I recently purchased these wheels that were listed as tubeless. I haven’t received them yet, but based on the decals, I estimate these wheels are at least 12-15 years old (maybe I’m wrong about this). They were listed as “New Other” on eBay and said the rear wheel has been used once, the front is new. I asked the seller to confirm they were tubeless and he said they are. I did some research and saw ZIPP didn’t make a tubeless rim until 2021, so I’m skeptical that these are either counterfeit, or tubular (and the seller didn’t understand or didn’t care to understand the distinction).
Any thoughts on authenticity from the photos?
Thanks.
by yuzehernaime
7 Comments
I don’t think they are counterfeits, they never bothered to make the outside layer of carbon look correct on the fakes and the hubs are legit. I think the seller just doesn’t know what he’s selling
All I have is speculation.
The bag in the photo is obviously not authentic to those wheels. There are various websites that sell Zipp graphics [Example site]([https://www.slikgraphics.com/shop/rims/zipp-404-speed-weaponry-decal-kit/?srsltid=AfmBOortYT7uKakDQ4oPGiq0ZqfrrTcUb-LSETClzWM9pVm4XZCJpqPE](https://www.slikgraphics.com/shop/rims/zipp-404-speed-weaponry-decal-kit/?srsltid=AfmBOortYT7uKakDQ4oPGiq0ZqfrrTcUb-LSETClzWM9pVm4XZCJpqPE)). There’s every chance the wheels are not authentic.
It’s also possible the seller just doesn’t know the difference between tubular and tubeless, or that they misspoke.
Edit **
Sorry the hyper link formatting doesn’t want to display properly.
They are definitely tubular wheels, and yes they do look genuine. Seller clearly didn’t understand what they were selling and got confused
Tubular <> Tubeless, you bought Tubulars. Conti Sprinters were only made in glue on Tubulars.
They do look real.
They are not fake but the front and rear are from different years. I have the same front wheel and they are from 2006-08. Those have 82/182 hubs and are usually tubulars. The rear one is from 2010 that came with 88/188 hubs and it’s either tubular or clincher. Neither are tubeless.
Edit: Just so you know, back in the day, these wheels (firecrest) were Zipp’s top of the line and were used by pros in that era.
They look legit, but they are definitely not tubeless. Seller is confused with tubular (or just being sketchy to sell).
Not that you would want tubeless with narrow, high pressure tires and rim brake wheels. Tubular are a pain in the ass, these old wheels sell for very cheap for this reason.
FWIW, prior to the advent of true tubeless wheels and tires (especially in road), people would occasionally call tubular wheels and tires tubeless. Given the vintage of these, that’s my guess as where the error was made.