SHIMANO WHEELS


2010 Shimano Dura-Ace WH-7850 50mm Carbon Tubular Wheelset

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This single wheelset, the Shimano Dura Ace WH-7850-C50-TU, aka Dura Ace Deep Dish Tubular, has not only won Classic one-day races, but stages in Grand Tours, cyclocross World Cups, and the Hawaii Ironman. All these results occurred in the months before reaching market. They've been piloted by Thor Hushovd, Alessandro Petacchi, Oscar Freire, Sven Nys, and Chris McCormack. Even Erik Zabel, who seemed to have a deal to ride Lightweights when he wanted to, has raced these wheels. By any standard, this is not only an amazing record, but also testimony to how versatile the wheels are.

Our first assumption was that these wheels are for the big guys. Both literally and figuratively. This is Shimano's Carbon Hi-Profile Tubular and they cast it as a wheel for Pro-Tour sprinters and time trialists. The 50mm depth is both stiff and aero. And with 16 spokes in front and 20 in back, it slices through the wind fairly easily. A quick look at the specs will tell you these aren't the lightest deep dish wheels out there. Shimano wasn't looking to build a flimsy wheel. The wheel is more than 50% stronger than the DIN-Plus standard (a European safety test). More importantly, it is a great-riding wheel.

Weight isn't everything, especially the faster you go. Shimano wanted an absurdly strong wheel that would ride great. They succeeded on both counts. Tour, the German magazine, called the previous iteration of this wheel the best riding wheel of their high-zoot shootout, and that was going up against Zipp, Mavic, Lightweight, and the rest of the drool-worthy hoops. Shimano considers this high praise, as they eschew wind tunnels and cold data for the je ne sai quois of ride feel. They wanted these wheels to ride great.

An interesting evolution is how Shimano has been working towards more traditional looking wheels. Originally, they had one wheel that did everything with a unique hub and spoking pattern. Now they have several wheelsets with relatively conventional spoking patterns. The nipples are at the rim, not the hub, and there are no odd crosses as they had on their first set. And the aluminum nipples are nicely set off with red anodizing.

Shimano is staking a claim at the hub. They stick to loose angular contact bearings rather than sealed cartridges for long life and easy rolling; this is the second place where Shimano exceeded the DIN-plus standard, by an order of five. They also have designed an oversize 15mm aluminum axle for strength and stiffness at the hub. Does this matter? It can help minimize flex if the fork is one that moves around under pressure. A better line when leaning hard into a turn and less effort to keep the bike going straight when thrashing out of the saddle are nothing to sneeze at if you're the kind of rider that can flex everything or has already found some unwanted flex. Further stiffening the wheel are wide hub flanges, 59mm wide in the back. The wider flanges mean greater lateral stiffness, so less energy loss from side flex.

Note: Shimano recommends their R55C cartridge brake pads for their carbon rims. The cartridge pads fit brake shoes on the Shimano BR-7800, BR-7700, BR-6600, BR-6500, BR-5600, BR-5501, BR-5500, BR-R600, and BR-R560 brakes. This doesn't mean that SwissStop or Kool Stop carbon-specific pads don't work, just that Shimano doesn't recommend them.

The Shimano Dura Ace Carbon Hi-Profile Tubular wheelset has 50mm deep carbon fiber rims. The front wheel has 16 radial spokes, the rear has 20 cross-two spokes, all straight-pull. The spokes are stainless steel, ion plated, double-butted (14g/15g/14g) and bladed. The spokes are attached to the rims via aluminum nipples at the rim. The nipples are anodized red. The hubs have aluminum shells and axles and run on loose-ball bearings. The quick release skewers have aluminum shafts and parts. The cassette body is titanium and is compatible with 8/9/10 speed Shimano, Shimano-compatible and SRAM cassettes. It is available in 700c only. Shimano offers a three-year warranty with Dura-Ace wheels. Rim weight is 415g. Front wheel weight is 639g. Rear wheel weight is 830g. Weight is 1467g for the set without quick releases.

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