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campagnolo bora wto carbon wheelset
it is perhaps fortunate that the development of performance wheelsets has maintained pace with that of carbon framesets. for wheels can surely be viewed as at least one-third of the bicycle equation, assuming you're happy to designate the componentry as the other third? looking at what might be considered a regular wheelset, an aluminium rim bound to the hub by means of an equitable number of steel spokes, laced three, or two cross, or, more recently, a radial pattern, is by now, somewhat 'old skool'.
tautologically, the fewer spokes involved in the build, the less disturbance made while skooshing through the air, yet the principal protagonist associated with the wheels, is probably the front tyre, the first item to engage with the airflow. ostensibly, there's not much that can be done to prevent that; minor alterations to the tread pattern will have extremely minimal effect. however, once the wheel/tyre combination has made it through the air-wall, if it was possible to smooth that disturbance, logically, the bicycle would move faster without an increase in the strenuous effort provided by the rider.
standard alloy rims feature minimum depth, pretty much all of which is conditioned by the depth required by the tyre, a braking surface (assuming caliper brakes) and allowance for affixation of the spokes. all in all, not a great deal. increasing the depth of the rim, apparently, keeps the airflow smoother for longer; the deeper the rim, the greater the effect. however, those deeper rims create a larger target for crosswinds, and, if fabricated from carbon fibre to reduce weight, it doesn't take other than a light gust of wind to blow an already light bicycle off course.
some of you will already be aware of this situation. my frst experience with a demonstrably light pair of carbon wheels fitted to a top level carbon racing bicycle nearly ended in tears, when an atlantic gust blew me from one side of the road to the other and almost into the ditch. there are a number of places on earth where deep carbon rims are not recommended, and islay is one of them. continued development of such rims has been able to mitigate these circumstances to a certain degree, but it would be an extreme optimist that figured a total cure is just round the corner.
it was with all this in mind that i asked campagnolo if i might receive a review sample of their recently released bora wto 45mm carbon wheels, available for both rim brakes (as reviewed) or the ubiquitous discs. though i was unaware at the time (i had to ask), wto is campagnolo's acronym for wind tunnel optimised, a process that campag states "...at certain angles, the wind can actually become a valuable ally to the rider." in keeping with this quest for aerodynamicism, the wheels' hubs have apparently also been optimised to reduce drag.
from an aesthetic point of view, there is much to commend the boras: the lettering featured on the shiny carbon rims is available in both bright and dark versions (i believe i have the former) and the high-gloss finish is, according to campagnolo expert, graeme freestone king, a natural sheen imparted by the quality of the mold. it looks to all intents and purposes, like an applied clearcoat. unlike some of their competitors, campagnolo mold in not only the raised valve hole, but also the spoke holes, as opposed to drilling these after the initial manufacturing process.
the bora wto wheels are tubeless ready, arriving with the valves necessary to install tubeless tyres, as well as a pair of carbon-friendly tyre levers, carbon specific brake shoes, wheel skewers and an impressively ostentatious pair of blue wheelbags. having previously made my feelings known regarding the faff associated with wearing tubeless tyres, i shod the boras with a pair of regular donnelly strada lgg 28mm clinchers, which will soon be the subject of a separate review. suffice it to say, they slid onto the 19mm wide rims with consummate ease, for which my thumbs are eternally grateful.
fitting clinchers and inner tubes to 45mm deep rims requires a 60mm valve stem, though you could install 40mm valves with extenders. quite why you'd choose so to do is not something i intend to lose sleep over. the front wheel is built with 18 spokes, laced radially to a smooth-looking black anodised hub containing camapgnolo's much-vaunted ultra spherical bearings. though i often despair of the acronyms employed across a wide range of componentry, the bearings in camapgnolo's hubs are exceptional. after fitting the front wheel, i spun it to check for correct tyre installation, before popping inside to make a cup of tea.
the wheel was still rotating when i returned.
campagnolo's freehub has successfully retained the same dimensions since their gearsets offered eight rear sprockets, so fitting twelve to accommodate the record groupset on my ritchey logic was easily accomplished. with campagnolo having recently released a twelve-speed chorus groupset, i opted to fit an 11-32 chorus cassette along with a new chain. like record and super-record, 12-speed chorus offers cassettes with either a 29 or 32 large sprocket, but in a break with a scarcely settled tradition, it's also possible to acquire a cassette with a 34 large sprocket, one that is not compatible with either of the record derailleurs.
a campagnolo twelve-speed cassette, of whichever flavour, arrives in sections. the six largest sprockets comprise two separate rivetted sets of three, while the smallest six cogs are loose. according to campagnolo, it's possible to swap out the three largest sprocket sets, allowing for a certain level of post purchase customisation. whether dealers are likely to stock these options remains to be seen.
the spokes on the rear wheel are grouped in seven sets of three, laced to a hub sporting a large diameter, slotted flange on the drive side. this leaves large portions of the rim's circumference completely unsupported, but on the basis that vicenza has been doing this for many a long year, i can but accept the veracity of their spoking technique.
though this review will offer at least two subsequent updates, i have been for a few rides aboard the bora wto wheelset since it arrived, only one of which involved an appreciable breeze. though the gusts have reached only the mid-thirties, so far they have had no detrimental effect on my ability to keep the ritchey in a straight line along uiskentuie strand. the effect on my average speed has, however, been somewhat revelatory; every ride so far has offered a higher number displayed on my garmin and i really wasn't expecting that.
despite this being the west coast of scotland, i have yet to get them wet. hopeful of finding that the combination of special pads and a carbon braking surface offers everything i hope it will, i eagerly await the next downpour. disappointingly, the front wheel/donnelly tyre combination suffers from a similar complaint as observed on previous occasions: slight rubbing under the record front caliper. quite why vicenza lowered the gap beneath the record front brake, compared to that seen on the chorus caliper, i know not, particularly when most of us are moving to wider rubber. of course, it could be that the ritchey carbon fork is complicit, possibly with a marginally lower bolt diameter than found elsewhere.
either way, the skliffing sound heard as the tyre rolls under the caliper is gradually minimising and seems not to have had any negative effect on my forward motion. from this point onwards, this rock in the atlantic will begin to experience higher winds, lower temperatures and large amounts of precipitation, the very conditions beloved of a wheel and tyre review.
i'll get back to you soon.
friday 26 july 2019
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