Advanced clinchers and road tubeless may be all the rage, but tubular rubber still refuses to go away. Campagnolo’s take on the mid-profile wheelset is only available for tubulars, but comes in three versions, the Bora Ultra 35, One 35 and One 35 Cyclocross, with improved hub seals.
The Bora One 35 costs around £1,000 less than the Bora Ultra 35, and substitutes its part-carbon hub bodies and CULT ceramic bearings for aluminium hub bodies and USB ceramic bearings – resulting in a negligible 30g weight gain.
- Highs: Light, versatile and extremely fast
- Lows: Not a wide rim
Our wheels weighed an impressively feathery 1,380g including skewers, which had us expecting a lively performance. With racy tubs glued on, we tested the Boras over our usual hilly roads, and also raced on them. First impressions were of excellent response from the stiff carbon rim and Campag’s G3 spoke pattern that splits the rear wheel’s 21 spokes into groups of three parallel spokes, two of which are on the drive side to equalise stresses.
Whether firing out of slow speed corners, or responding to an attack, the One 35s accelerate rapidly, and you’ll quickly find yourself shifting up. They sustain speed with ease too, especially over rolling roads where excess weight always dulls performance. The 35mm rim depth is a great option, offering good aerodynamic performance, while not presenting too much area to crosswinds, and even turning across the wind through a high speed bend, handling wasn’t unduly affected.
Their 21mm width feels slightly less planted than today’s wider rims, but always secure, and the 3Diamant brake surface treatment and new brake pad compound result in powerful and consistent braking in all conditions without grabbing. Though hardly ‘cheap’, these are competitively priced, offer a performance benefit and are available for Shimano and SRAM too.
