Being the first review, and only having a rough guide of how it should run, I hope this is helpful!
Item: Dura Ace carbon-alloy composite shallow section race wheels
How long used: Around a month so far
Where used: The road, mainly for racing.
Similar Products: Ritchey WCS LTD’s.
I was looking for some wheels similar to my Ritchey’s, but with a bit more stiffness and a touch less weight. The Dura Ace wheels, both the deeper 50mm section, and the shallow 24 mm, have had rave reviews, so i ordered them in from work. I should note that i later looked on Wiggle and you can get them cheaper there than the wholesale i received them for.
First impressions: Aesthetically they are beautiful, Shimano having successfully combined their conventional shiny silver alloy look, with the newer (for Shimano) dark carbon look. The gunmetal grey of the hubs offsets very nicely with the black carbon rim. The spokes are black, 20 on the rear, 16 radial on the front. Nipples are alloy.
Boy, these wheels are stiff. I could talk about vertical compliance for days, but essentially, these wheels live up to the hype. Any power put through the bottom bracket, seems to just rocket you forward as if on wings. Despite this, they aren’t harsh to ride, and i felt pretty comfortable going over potholes and such, despite the low spoke count. Weighing just over 1300 grams for the pair, these wheels are extremely light, and i did notice this in hilly terrain.
Being a 72ish kilo person, weight limits aren’t a problem. Shimano doesn’t give one, but I don’t buy it. There is only so much a 20 spoke wheel can hold before it goes. Having only had the wheels for a relatively short amount of time, I can’t as yet comment on the longevity of the wheels. So far, however, they remain dead true. However, if its anything like the Ritchey i had before, which also had low spoke counts and alloy nipples, there might be some problems later down the track, especially for the heavier person. That said, internet trawling comes up with no disasters people have come across.
Pros: Extremely light, cup and cone bearings (easy maintenance, though I’m aware this might be a con for some), STIFF, looks the goods.
Cons: None so far. Some slight reservations about the longevity of low spoke count, alloy nipple combos.
All the reviews of these wheels say to believe the hype. Generally, this makes me want to disbelieve the hype as much as possible, but i can’t help but agree. These wheels rock, and if your looking for a good all round wheel, that is at home in the hills as it is on the flat, i can’t recommend them more highly. Online they go for just over 800 i believe.
Please note that i purchased the clinchers, the image above shows the tubulars. They would be even lighter i imagine.
Hope this is fairly concise.