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New Shimano Dura-Ace Carbon road wheels use 12 speed-specific Direct Engagement freehub

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How do you complete the ‘Science of Speed’ equation for the new Shimano Dura-Ace & Ultegra groups? New wheels, of course! And not just any wheels, but something that Shimano considers “redefining” when it comes to their wheel offerings. Specifically, they asked themselves what was most important—speed? Aerodynamics? Rigidity? That probably depends on the type of rider and each specific use, which led to three distinct platforms.

New Profiles

Shimano carbon tubeless rim profiles

Sort of like the rim brake thing, Shimano will offer their new wheels in tubular form, but most people will only see these as tubeless-ready options for the road. With a goal of reducing drag without sacrificing control, new rim profiles were developed to fit three distinct rider profiles. That includes the C36, C50, and the C60_HR or High Rigidity. For the climbers, the 36mm deep C36 is skewed towards being light weight over aerodynamics and lateral rigidity.

The C50, at 50mm deep is more of an all-around wheel with equal focus on aerodynamics, rigidity, and weight. In terms of aerodynamics, the new C50-TL outperforms the previous C60-TU by a full watt, and it offers 5.1w less drag compared to the outgoing C40-TL. Just as important though, the wheel also offers similar levels of control to the shallower C40-TL with less impact from cross winds.

Finally, the C60_HR offers +20% increased lateral rigidity for sprinting and heavier riders while also  featuring low drag.

Each of the rims measure 21mm internally with a 28mm external width, and a hooked bead.

Shimano C36 carbon rim details

Tubeless ready, each rim comes pre-taped with a high quality tubeless valve that matches perfectly to the contour of the carbon rim. Note that the wheels include a label that advises against using tire levers. That may or may not be possible depending on the tires you choose. I started with some Vittoria Corsa tube-type tires which went onto the rim without tools fairly easily (you can still run tubes on these wheels with any tire thanks to the hooked bead).

However, the only tubeless tires I had on hand were a pair of Continental GP5000 Tubeless tires, but they were so tight that I wrestled with them to no avail. Eventually, I had to resort to one well-placed lever stroke to get the tire on the rim enough for it to seat. Long story short, it will depend on what tires you choose and your abilities, but Shimano would rather you not use a tire lever.

12 Speed Specific Freehub (Dura Ace Only)

Shimano Dura Ace 12 speed only freehub

A big part of the new wheel design is at the center of each build. Shimano wanted wheels that offered increased driving rigidity as well as lighter weight. The new rear hub helps accomplish both. As mentioned in our Dura-Ace and Ultegra overview, the new Dura-Ace wheels feature a 12 speed-specific freehub. This was all about saving weight without creating a freehub that will get damaged by the cassette cogs. In just the hub alone, Shimano has dropped an impressive 45g compared to the R9170 FH.

Of course these are then only compatible with Shimano 12 speed road cassettes, but those cassettes are still compatible with other wheels with the older HG freehubs.

Shimano Direct Engagement Freehub

Inside that new freehub you’ll find Shimano’s Direct Engagement system which is similar to that in the current XTR hubs. Compared to the current C40 wheels, this freehub mechanism alone improves driving rigidity by 63%. It also offers low drag, and a fairly quiet (but not silent) freewheeling.

Lacing Patterns

Shimano 1:1 spoke lacing

In terms of lateral rigidity, the C36 and C50 wheels each use a 1:1 spoke pattern on the front wheel while the C60_HR uses a 2:1 spoke pattern on the front hub for 10% increased rigidity. You’ll also find thicker 1.8mm spokes on the C60_HR vs 1.5mm spokes on the C36 and C50 for reduced weight.

Shimano 2:1 Optbal spoke lacing

Rear wheels also use a 2:1 Optbal lacing pattern for improved lateral and driving rigidity.

Shimano Centerlock hub

For Shimano, Centerlock brake mounts and cup and cone bearings are still king.

What do they Weigh?

Shimano C36 dura ace wheels actual weight 12 speed

Shimano states that every gram counts, but they’ve given priority to reducing weight at the rim. For the C36-TL (Tubeless), that means a 55g reduction in rim weight compared to the current C40, and a claimed weight of 1338g for the set. When weighed in real life with tape and valves, that number is actually 1398g which makes us think that Shimano’s claimed weights are without. The C50-TL has a claimed weight of 1,465g, and the C60_HR-TL is 1,609g.

Dura-Ace and Ultegra Wheelset Options

Shimano Dura Ace c36 c50 c60-HR wheels

While tubular versions of the wheels will technically be available in both rim brake and disc brake spec, Shimano hasn’t provided pricing info as they’re basically pro team-only. That leaves us with the C36-TL and C50-TL which are $2,099.99 for each set, and the C60_HR-TL which is a bit more at $2,199.99 a set.

Shimano Ultegra C36 c50 c60 wheels

Shimano Ultegra wheel hubs

For the first time in history, Shimano will also be offering full carbon wheels at the Ultegra level. These wheels feature nearly identical rims to Dura-Ace except for the C36 which is slightly different. Also, the Ultegra wheels get a standard HG splined freehub body instead of the 12 speed specific version found on the Dura-Ace hubs.

Because of this, the wheels are slightly heavier with the Ultegra C36 a claimed 1,488g, the C50 at 1,570g, and the C60 (not HR) at 1,649g. But they’re also quite a bit less expensive at $1,399.99 per set.

There’s no specific timeline for wheelset availability, other than Dura-Ace aftermarket availability starting in October 2021, and Ultegra starting “this fall”.

Missed our coverage on the new Dura-Ace and Ultegra groups? Get all the details right here

bike.shimano.com

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Brian
2 years ago

Hi Zac Just out of curiosity did the marketing people from Shimano provide you with some actual engineering data and calculated evidence to support the SPIN of their technical claims about these wheels ???
Otherwise seems like you are running an ‘advermercial’ rather than presenting a piece of journalism about the facts. Did you do a fact check with Shimano??? NO! I think.

Stefan Roussev
Stefan Roussev
2 years ago
Reply to  Brian

He can write whatever he wants. You need a chill pill bro.

An203
An203
2 years ago
Reply to  Stefan Roussev

He has a point… sharing press-release info is one thing, having a discussion with the brand and some supporting evidences is quite better. Here Zac did it for the weights (well done), the rest seems to be quite a lot of “the voice of shimano”. More stiffness? how much? lighter rim? how much?… those types of questions bring quite more value than the infomercial BR tend to do (cause that’s a part of the business model)

Steven
Steven
2 years ago
Reply to  An203

I agree some supporting data would be nice. Maybe we will run some tests here at our facility and see (:.

An203
An203
2 years ago
Reply to  Zach Overholt

Glad to read it… but where are those info? most statement are “qualitative” at best and lack details:
– rims are lighter… what are the rim weights?
– wheels are stiffer… what is their stiffness value so we can compare?
– wheels are more aero… how have they been tested (I get this one is tougher), which tires?
So glad you challenged their claims, but we can’t read any of it.

Bart Bart
Bart Bart
2 years ago

LOL, Having actually been lucky enough to be invited to a “Press Camp” and having met Zach at one, I can assure all the readers that he does his homework and actually asks some pretty in depth questions. I for one don’t want to read a empirical article, so well done Zach, I appreciate your insight on these wheels. I look forward to seeing them in person.

An203
An203
2 years ago

@bart, probably a fantastic person and a great professional, just pointing that it’s not really visible from the writing… claims are qualitative not quantitative.

Daniel Hoffman
Daniel Hoffman
2 years ago

Hi, is the direct drive system applied to the ultegra hubs, yes I know they have different freehub bodies, but do they both share the same internals?

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