Zipp 454 NSW Carbon Clincher wheels review

Taking design cues from nature, the Zipp 454 NSW Carbon Clincher wheel's engineers claim they have the brand's fastest rim shape to date

Zipp 454 NSW wheels
Cycling Weekly Verdict

The Zipp 454 NSW Carbon Clincher wheels are what bike riding dreams are made of. A do-it-all pair of wheels that are not just for the rouleur, delivering on everything the tarmac and elements can throw at them, condensing your whole wheel wish list into a single set.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Excellent all-rounders

  • +

    Fast rolling

  • +

    Stable

  • +

    Strong

  • +

    Braking ability

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Braking noise under heat

  • -

    Price

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

When the  Zipp 454 NSW Carbon Clincher wheels were launched at the tail end of 2016, it was with much eyebrow raising and rubbing of chins: at the forefront of the marketing spiel was that humpback whales inspired their design.

>>> Do you need deep section wheels? 

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Hannah Bussey

Hannah is Cycling Weekly’s longest-serving tech writer, having started with the magazine back in 2011. She has covered all things technical for both print and digital over multiple seasons representing CW at spring Classics, and Grand Tours and all races in between.

Hannah was a successful road and track racer herself, competing in UCI races all over Europe as well as in China, Pakistan and New Zealand.

For fun, she's ridden LEJOG unaided, a lap of Majorca in a day, won a 24-hour mountain bike race and tackled famous mountain passes in the French Alps, Pyrenees, Dolomites and Himalayas. 

She lives just outside the Peak District National Park near Manchester UK with her partner, daughter and a small but beautifully formed bike collection.