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When you think about carbon wheels, two names come to mind. I’ve spent the better part of the last 15 years on one or the other, and I’m gonna share my experience with you. OK, here we go.
There may be other carbon wheel companies in the world, but few have the quality and reputation of ENVE and Zipp. The first set I owned from either brand was the aluminum-rimmed Zipp 404 clincher. Zipp sent them to me as a long-term tester with the intent that I’d beat them to death for a year. I did. And when I sent them back a year later they were as round and true as the day I got them.
Since then I’ve owned basically everything they make - 202, 303, 404 pre and post firecrest, and in both tubular and clincher. I actually JUST sold a set of 2011 vintage 404 tubulars, which I still rode 2-3 times a week but my current set is the 303 disc firecrest tubeless.
My first pair of ENVEs came a little later, in the summer of 2015. They were a set of three four SES clinchers on DT hubs, and then I had two sets of four fives SES’s on DT’s and I’m on my second set of four five AR SES disc wheels - this time with King hubs.
Being fully transparent, the reason I made the big shift is something that’s going to be a recurring theme here - I’m cheap, and my pricing on ENVE wheels blew Zipp out of the water. But, I’ll come back to that.
So, let’s start with what I really like about Zipp. First and foremost, they’re basically indestructible. I’ve hit foot-deep potholes dead-on, and was thrashing them around on ‘gravel’ rides YEARS before gravel rides were a thing. Second, they ride like a real bike wheel - they’re not unduly harsh or unforgiving and they spin up and hold speed insanely well.
Third, I’ve toured their Indianapolis factory, and seen first hand how they build and test their rims. The word painstaking doesn’t even do it justice - the amount of time...and care...they put into each wheel - as they build it by hand - is mindblowing. And aside from the asian sourced carbon, EVERYTHING from the molds to the hubs, is manufactured right here in the USA.
The same is true of ENVE - they’re an all american company hand-molding and building these rims and wheels one at a time in Utah. The technology is a bit different...for example the MOLD their spoke holes rather than drilling them and you won’t find any golf ball like dimples on the rims. ENVE also has a slight egde in the market because they’ve embraced wider rims that accommodate a broader range of tires. So, for example a 28c tire on the 303’s still meausres 28 when inflated, but when you install a 30 on the ENVES it actually balloons to just under 33.
So after all that - why have I landed on THESE two wheelsets? Well, that’s a good question. Honestly, I think the 303 in any permutation or vintage is the hands-down gold standard for an all-around road wheel and I’ll always own a pair, period. They’re just that good. The 303’s shallow enough to remain light, but at 45mm still deep enough to be VERY aerodynamic.
Now if you were paying attention, you would have noticed my emphasis on ROAD wheel when I described the 303’s. That brings me to the ENVES - my four-fives are 49mm front and 55mm rear, so definitley deeper - on par with the 58mm 404’s but not quiiiiite as deep.
From an aerodynamics perspective they split the difference nicely and they’re optimized for front versus rear wheel drag. But here’s where they start to stand out: My King hubbed version is almost 100 grams lighter - and because the rims are wider these wheels have a bigger useable range. I can do every thing from a hardcore group ride with 80 PSI on down to an all day mixed terrain slog like BWR at 50-60 PSI and keep them on the same bike - My R5.
They climb and hold speed just like the 303’s, And I really like the fact that I can completely alter the ride quality of my bike with a floor pump. I don’t ride solely on the road anymore, and just about EVERY ride I do these days has a dirt road in it somewhere. Which leads me to ENVE’s true secret weapon: Lifetime Incident Protection. If you sustain virtually ANY damage aside from normal wear and tear and long as you’re the original owner of the wheels, ENVE will replace the wheels at no charge - excluding shipping, parts, and labor.
At the end of the day, they’re both great choices. But if you find yourself veering into the dirt more and more, and you want to ride them to the limit - ENVE’s AR range kinda pulls away from Zipp.