“One of our realisations a few years ago was that on flat stages, an aero bike with the 454 NSW wheelset is still the fastest set-up because you aren't climbing much. But in that set-up, not many bikes in the peloton are close to the 6.8kg limit – they're a good 400-500g above,” says Ben Waite, design engineer at Zipp.
This was Zipp’s thinking when it was formulating its new iteration of the 202 NSW: “As you move into stages where climbing is much more critical or the selection happens on a really steep climb, what can we do to get the weight closer to 6.8kg? That's where your biggest barrier to speed is weight versus aero.”
The new 202 NSW, with its claimed 1,090g weight, is light, shaving over 300g off of the brand’s 454 NSW range and more than 400g from its predecessor. According to Zipp, it does more than climb fast; it also provides an aero advantage for the race to the climb and is designed for confidence on the getaway descent. Waite says that in testing, it proved to be a superior set-up aerodynamically when paired with an aero bike compared to a lightweight bike with a deeper wheel, making it an easier switch between stages for mechanics too.
The wheelset took a year to develop and continuated the learnings from the 303 and 353 models launched in 2025. “We had the rim shape for maximising aerodynamics at a certain depth and we had data of how much team bikes weigh,” says Waite.
The 202 NSW has a 35mm rim depth, the shallowest in the US brand’s range, and builds on the carbon layup found of the 353 NSW: the rim features Zipp’s Biomimetic Laminate, which uses mixed-modulus carbon types designed to maximize stiffness at the spoke bed and toughness at the tyre bed, mimicking the function of a muscle tendon.
“Even though this is our shallowest rim, and it's not a variable cross section like the sawtooth, it's our most complicated carbon layup because of all the different prepreg strips we use – we have over 50 unique strips we put into the rim,” says Waite. “On top of that, we have five different fibre types that give us stiffness and strength.” At the tyre bed, the fibres are stronger and the epoxy resin binding them provides a lot more toughness against impacts; the spoke bed is stiffer, preventing tension loss caused by forces from the tyre.
Waite says the result is a rim that reacts to your every input without sacrificing durability and the aerodynamic advantage of its 35mm rim depth on the descent. “As you’re jumping and accelerating, you can really feel that,” says Waite. “It's fun and like being a kid again – you just want to go uphill over and over.”
A 23mm internal rim width means it can safely run 28mm tyres on its hookless/TSS (tubeless straight side) set-up, saving extra weight on the rubber it’s shod in. “Our 353 and 303 had gone to 25mm internal and per ETRTO and ISO [universal safety standards that determine suggested tyre widths and maximum pressures], a 30mm tyre is required. We needed to go back to 28mm tyres to get the lightest possible overall weight,” Waite explains.
The 202 NSW is laced to Zipp’s German-engineered ZR1 SL hubset with lightweight Alpina Hyperlite steel spokes in a 20-hole two-cross configuration. The ZR1 SL features ultra-corrosion resistant GRW ceramic bearings and 66 points of engagement.
Although aerodynamics have become the dominant consideration in bike and component design in recent years as manufacturers look to shave watts across the board, it seems there’s still a place for a lightweight set-up, particularly when the gradient rises, gravity rears its head and the extra load of an aero system blunts its effectiveness.
We have a set in for review – keep an eye out for our thoughts.
Visit Zipp’s website for all the specs and information.
