Zipp reaffirms that its hookless wheels are safe, but recommends mounting at least 29 mm tires

The case of hookless wheels continues to be a concern after the incident suffered by Thomas de Gendt in the UAE Tour and another similar one by his teammate at Lotto-Dstny, Johannes Adamietz, with the same wheel and tire combination during the last Strade Bianche. Zipp is taking precautions and adjusting its recommendations regarding the minimum tire size.

New recommendations from Zipp for their 353 NSW wheels

Once again, Zipp has had to reaffirm its confidence in its 353 NSW wheels, with hookless rims that have been involved in two cases of tire blowouts, both on the front wheel and with a strong impact as the trigger.

First, there was the incident that sparked criticism from ACP president Adam Hansen, the fall of Thomas de Gendt during the UAE Tour. A situation that was repeated in Strade Bianche on the bike of Lotto-Dstny cyclist Johannes Adamietz. In both cases, Zipp requested that both wheels be sent to their headquarters in Indianapolis, where they investigated if there was any manufacturing issue.

The conclusion of the investigation carried out by Zipp is clear: the cause of the tire blowout in both wheels was a strong impact, ruling out that the tire blowout was related to the hookless system itself or the tire size used, Vittoria Corsa 700x28.

Here is where the novelty comes in, as a precaution, Zipp has informed the teams using their wheels to use a minimum tire size of 29 mm, adapting to the change in ISO recommendations that occurred in mid-2023, establishing this size as the minimum for rims with 25 mm internal width like the new Zipp 353 NSW.

However, this recommendation has only been communicated to professional teams, and for the general user, the brand maintains unchanged the tire compatibility chart that can be consulted on their website, while also stating that neither the tires nor the hookless system of their rims had anything to do with any of these incidents.