Zipp 404 S: A $1,300 Wheelset Aimed Squarely at Hunt's Territory
Zipp's $1,300 404 S wheelset brings 50mm depth and 1,585g to the budget carbon fight. Here's what the specs actually mean for your riding.
$1,300 for a Zipp wheelset with a claimed 1,585g weight and 50mm depth. That number alone explains why this exists: Zipp is finally competing in the sub-$1,500 carbon market that brands like Hunt have owned for years.
The 404 S is built around a 23mm internal width hookless rim optimized for 28mm tires, though it'll accept up to 39mm if you want to blur the line into light gravel. Zipp claims it saves roughly 2 watts over the outgoing 303 S and tests favorably against wheels costing twice as much—Enve and Scope get name-checked. The aero data comes from wind-tunnel runs using 3D-printed bike models (no rider, which they acknowledge adds too much variability to measure cleanly). They even specify the tire they optimized around: the Goodyear Eagle F1 R Z29 Aero 29mm, which they say adds another watt advantage over alternatives. Whether that precision survives your actual tire choice and inflation habits is another question.
The 76/176 hubs are the same units from the 303 S—steel cartridge bearings, 36 points of engagement. That's 10 degrees of pickup, which is fine for road riding but noticeably slower than higher-end options with 54 or more POE. If you're coming from a premium hub, the engagement difference will be obvious in tight accelerations. XDR and HG11 freehub options cover the main drivetrains; Campagnolo riders are out of luck.
Zipp explicitly markets this to newer racers and riders who want stability over outright depth—hence 50mm instead of the 58mm Firecrest. That's a reasonable trade for crosswind confidence, especially if your Saturday group ride includes exposed stretches. The hookless design does limit your tire selection to TSS-compatible models, and the 73 psi max pressure means you're committed to the tubeless-at-lower-pressure philosophy whether you planned to be or not.
The real question is whether Zipp's name and lifetime warranty justify the $300-400 premium over a Hunt 50 Carbon Wide. For a data-focused rider weighing upgrade math, that gap buys you Zipp's aero claims and crash replacement policy. For everyone else, it buys brand confidence. Neither answer is wrong—it just depends on how much you trust wind-tunnel numbers you can't replicate yourself.
