Zipp 303 Firecrest freehub broken after 1 season on the road - anyone else?

[zaykay]

Hub main bearings 6903/61903. Freehub 6803/61803. Better to use fully sealed 2RS/LLU's in these hubs everywhere. Tried LLB non contacs first in inside grooves and they hardly last 500km's. These are really so bad at keeping the moisture out

If one cleans the hubs and pawls once in every 1000k and replace the worn bearings early enough they are fine. I have not had to replace anythings else. Freehub body, pawls, springs and axles are still originals and perfect. Just very high maintenance hubs, like nothing else.

[pmprego]

Hub main bearings 6903/61903. Freehub 6803/61803. Better to use fully sealed 2RS/LLU's in these hubs everywhere. Tried LLB non contacs first in inside grooves and they hardly last 500km's. These are really so bad at keeping the moisture out

If one cleans the hubs and pawls once in every 1000k and replace the worn bearings early enough they are fine. I have not had to replace anythings else. Freehub body, pawls, springs and axles are still originals and perfect. Just very high maintenance hubs, like nothing else.

Thks!

[goodboyr]

Do you use a pressure washer to clean your bike?

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No. I don't even ride much in rain. These hubs just suck moisture in like nothing else

Only way to lenghten the service interval is to use high quality bearings like Koyo or NTN. Zipp does not even sell freehub bearings separately even though they are standard size and can be replaced.

Can you please provide the bearings reference??


And zaykay, it seems the assumption is always user fault. Even when the Internet is plagued with the exact same reports from different people.

Oh brother...........sorry for asking a question.....

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[spud]

At one time, Zipp were considered a premium product. But that's a very long time ago, now it's just junk with a big price tag. Hubs that self destruct in 1 year? Check. Lousy spoke tension? Check. Heavier than competitors? Check. Expensive? Check. I'm guessing Zipp only get specced on OEM builds so that the MFG has some recourse in case of catastrophic failure/crash injury. After market users would be much better off getting anything else.

[CasualRider]

When I bought my wheel set, I brought it to my mechanic and he immediately said you need to replace the factory lube because it's shit and way too light. Since then I had no issues and I ride in the rain a lot. I end up selling the wheels at a year later and was still working perfect.

[kervelo]

At one time, Zipp were considered a premium product. But that's a very long time ago, now it's just junk with a big price tag. Hubs that self destruct in 1 year? Check. Lousy spoke tension? Check. Heavier than competitors? Check. Expensive? Check...

Zipp hubs have never been at the same level as some quality brands, for example Campagnolo/Fulcrum; so nothing has really changed. The old wheels used to be very flexy, but the new wheels are better; for example using heavier Cx Sprint spokes has helped. There are always lighter wheels, but then again, weight is not the most important feature of a wheel. You can find the entry level Zipp 303 S wheels for less than 900 €, which is much cheaper than the Zipp wheels used to be.

[Attermann]

For that price you can get a pair of farsports with better hubs.

[CasualRider]

For that price you can get a pair of farsports with better hubs.

And a shit warranty plus low resale value. The main advantage of Zipps is their warranty/crush replacement no questions asked.

[CyclingGiraffe]

At one time, Zipp were considered a premium product. But that's a very long time ago, now it's just junk with a big price tag. Hubs that self destruct in 1 year? Check. Lousy spoke tension? Check. Heavier than competitors? Check. Expensive? Check...

Zipp hubs have never been at the same level as some quality brands, for example Campagnolo/Fulcrum; so nothing has really changed. The old wheels used to be very flexy, but the new wheels are better; for example using heavier Cx Sprint spokes has helped. There are always lighter wheels, but then again, weight is not the most important feature of a wheel. You can find the entry level Zipp 303 S wheels for less than 900 €, which is much cheaper than the Zipp wheels used to be.

I was just goingto add that, 15-20 years ago, the knock on Zipps was that their hubs were notorious for being pretty lousy. I had thought they improved them, but this thread seems to confirm that some things never change!

[goodboyr]

This thread proves nothing. You understand the difference between statistics and anecdotes. The discussion of "zipp hubs bad", and "carbon fiber explodes" is probably the most common cycling forum discussion topic. Happens every season. I don't doubt the op had a bad experience. Otoh, how many zipp hubs do you think are out there without problems? And the circumstances and details are not clear. Hub model? Water ingress? Pictures of damage? In any case, I've got a set of firecrest 303's with the zr1 hubs that have been totally problem free. Go figure.

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[joeyb1000]

Pmprego has already said that this isn't a washing issue, so my comment doesn't apply.

A friend of mine asked me to look at his bike. He had been washing it with Simple Green. Every single bearing was rusted. I needed a hammer to get the Campy UT cranks out of the BB.

[kode54]

Bearing seals not what they used to be? I opened up a set of Look pedals for a friend....completely rusted. Hubs on a Campagnolo Shamal wheels...bearings completely rusted as well. He rides alot...and that includes in the rain, but didn't surprise me. I went down the rabbit hole, so I took apart his headset, dry as a bone with post rust bits in it. Don't ask about BB bearings.

[Mr.Gib]

Bearing seals not what they used to be? I opened up a set of Look pedals for a friend....completely rusted. Hubs on a Campagnolo Shamal wheels...bearings completely rusted as well. He rides alot...and that includes in the rain, but didn't surprise me. I went down the rabbit hole, so I took apart his headset, dry as a bone with post rust bits in it. Don't ask about BB bearings.

So then a word to those who want their gear to last: pack end caps with heavy grease, same for dust covers on bottom brackets, similar treatment for headsets. If you can't see clean grease peeking out a bit, then it is time for cleaning and re-grease. This must be standard operating procedures for most of us here. The shame of it is that a lot of brand new stuff comes off the shelf with inadequate protection and need the grease treatment before use. Probably a factor in the OP's case.

This thread proves nothing. You understand the difference between statistics and anecdotes. The discussion of "zipp hubs bad", and "carbon fiber explodes" is probably the most common cycling forum discussion topic. Happens every season. I don't doubt the op had a bad experience. Otoh, how many zipp hubs do you think are out there without problems? And the circumstances and details are not clear. Hub model? Water ingress? Pictures of damage? In any case, I've got a set of firecrest 303's with the zr1 hubs that have been totally problem free. Go figure.

A new hub should be able to survive one season of good weather riding. A hub should be able to survive one season of any kind of riding (OK, not muddy cx). Zipp failed on this one, simple as that. We don't need data to tell us that this particular hub failed long before it should have. It would be nice to have failure rate data on a large sample. I wonder how Zipp would compare to leading brands. My guess is not so great. BTW, have you ever heard of a hub other than Zipp grinding its pawls into little bits? I haven't.

[CyclingGiraffe]

This thread proves nothing. You understand the difference between statistics and anecdotes. The discussion of "zipp hubs bad", and "carbon fiber explodes" is probably the most common cycling forum discussion topic. Happens every season. I don't doubt the op had a bad experience. Otoh, how many zipp hubs do you think are out there without problems? And the circumstances and details are not clear. Hub model? Water ingress? Pictures of damage? In any case, I've got a set of firecrest 303's with the zr1 hubs that have been totally problem free. Go figure.

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I understand perfectly. I won't buy Zipp based on the many anecdotes here and on other sites dating back years that indicate that they are statistically less reliable than some other brands at both their price range and below. Lol.

[goodboyr]

Bearing seals not what they used to be? I opened up a set of Look pedals for a friend....completely rusted. Hubs on a Campagnolo Shamal wheels...bearings completely rusted as well. He rides alot...and that includes in the rain, but didn't surprise me. I went down the rabbit hole, so I took apart his headset, dry as a bone with post rust bits in it. Don't ask about BB bearings.

So then a word to those who want their gear to last: pack end caps with heavy grease, same for dust covers on bottom brackets, similar treatment for headsets. If you can't see clean grease peeking out a bit, then it is time for cleaning and re-grease. This must be standard operating procedures for most of us here. The shame of it is that a lot of brand new stuff comes off the shelf with inadequate protection and need the grease treatment before use. Probably a factor in the OP's case.

This thread proves nothing. You understand the difference between statistics and anecdotes. The discussion of "zipp hubs bad", and "carbon fiber explodes" is probably the most common cycling forum discussion topic. Happens every season. I don't doubt the op had a bad experience. Otoh, how many zipp hubs do you think are out there without problems? And the circumstances and details are not clear. Hub model? Water ingress? Pictures of damage? In any case, I've got a set of firecrest 303's with the zr1 hubs that have been totally problem free. Go figure.

A new hub should be able to survive one season of good weather riding. A hub should be able to survive one season of any kind of riding (OK, not muddy cx). Zipp failed on this one, simple as that. We don't need data to tell us that this particular hub failed long before it should have. It would be nice to have failure rate data on a large sample. I wonder how Zipp would compare to leading brands. My guess is not so great. BTW, have you ever heard of a hub other than Zipp grinding its pawls into little bits? I haven't.

Ever hear of the mavic scream of death?

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