Zipp's aluminum wheel options now include a top-notch tubeless ready, rim brake option. The 30 Course Clincher Rear Wheel features the 177 rear hub and the wider (25mm external width, 21mm internal) aluminum rim. The combination ensures lateral stiffness, stability, and sure cornering control. The complete wheel comes in at 870 grams and features enhanced freehub engagement and wider axle bearing spacing for greater hub stiffness. When paired with the matching front wheel, the set comes in at 1570 grams, in a fully sealed tubeless ready design that can handle pure road, gravel, or cyclocross with equal performance.

From the center on out, this is a well engineered and conceived wheel. The 177 rear hub was engineered to replace the 188, and is the same hub used in the Firecrest carbon wheels. This complete re-design optimizes the strength and stiffness of the machined aluminum body and offset flanges, allowing for greater tension with the 24 straight-pull, lightly bladed steel spokes. A completely new bearing system was developed with higher grade steel sealed cartridge bearings with pre-adjusted pre-load. No need to adjust your hubs, ever. The 17mm oversized alloy axle system is stout and carries the incredible lateral loads achieved while sprinting, climbing out of the saddle, and on high speed, twisting descents. The 177 hub is also more user friendly when swapping out freehubs, or changing to a SRAM XD driver. There is no need to re-dish the wheel for such changes. Whatever the freehub, engagement is smooth, immediate and confident.

The 30 series clincher rim features a 26mm depth, and even with the 25mm external width, can carry tires at up to 125psi. The extruded aluminum rim incorporates design innovations from the Zipp 202 Firecrest® Carbon Clincher profile, resulting in low aerodynamic drag as well as greater stability and predictability in crosswinds. The wider rim platform allows for increased air volume, which spreads the tire casing. This helps increase the contact patch with the ground. The result is improved cornering grip and increased comfort. The option to run tubeless means you can run your favorite tubeless tires in your preferred pressure. Tires in the 23mm width are optimal aerodynamically, but the rim can easily carry cyclocross and gravel tires up to 35mm. The machined braking surface is perfectly in plane side to side, and delivers excellent braking results.

Sapim CX-Ray spokes and Secure Lock nipples tie the whole package together, and the steel straight-pull spokes (12 per side) provide ideal tension, smooth ride quality, and resist damage from impacts. Taken as a whole, the Zipp 30 Course Clincher Rear Wheel is an ideal all-purpose option for any rim brake road or cross bike. If you can only have one wheel option for all your needs, you would be hard pressed to find a better combination of quality engineering, features and price.