Wheels

Campagnolo Shamal Ultra 2-Way Fit wheelset

Campagnolo's lightweight, tubeless-ready wheels now have a wider rim

If you want some serious-looking alloy climbing hoops for your lightweight bike, then Campag’s Shamal range has been a top-notch option for a few years now. The latest iteration brings with it a wide rim profile, along with the ‘2-Way Fit’ which allows the wheelset to run a tubeless setup.

The updated C17 rim now measures 17mm internally – a 2mm increase over the previous generation C15 rim – and that provides a better platform for the 25mm and 28mm tyres which are increasingly common with all riders, from pros to amateurs.

Campagnolo offer the Shamal in a conventional clincher format but we’ve opted for the 2-Way Fit option here, given the additional versatility of a wheelset set up to go tubeless – all for a measly additional 16g of material, needed to fashion the stronger and tighter bead hooks required for tubeless.

Campagnolo have also kept the process of mounting tyres as simple and efficient as possible, in a design called ‘Ultra-Fit’. The theory goes that an optimised tyre-rim interface improves efficiency as a result of reduced friction – friction that occurs through loose fitting and movement of the tyre on the rim. Given tubeless tech relies on tight tolerances and a snug fit between tyre and bead too, it’s almost as if Ultra-Fit was a precursor to tubeless adoption.

RCUK 100 - Campagnolo Shamal Ultra 2-Way Fit wheelset

However, regardless of whether you choose to run tubeless or clincher, the 2-Way Shamal Ultras are likely to impress with an overall weight of 1,475g per set. As we alluded to at the top, these are great hoops for the hills.

Aero performance isn’t the big story with the Shamal Ultras, but Campagnolo claim the C17’s wider rim bed also means tyres line up closer to the external rim. It’s not a huge thing, but it’ll help. What will help a little more are the aero spokes and slightly deeper rim profile on the rear wheel that varies between 27-30mm.

It varies because of the distinctive Mega G3 spoke pattern that distinguishes the wheels from most competitors. The Italians claim it provides optimum rigidity and power transfer, and when those spokes meet with the oversized nipples, the rim juts out at the junction thanks to the weight-saving ‘Toroidal’ milling that’s occurred throughout.

Campagnolo Shamal Ultra 2-Way Fit

Price: £935.99
Website: Campagnolo

The front wheel has the same style milling, only this time in a radial layout of 16 spokes to keep weight low, while Campag also claim the wider rim profile allows for greater wheel stiffness. This becomes noticeable when scaling big climbs, and resistance is kept to a minimum thanks to a combination of the wider tyre compatibility and ceramic Ultra Smooth bearings within weight-saving carbon hubs.

Throw in the added structural benefits of the ‘MoMag’ system that allows Campag’s engineers to get away without drilling holes into the alloy rim bed and compromising structural rigidity, and spokes that lock in so that they don’t lose tension or rotate after extended use, and the 2-Way Shamal Ultra’s are still right near the top of the lightweight alloy wheel pecking order.