Zipp 454 NSW Carbon TL Wheelset (Shimano)

Zipp’s ultimate all-around speed weapon is now tubeless-ready. That means you get all of the aero advantages of the 454 NSW wheelset with the added benefit of increased cornering grip and compliance with reduced rolling resistance.

The wheelset’s 19mm internal width is optimised for running wider tubeless tires at reduced air pressure. This wheelset's undulating 53/58mm-deep rim shape with Zipp's proprietary Sawtooth™ profile takes design cues from nature for Zipp's highest performing wheel when it comes to aero efficiency and crosswind stability. A humpback whale’s fast and graceful movements are aided by tubercles on its pectoral fins. These structures inspired Zipp's advanced development engineers to, for the first time, systematically apply biomimicry to solve the complex challenge of designing a wheel, with the undulating Hyperfoil™ nodes, that reduces both aerodynamic drag and side force. Combined that with tubeless compatibility, you are set for the ultimate in Zipp performance.

Additional Features:

Updated Zipp graphics and cosmetic identity that screams speed, applied using Zipp’s ImPress™ direct-print technology.
19mm internal width and tubeless compatibility for optimization of wider tyres with lower tyre pressure
Cognition DB hubset rolls efficiently whether you are pedalling or coasting. Its Axial Clutch™ technology allows the freehub’s ratcheting mechanism to deliver half the mechanical drag of conventional three-pawl hubs.
Sawtooth™ rim with Hyperfoil™ nodes and HexFin™ ABLC dimple pattern for top aero and crosswind-stability performance with an undulating 53/58mm rim depth
Campagnolo driver body sold separately

Lifetime Warranty

Zipp wheels, handlebars, stems, and seatposts come with a lifetime warranty for product issues while riding. The lifetime warranty is not transferrable. Proof of purchase is required.

Technologies:

Impress

We’ve employed Zipp’s ImPress graphics technology, which prints graphics directly on the wheel, to help allow the dimples to do what they were design to do – help control vortex shedding, the rate at which air sheds off the wheel. Managing this is crucial to stability. ImPress graphics also give 454 NSW a distinctive stealthy look.

Axial Clutch

With Cognition’s Axial Clutch technology, we’ve reduced this drag by disengaging the ratchet mechanism when coasting. With less internal hub drag a rider can pedal less when drafting in a headwind, achieve higher speeds when coasting in an aero tuck, or opt to stop pedalling a moment sooner before entering a corner and bank that wattage for use exiting the corner. Axial Clutch technology also allows riders to maintain speed through corners that don’t require braking input, thereby increasing corner exit speeds. Inside the Axial Clutch mechanism, Zipp uses magnets, rather than steel springs, to move and engage the lightweight Metal Injection Molded (MIM) ratchet rings for unmatched reliability and consistent operation. With 36 points of engagement that all interlock simultaneously, there isn’t a more secure freehub mechanism on the market.

Aerobalance

Zipp’s sole mission is to help you go faster. That's why its wheels are race-ready before they're camera-ready. For years, Zipp has used a combination of testing methods – wind tunnel, CFD computer simulations, pro athlete evaluations, on-road testing, and the RollingRoad ride simulator – to refine aero performance to new levels of excellence. Over the decades of innovation, Zipp's engineers have learned to look beyond just focusing on simply reducing aero drag. Instead, the goal now is to reduce aero drag while also minimizing the effects of crosswinds on handling. This optimizing of aero efficiency and crosswind stability became known internally at Zipp as AeroBalance. The approach began with Firecrest technology and has been advanced with the introduction of the NSW lineup, especially with the Sawtooth technology found in the 454 and 858 NSW. Sawtooth accomplishes this with a series of patented fin-shaped Hyperfoil nodes along the inner diameter of the rim that work together with SRAM's new HexFin ABLC dimples for improved airflow.

Showstopper

Zipp's industry-leading silicon carbide Showstopper brake track continues to evolve and improve, providing unmatched stopping power and modulation regardless of weather conditions or the length of the descent.

ABLC Sawtooth

SawTooth is the name given to Zipp NSW’s patented variable depth 53/58mm rims. Developed utilising the principles of the emerging science of biomimicry, Zipp engineers began the rigorous aero development process of SawTooth utilising the wind tunnel, CFD and real-world testing. The result is a rim shape that takes nature’s most elegant design solutions and combines engineering precision to deliver a wheel that performs unlike any made before. This patented rim shape achieves something conventional aero wheels cannot; it simultaneously reduces both aerodynamic drag and side force for the ultimate in AeroBalance. Sawtooth accomplishes this with a series of patented fin-shaped Hyperfoil nodes along the inner diameter of the rim that work together with Zipp's HexFin ABLC dimples for improved airflow. The result is Zipp’s highest performing wheelset ever realised with both aero-drag reduction and reduced side force at all wind yaw angles. This is important because higher wind yaw angles are where bike handling is most affected by the wind.

Cognition Hubset

With the Cognition hubset’s Axial Clutch technology, Zipp has reduced this drag by disengaging the ratchet mechanism when coasting. So you can approach corners at higher speeds, and ultimately, save time. A star-flanged straight-pull hubshell design on the rear hub distributes the load placed on the hub flange away from the bearings. Zipp has also developed a unique scalloped edge hubshell design for its front hub. This scalloped design maintains the bearing bore diameter when high radial spoke tension is applied. That means you get bearings that quietly stay in place, roll faster, last longer and provide a laterally stiffer hub.