Zipp

Zipp is a cycling component company owned by American manufacturer SRAM. Zipp specialises in carbon fibre wheels as well as producing a number of other components with the sole mission of making cyclists faster.

History

Launched in the motor racing hotbed of Speedway, Indiana by motorsports engineer Leigh Sargent, Zipp was founded in 1988 - releasing its first carbon fibre disc wheel in the same year.

Two years after being founded, six-time Ironman champion Mark Allen delivered Zipp its first major victory in 1990. Within the same twelve months, the company also launched the Zipp 2001 bike - an aero frameset that remained popular for much of the early 1990s.

Zipp continued to grow its market share as the 1990s went on. The Zipp 400 wheelset became the foundation for several popular models to build on, whilst the 2001 and 3001 framesets remained in demand well after the end of their production run in 1997.

The company moved into a climate-controlled manufacturing facility at the turn of the century. In 2003, Zipp became the wheel sponsor of Team CSC. Fabian Cancellara, the team’s Classics leader, displayed the Zipp 303’s durability by winning Paris-Roubaix in 2006.

A year later, American cycling component manufacturer SRAM acquired Zipp. The company then entered an incredibly successful period with its wheels helping Carlos Sastre to win the 2008 Tour de France, whilst victories at Paris-Roubaix, Ronde van Vlaanderen, and World Championship events arrived too. Zipp rounded out its successful 2010 by moving to a new purpose-built factory in Indianapolis.

Zipp became the first manufacturer to design a product using biomimicry in 2016, releasing the 454 NSW Carbon Clincher. The company’s achievements and product range continued to grow, with Zipp developing high-performance wheelsets for cyclocross, mountain biking and gravel as the 2010s concluded.

Since 2020, Zipp has released redesigned versions of several popular wheelsets with a Total System Efficiency design approach.

Key Moments

2003 - Zipp sponsors Team CSC

After almost a decade and a half in the industry, Zipp’s sponsorship of professional outfit Team CSC was a fundamental moment in the company’s growth. Its products were quickly placed in front of millions of eyeballs as the team’s riders won some of the sport’s biggest races.

2007 - SRAM acquires Zipp

American cycling component manufacturer SRAM acquired Zipp in 2007, providing the company with additional expertise and resources.

2020 - Zipp unveil its new design approach

The 303 Firecrest wheelset introduced the cycling world to Zipp’s Total System Efficiency design approach. It goes beyond extracting speed gains from aerodynamics and looks to tackle the obstacles of wind resistance, rolling resistance, gravity and vibration losses.

Zipp's products

© Zipp

Road: Zipp caters its wheelset range to both endurance and racing when it comes to on-road products. With tubeless-ready options and hookless rims, the 303 Firecrest and 303 NSW wheelsets allow for both aero efficiency and crosswind stability. Meanwhile, Zipp’s Total System Efficiency technology helps the 404 Firecrest and 454 NSW wheelsets to be optimal racing wheels.

Triathlon/Track: The company’s obsession with speed translates to several cutting-edge products for track cyclists and triathletes with the 808 Firecrest and the Super-9 Disc wheelsets suitable for both disciplines whilst the 858 NSW solely designed for tri rides.

Gravel: Zipp’s XPLR collection includes a purpose-built wheelset, hubs, handlebars and tyres to tackle the rough terrain.

MTB: In recent years, Zipp launched the 3ZERO MOTO enduro/trail wheelset to give mountain bikers control and durability on the trails.

Components: Zipp also manufactures handlebars and aero bars, shifters, seat posts, hubs and stems.

Pro cycling

© Velo Collection / Getty Images

Current sponsorships: Movistar Team, Canyon//SRAM Racing, Team SD Worx, Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team

Previous sponsorships: CSC, Cervélo TestTeam, Saxo Bank, Astana, Omega Pharma-Quick-Step, Lotto-Adecco.

Notable wins:

• Zipp’s first significant success arrived in 2003 when CSC won two stages and the team classification at that year’s Tour de France.
• Fabian Cancellara, CSC’s Classics leader, displayed the Zipp 303’s durability by winning Paris-Roubaix in 2006.
• At the 2008 Tour de France, Carlos Sastre won the stage finishing atop Alpe d’Huez on his way to winning that year’s maillot jaune.
• Cancellara completed the Ronde van Vlaanderen - Paris-Roubaix double in 2010, aboard Zipp 303 wheels. It was the first time that carbon wheels were used to win the two Monuments.
• In the same year, the World Championship men’s road race saw a clean sweep of the podium for Zipp-sponsored athletes. Cancellara and Emma Pooley also won time trial gold medals whilst both the men's and women’s Kona World Championships were won using Zipp wheels.
• Tom Boonen achieved another Ronde van Vlaanderen - Paris-Roubaix double in 2012.
• Evelyn Stevens of the USA broke the UCI women’s World Hour Record in 2016 with a distance of 47.980km that stood for over a year. Stevens was using a Zipp 900 front wheel and a Super-9 Disc rear wheel.
• Wout van Aert claimed his third consecutive Cyclocross World Championship title in 2018. The Belgian used Zipp wheels on all three occasions.
• Isabeau Courdurier and Adrien Dailly, both riding for Lapierre Zipp Collective, won Enduro World Series events on the 3ZERO MOTO wheel - giving Zipp its first off-road successes.
• Ashton Lambie became the first rider to break the four-minute mark as he obtained the 4km pursuit world record in 2021 with a time of 3:59:90.