Zipp has launched its latest full-carbon disc wheel, the Super-9 Tubeless Disc-Brake Disc.
With a progressively wide hookless rim, Zipp says the new Super-9 disc wheel is fastest when paired with 28mm-wide tubeless road bike tyres and lower tyre pressures.
It includes an integrated Quarq TyreWiz, enabling riders to monitor their tyre pressures in real time from a connected bike computer.
At a claimed weight of only 1,050g, Zipp says the Super-9 Tubeless Disc-Brake Disc is among the lightest disc wheels available.
Zipp says Chloé Dygert, of the Canyon//SRAM Racing Women’s WorldTour team, used the new Super-9 Tubeless Disc-Brake Disc to win the women’s individual time trial at the 2023 UCI World Championships.
Built around Zipp’s flagship ZR1 hub (with ceramic bearings), the Zipp Super-9 Tubeless Disc-Brake Disc is available now and costs £2,450 / $3,000 / €2,750.
Wider is faster, even with disc wheels
In line with its other road wheelsets, the new Super-9 Tubeless Disc-Brake Disc has been updated in accordance with Zipp’s Total System Efficiency (TSE) philosophy.
This sees the move to a wide, hookless rim designed for larger tyres and lower tyre pressures.
Zipp says this combination offers lower rolling resistance, as well as improved handling and cornering grip.
As such, the internal rim width has grown substantially – from 18mm on the outgoing Super-9 Tubeless disc wheel, to 23mm-wide on the new one.
This is the same internal rim width as on its 454 and 858 NSW, and 404 and 808 Firecrest rims, although its 353 NSW and 303 Firecrest rims are wider with 25mm internal widths.
The external rim width of the Super-9 Tubeless Disc-Brake Disc is 30.4mm.
Because the rim is hookless, it can only be used with tubeless tyres (though you can use an inner tube with a tubeless tyre if you prefer).
Zipp says a 700x28c tyre is both the minimum and optimal size tyre for the Super-9 Tubeless Disc-Brake Disc wheel.
Aerodynamically, Zipp says the new Super-9 disc wheel performs similarly to the previous version. It counts this as a win, though, since wider rims and tyres have a larger frontal area than narrow ones, which typically increases drag.
Consequently, the wheel is – according to Zipp – faster thanks to “watt-savings from reduced rolling resistance”.
Zipp hasn’t put a specific figure on exactly how many watts riders can expect to save, but it did note the wheel was wind-tunnel tested in “the leading four triathlon bikes”, to ensure it worked well across different models.
It also says it tested the wheel on a rolling road with three tyre models, the Vittoria Corsa Pro TLR, the Continental GP5000 TT TR and the Schwalbe Pro One TT, to ensure consistent results.
Zipp says the new Super-9 disc wheel is 125g lighter than the outgoing model, bringing its weight down to 1,050g.
Zipp has integrated a Quarq TyreWiz sensor into the Super-9 Tubeless Disc-Brake Disc.
Zipp says this will enable riders to monitor their tyre pressures in real time, either while riding or when reaching their bike during the transition of a triathlon.
The valve hole has also been enlarged, giving a little more room for a track pump head to fit in (though it notes a pump adaptor will still be required, and is included with the wheel). The wheel also includes a dedicated valve hole cover to negate the need to tape over the hole.
As before, the Super-9 Tubeless Disc-Brake Disc uses a textured surface, which Zipp says helps to control airflow shedding off the wheel.
It costs £2,450 / $3,000 / €2,750 and is available as a rear wheel only, with either a Shimano HG or SRAM XDR freehub.
Super-9 Clincher Track Disc
While tubular tyres remain a dominant force in track cycling events, clincher wheels have seen a steady growth in popularity in recent years, taking a number of high-profile wins.
Most notably, Filippo Ganna broke the UCI Hour Record in 2022 aboard a Pinarello Bolide F HR 3D equipped with Princeton CarbonWorks Track Special clincher disc wheels and Continental GP5000 TT TR tyres.
On trend, Zipp has also announced the Super-9 Clincher Track Disc, which will be used at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Designed to deliver optimal aerodynamic performance with a 23mm-wide tyre, the Super-9 Clincher Track Disc uses a 21mm internal rim width.
According to Zipp, the rim uses small tyre bead hooks designed for optimal aerodynamic efficiency – presumably to reduce the lightbulb effect large clincher hooks can have on a tyre.
The wheel is also said to be constructed with a “track-specific carbon laminate”, making the wheel stiffer than the road-specific version.
The Super-9 Clincher Track Disc uses a flat profile and gets Zipp’s proprietary textured surface.
Zipp claims a Super-9 Clincher Track Disc wheel weighs 1,000g exactly.
It costs £2,450 / $3,000 / €2,750, and is available as either a front or rear wheel.
Zipp says the front version can be had with a standard 100mm-wide axle, or with a 40mm-wide axle to work with the Canyon SpeedMax CFR Track.
