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campagnolo bora one and bora wto wheelsets

many years ago, i was fortunate to receive a pair of almost entirely carbon fibre/kevlar wheels which, even with race-ready tubular tyres and a cassette fitted, could have easily been blown away by a good sneeze. paired with an equally lightweight bicycle, cycling took on a more trajectory-based persona; uphill, downhill, flat, no matter the angle of terrain, skittering about on tarmac became the equivalent of unmitigated joy. however, presumably in order to provide a ying to this velocipedinal yang, there were a couple of downsides.

firstly, these were hardly the cheapest hoops on the market; checking out the recommended retail price was likely to incur a sharp intake of breath, followed closely by the likelihood of a red figure at the bottom of my bank account. and secondly, the depth of the carbon rims (56mm) created a remarkable verisimilitude of a yacht sail. on an island regularly strafed by galeforce atlantic crosswinds, they were, to put it mildly, a bit of a handful. had my net worth been in any way equal to purchasing a pair, i would have been determined to feature their black roundness on my bicycle, year round, a situation that promised nothing other than a winter of discontent.

followed recently by my reviewing yet another brand of deep-rimmed (64mm) wheels, with similar results, you would perhaps have thought i'd had my fill of such a genre of wheels, and to a certain extent, that would not be too far from the truth. however, i am nothing if not inordinately obstinate, gleefully accepting the task of reviewing a pair of campagnolo's most recent bora series release. these bora wto carbon-rimmed wheels feature a 45mm depth, but the wto (wind tunnel optimised) release promised the likelihood of a different paradigm in aero wheels, a set that would laugh in the face of violent, gusting crosswinds.

the latter promise is one i have come across before, to which i have offered the usual guffaws of derision. this particular strain of boras lightens the corporate wallet by a figure terrifyingly close to £1700, a price ticket that might give reasonable grounds for recriminations, should they too, prove a major handful if used year round. yet, who nowadays has that kind of money to spend if the period of use is restricted to a matter of a few months of the year?

campagnolo bora wto

my initial review, published not so very long ago, offered succour to the intrepid, provided by an impressive ride quality, coupled with that light weight and a bearing smoothness that has to be witnessed to be believed. however, until recently, crosswinds over the parcours had remained disappointingly light, offering no firm evidence that vicenza had tamed the beast (so to speak). however, my more recent forays into the wild west have proved more effective in this department, with more than just a single instance of winds in the 60-70kph range.

recalling my less than confidence-inspiring rides on deeper carbon, the watchword was deigned to be 'trepidation', accompanied by a tense gritting of teeth and narrowing of the eyes when roadside shelter all but disappeared near the island's atlantic coast. obviating any necessary spoiler alert, my apprehension remained unanswered; remaining upright and heading in the desired direction was no harder than when riding on 'normal' wheels. vicenza has quite clearly spent its time in the wind tunnel to great effect and with remarkably impressive results. i am considerably less than well-versed in the engineering intricacies that can bring about such a result; it is simply my vocation in life to point out the results.

for those who hold fears over the braking properties of a carbon rim, particularly in the wet, and i would include myself in that elevated group, worry not. even when riding through a couple of inches of flowing water, coming to a sudden halt was every bit as effective as a disc-equipped bicycle.

coincidentally, fitted to the basso diamante currently residing in thewashingmachinepost bike shed, is a pair of campagnolo bora one carbon wheels. these differ from their wto siblings by way of campag's grouping of the spokes in threes both front and rear (the wto version features radial spoking up front) and a rim depth of only 35mm. once again, i must admit to a lack of technical knowledge that would advise at which point a rim's depth is no longer troubled by any form of crosswind, but visually, at least, the bora one wheelset would appear to still live above that parameter.

while continuing my in-depth review of the basso, i have had good cause to ride many a kilometre aboard its attractive blueness in all manner of hebridean weather, during which it has been remarkably easy to forget the manner of those wheels. of course, many of you will hardly be subjected to the ferocity of crosswind that is, effectively, our birthright, but a bit like knowing a waterproof jacket has been subjected to torrential and horizontal rain without shedding a tear, my suffering for your art ought surely to inspire greater confidence in your purchase.

everywhere is draughty at some time in its life.

wednesday 4 september 2019