And sure enough, its early incarnations netted numerous Grand Tour stage wins and Ironman® world championship at Kona. Still, it didn’t take long before Zipp riders discovered that the 808’s light weight, responsiveness, and solid handing are ideally suited to hilly bike legs, criteriums, field sprints and long days off the front of the peloton.

Now, with the new Firecrest® rim shape, the 808 has improved in almost every metric. In fact, the 808 Firecrest is the fastest front wheel Zipp have ever tested. Its 27.5mm wide profile is 15 seconds faster than before over 40km, and now equals or exceeds the performance of any 90mm deep rim on the market as well as many discs. At high wind angles, the 808’s aero advantage is even greater, yet Firecrest also makes the 808 remarkably stable.

Essentially, the 808 Firecrest provides the speed of a much deeper rim with the handling of a much shallower one. On windy non-disc-legal course like Kona, that counts for a lot. And in Firecrest’s first crack at elite-level competition, Chris “Macca” McCormack rode it to a win on the Big Island in 2010.

With its wider profile, the latest 808 Firecrest Tubular also shows improved lateral stiffness for efficient power transfer and crisp acceleration, yet offers greater comfort and impact resistance than its predecessor. New for 2012, the 808 is available in a classic Falcon Grey or their new stealthy Beyond Black colour scheme. Both feature updated 88/188 hubs, with a 7.5mm wider rear bearing stance, and a 2-degree cant on the non-driveside flange for increased stiffness and reliability.

Pro triathletes like Macca build their seasons around a few crucial events where aerodynamics are everything. Pro cyclists on teams such as Saxo Bank and Exergy TWENTY12 log scores of race days every year with huge variations in weather, terrain and tactics. No matter what approach you take, the 808 Tubular with Firecrest technology provides top-shelf aerodynamics with a remarkable versatility to take on whatever challenge you’re facing.