONS: QR, 12mm or 15mm thru axle front, 135mm or 142mm rear via end caps
More info: zipp.com
