Zipp defends 'proven safe' hookless rims amid ongoing criticism of technology

Thomas De Gendt’s crash was caused by a collision with a rock and not hookless compatibility issues, according to American brand

09:40, Tuesday 5th March 2024

Tom Hallam-Gravells

Online Production Editor

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Thomas De Gendt's bike cut a sorry sight after his crash at the UAE Tour

Zipp has backed up Vittoria’s claims that Thomas De Gendt’s crash at the UAE Tour was caused by a rock and not a compatibility issue, amid ongoing criticism of hookless technology.

The Lotto Dstny rider hit the deck on stage 5 of the UAE Tour after his front Vittoria tyre detached from its Zipp hookless rim, sparking plenty of debate about the safety of hookless technology.

Criticism has come from multiple quarters, including the president of the Professional Riders’ Association (CPA), Adam Hansen, who quickly pointed the finger of blame at the rims.

“This crash is why the CPA are 100 per cent against hookless rims,” Hansen said in an interview with Velo.

“Tires should not come off a rim. The maximum PSI these hookless tires can have put in them is 73, and if you hit something for sure it goes above the maximum 73psi rating on impact. That is why tires are coming off.”

Defending the technology, Vittoria explained that the tyre dismounted the rim after it collided with a rock. Zipp has supported this stance in its own statement while also defending the safety of its rims, which it says go through “extensive testing, both to existing industry ratified standards as well as our own protocols based on over 30 years of designing the fastest wheels on the planet”.

“With respect to the incident involving Thomas De Gendt, Lotto Dstny team management has confirmed the rider hit an object in the road,” Zipp explained of the incident, which it is still investigating.

“Our team is treating the situation with the utmost urgency. It was their assessment that the nature of the impact would have caused severe damage to the tyre and rim regardless of the rim design. Images circulating online indicate damage consistent with a severe frontal impact. As of this moment, our design team in Indianapolis is still awaiting the return of the wheel to confirm the failure mode and conduct additional analysis.”

Zipp’s statement was released just two days after another of Lotto Dstny’s riders appeared to suffer a similar hookless-related incident at Strade Bianche. An image shared by Jered Gruber on Instagram showed Johannes Adamietz carrying his bike and, in a striking similarity to De Gendt’s crash, the front tyre on the front wheel was completely detached.

However, the American wheel brand also said that its rims comply with regulations and are “proven safe”.

“Zipp worked with other wheel and tyre manufacturers to establish the standards provided by ISO and ETRTO. Zipp wheels that comply with these standards allow tyre manufacturers to certify that their tyres are compatible to be used on our wheels. The certifications from tyre manufacturers inform our tyre compatibility chart. Our systems are proven safe and continue to be.”