For all the innovative developments Zipp crams into its 858 NSW Carbon Disc Brake Wheel, there are two features that remain blissfully old-school: it uses rim brakes and it runs on tubes. Not all of us have (or want) a frame with disc brakes, and not all of us like the hassle of setting up a tubeless tire; however, we're pretty much unanimously in favor of increased aerodynamics without as much of the instability that deep rims typically suffer from. Other than that, though, the 858 NSW is a mad-science approach to upending every tradition or norm we expect from aerodynamic wheels. Gone is uniformity in rim shape. Discarded are the pawls that we all grew up pedaling. The wheelset's rim and freehub may well represent the new--or rather, the future standard by which other wheels will be measure. The most immediately obvious difference between the 858 NSW and any other wheel is the rim shape, whose depth undulates between 82mm at its deepest point and 77mm at its shallowest in a series of wavy swells Zipp refers to as Hyperfoils. The overall design is known as SawTooth, which takes on a shape not dissimilar to the ABLC SawTooth dimple patterning found on the 808 NSW. These bumps, designated as Hyperfoils, mimic the nodes or tubercles found on the fins of humpback whales, shapes that manage water resistance and contribute to the massive animals' ability to swiftly maneuver despite their size. Compared to standard rims, Zipp claims that wind tunnel testing shows that this SawTooth design significantly reduces both side force and aerodynamic drag, which in combination should translate to more confident handling when riding on exposed roads in variable winds and an easier time pushing the pedals any given speed compared to even the 808 NSW. The 858 NSW also marks a departure from Zipp's signature dimpling, upgrading the ABLC design to HexFin ABLC. The HexFin ABLC dimples take inspiration from their round predecessors' claimed ability to better manage the boundary layer...