Carbon ushered in a few benefits to wheels, but better braking was not immediately one of them. For 2015, Campagnolo has a few upgrades for its Shamal Mille and Bora wheels to address this. Now, riders can use red Campagnolo carbon pads and switch back and forth between the alloy Mille wheels and carbon wheels without issue, and the full line of Bora wheels now have the diamond-etched braking surface first introduced on the 35. Plus, the Bora rims are wider.
Campagnolo Shamal Mille
First launched back in the early 1990s, the Shamal Mille is a high-value alloy wheelset that now has a new braking track that Campagnolo claims "puts this wheelset in a category all its own". This treatment was designed to be used with red Campagnolo carbon pads, so riders can swap in carbon wheels for race day and then back to Mille alloy wheels without worrying about changing pads. Campagnolo is quick to point out that the Mille hoops are perfectly raceable on their own, but acknowledges that many riders like carbon wheels these days.
The new Mille braking surface isn't anodized, but is created with a penetrating chemical treatment. Campagnolo claims the brake track will always remain black and this surface treatment will not wear away. There are some parallels with Mavic's Exalith alloy brake track.
BikeRadar weighed the new Mille wheels at 620g front and 830g rear, excluding the quick releases. (There was only a front quick release available for weighing, at 60g.) Pricing has not yet been announced. It is only available as clincher for now.
The wheels will come with either a Campagnolo or a Shimano/SRAM freehub body.
Aside from the new braking surface, the Shamal Mille wheels remain unchanged from past versions, with differential rim profiles, Campy's G3 spoke pattern, carbon hub bodies, USB bearings and rim bed unpierced by holes for the spokes.
Campagnolo Bora
The new Campagnolo Bora wheels will come in 35 and 50mm heights in both the top-end Ultra version with ceramic bearings and the standard One versions with steel bearings. All Bora wheels will now have a 24.2mm-wide rim, up from 20.5mm. Aside from moving with the current trend of wider rims, Campagnolo claims this change improves aerodynamics and offers better accommodation for wider tubulars.
After introducing the diamond-roughed rim treatment on the Bora Ultra 35, the 50mm versions now get the 3 Diamant treatment, too.
Campagnolo shaved a little weigh with lighter graphics and a smaller front hub.
Campagnolo also has a new verification process, acknowledging that faked replicas are being sold. New wheels will come with documentation that buyers can check out via Certilogo.
BikeRadar has recently tested and reviewed the Campagnolo Bora Ultra 35 and Campagnolo Bora One 35 wheels, and came away impressed with both.
Claimed weights for the new wheels are as follows. Pricing has not been announced.
- BORA ULTRA 35 1,170g
- BORA ULTRA 50 1,215g
- BORA ONE 35 1,215g
- BORA ONE 50 1,265g
