Dura-Ace 9000 C50 Carbon Clincher Review

by Wade Wallace

Shimano has typically been known for its outstanding groupsets which continue to raise the bar, but it's the company's wheel story that is its best kept secret. I've spent more than two months on the new Dura-Ace 9000 C50 carbon clinchers and I'll be sad to give them back now that this review period is over. Here are my thoughts ...

Late last year Shimano released their revamped Dura-Ace 9000 range which includes an overhaul of their groupsets and wheelsets. The new Di2 9070 has taken the spotlight with its electronic shifting, but Shimano’s wheelsets have seen a host of improvements as well.

Seven WorldTour teams are on Shimano wheels. Some people will say that this is only a commercial arrangement, but teams do get a great deal of say in which sponsors they work with. Riders not so much. See lots more on the Shimano YouTube channel.

When it comes to carbon wheelsets, my preference is either tubulars or clinchers with an aluminium braking surface. I’m not yet convinced about the reliability of full carbon clinchers and aluminium brakes are so much better than carbon - especially in the wet. And that’s without mentioning the cost of carbon specific brake pads. With my current level of dedication, carbon aluminium clinchers are my pick. The way tyres are made nowadays you can get a beautiful ride out of a set of clinchers without the hassle and expense of tubulars. There’s still nothing like the feel and performance of a nice set of tubulars, but let’s face it, they can be a pain in the backside.

The newly designed C50 clincher uses a 23mm wide center drilled alloy/carbon laminate rim which uses internal nipples. The weight is 1672 grams with an approximate retail price of $2100.

From the spec sheet:

• D2 Rim design optimises aerodynamics and stability
• OptBal Spoke system enhances wheel rigidity and durability.
• Extra wide hub flange maximises lateral rigidity.
• High strength, lightweight titanium freehub body
• Shimano angular contact bearings and oversize A7075 Alloy Axles
• 16 spokes front, 21 spokes rear
• Weight: 1672g ( w/o QR & rim tape) (F: 752g; R: 920g)
• ERP AUD $2,099

What’s new in the 9000 series wheelset?

• Internal spoke nipples
• Bladed spokes
• Improved aerodynamic rim shape
• 2:1 balanced spoke design on the rear wheel
• 10- and 11-speed compatible freehub
• Wider spoke flange on the hubs

The new 9000 rear wheel has a 2:1 spoke balance design: the drive side is cross laced (14 spokes) and the non-drive side is radial laced (7 spokes). The 7900 rear wheel had cross-laced 10/10 a spoke design. The other main difference is that the hub is build for 11-speed cassette which is backwards-compatible for a 10-speed as well.

The ride

Shimano sent me these wheels for review nearly 2 months ago and they won’t be pleased to know that I’ve put over 1,000km on them (unfortunately they no longer look new). They feel rock solid, roll beautifully, corner and accelerate nicely, are very stiff but not harsh, and don’t act like a sail in the crosswinds. And unlike many other deep-dish wheels out there, they hardly make a sound.

I wouldn’t put these in the high-performance category of Lightweights, MadFiber, or ENVE, but the most noticable quality I got from riding these wheels are their toughness and durability combined with good handling and aerodynamics. As I said earlier, I put more than 1,000km on these wheels and they still feel rock solid. It won’t be until around the 10,000km mark where I’d expect to see problems, but going on Shimano’s reputation, I wouldn’t expect to see anything other than normal maintenance issues.

Serviceability

I’ve spoken with a couple bikeshop mechanics to get their views on any re-occurring problems and maintenance issues with these wheels, and everything has come out clean. The notable thing about Dura-Ace hubs is that they don’t use sealed bearings (apparently because they roll better this way). The hubs are easy to maintain, the cups never come loose from the cones, and they’re a dream to work on. Dura-Ace hubs have always had an excellent reputation, and the only difference with these is that there’s a larger flange. It’s good to know they haven’t played with this formula.

What’s included

The nice thing about these wheels is that they come with all the accessories you need to get up and running. Rim tape, valve extenders (with seals), valve stem stabiliser, truing keys, high quality skewers, and wheel bags. The only thing you need is a cassette, tubes and tyres and you’re rolling.

Competitors

Other wheels in the same range as these Dura-Ace 9000 C50s include the Zipp 404 clincher (which is being discontinued and replaced with the Zipp 60), the HED Jet 6 FR, Mavic Cosmic Carbon, Easton EC70, and possibly others.

How do these Dura-Ace C50’s compare to these other wheelsets? Well, I’ve owned the Zipp 404s, Jet 6s and Mavic Carbons, and I can tell you that all are excellent wheelsets with their own advantages, but the one thing that Shimano has nailed with Dura-Ace is the hubs.

WRAP-UP

Bombproof

Shimano really needs to start spreading their wheel message around more because they're being eclipsed by their groupset story. These new 9000 series C-50 carbon clinchers have an incredible ride quality and are absolutely bombproof. The buyer for this wheelset would be anyone who wants performance wheels for training and racing without the need for two separate sets. Weight ( w/o QR & rim tape) F :752 R: 920g AUD ERP $2099

GOOD STUFF

Excellent ride quality (stiffness, handling in the wind)
The build quality is second to none
Good balance between practicality and performance
Comes with all the accessories required to get you rolling (skewers, valve stems, bags, etc)

BAD STUFF

Slightly heavy, but not out of line against other wheels in same category

CTECH RATING

9.0

Performance

8.0

Presentation

8.0

Value for money

8.0

Handling

9.0

Quality

10.0

WANT IT

Tags: product reviews, Shimano, Wheelset

jules

CT - why are the DA hubs better? I remember you saying the Zipp cones were coming loose I think.

I have new wheels (Reynolds Solitude) with radial drive side spokes on the rear, and they keep coming loose as they won’t take much tension. I have bought some linseed oil. the wife got excited, initially thinking I was going to restore some of our furniture. she should know better.
- http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips
  
  I spoke with many mechanics about the DA hubs and they all had very good things to say about them. They’re durable, easy to maintain, and roll nicely. They never come loose because of the mechanism used to keep the cup and cone together. They’re not a sealed bearing (which apparently makes them roll better). I’ll let someone chime in here if they see this as being a durability issue.
  - jules
    
    Thanks. I think the means of sealing bearings adds a bit of friction. One difference with cup and cone bearings is that the cup, being integral with the hub body, cannot be replaced. No idea how often that is necessary - I just ordered new cones for my WH-R500 rear hub (which doesn’t compare to a DA one of course) - at least one of the cups, cones or bearings was very toast.
    - Sean Doyle
      
      Normal cartridge bearings will wear prematurely as they are really only designed to take radial loads. The cup and cone setup takes mostly radial loads but is able to accept quite large axial loads as well. One other reason of longer bearing life is, as mentioned above, you generally can use a bigger ball and inherently bigger balls cope with loads better……….um………..you get my drift. The seal in these hubs are contact seals but again because of the geometry involved they can be a lighter contact and still maintain excellent sealing. Theoretically you could use angular contact cartridge bearings but they are quite large and hence ‘heavy’ also creating a bigger hub shape. Campy do have replaceable cups in their C&C hubs but Shimano don’t.
Ghost

Internal spokes, i feel like that might make truing hard. Why isnt that really mentioned?
- http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips
  
  In a tubular wheel the internal spokes make it difficult because you need to remove the tyre, but with a clincher it’s not a big deal. Most of the time when you true a wheel you’ll remove the tyre anyway - internal or external spoke nipples.
  - Nic_3
    
    agree - if the wheel needs truing enough for me to want to put it in the jig at home I always take the tyre off. I wouldn’t report this as a downside.
    - Moskowe
      
      I suppose neither of you has ever broken a spoke on a low spoke wheel during a ride before ? You’ll be regretting those aero integrated nipples then.
      Looks solid other than that, but then again shimano does make good wheels.
      - GlennR
        
        What? You dont have a support car following you on every ride? How unPro.
http://www.facebook.com/CaptainBuckfast Cap Buckfast

The hubs use cup & cone bearings - this allows for bigger bearings which apparently roll more smoothly and last longer than cartridge bearings - from experience I have found this to be true even though I am slack with maintenance - I clean and grease bearings once a year. There is also a bigger contact area than with cartridge bearings which means they can take axial loads better apparently.
- jules
  
  good explanation. I really wonder how much difference smooth bearings make though. as per my comment below, I recently disassembled and repacked cup-cone bearings on my rear hub, I thought I must have left a part out, as the play was excessive. after checking, I could only conclude excessive bearing wear (there was obvious scoring on the cones). but the wheel spun fine and there no noticeable effect when riding.
  my guess is that weight and aerodynamics are where the real performance gains in wheels are made.
  - Craig
    
    It sounds like you either haven’t put the wheel back together right or haven’t taken up the preload(slack) in the bearings if there is now play.
- jules
  
  good explanation. I really wonder how much difference smooth bearings make though. as per my comment below, I recently disassembled and repacked cup-cone bearings on my rear hub, I thought I must have left a part out, as the play was excessive. after checking, I could only conclude excessive bearing wear (there was obvious scoring on the cones). but the wheel spun fine and there no noticeable effect when riding.
  my guess is that weight and aerodynamics are where the real performance gains in wheels are made.
martyn

Ive just picked up a set of these today in the UK. They are nice looking wheels but dont come with wheel bags here. Also the claimed weight is massively understated. Mine weighed 1008 rear & 829 front (incl rim tape).
- bikeage
  
  Is that weight including QRs?
  - martyn
    
    nope, think i got a heavy set. QR extra 126g
    - Don Scotland
      
      just took my brand spankers out of the box today - 827g front & 1052g rear (without QR attached) makes a 200g difference in claimed v’s actual?!?! Add skewers and I’ve got myself a 2kg wheel set. off for a spin now to see if this weight really does ‘disappear’ as I smoke the local Strava segments! ditto re: no wheel bags supplied :-(
      - EatSleepTrainSmartBlog
        
        The skewers don’t really matter a whole lot since they’re not rotating mass, but the actual weight w/o skewers worries me. That could make climbing significantly more difficult. What’s the link to your Strava profile? I’d like to check out some of the segments you’re riding on with this wheelset.
SpeshK

I bought a set of these which I’ve since returned. There was loose material rattling around the front wheel from the manufacturing process.

Also, on the front and rear where the aluminium braking surface was bonded to the carbon rim, there was a load of material around both wheels which doesn’t appear to be there in your pictures. It looked like the glue they were using to bond squeezed out and was just left there. It was rough to the touch so given that I couldn’t get the loose material from manufacturing out of the front wheel, they went back.

I’d be interested to hear if you had either of these issues …
Gp

I’m looking at buying something similar would anyone compare this to the Fulcrum Red Wind 50?
Notso Swift

That is a very sexy looking QR, bet they weigh a bit though!

“Old school” Cup and Cone is really where it is at for hubs, 20 +years life, better average performance. Campy and Shimano but use it for their top line Record/DA for good reason, minimal extra weight (with a small reciprocating axis anyway), little harder to produce because machines can’t just press them in and set play and roll

I just wish you wouldn’t call these carbon clinchers, they are aluminum with a carbon flaring… which is fine, full carbon is silly because it weighs the same with lots of down sides, in Tubs you get 300+grams weight saving for the downsides
- Robert
  
  Full enclosed cam QR’s all the way! I agree with you on the distinction between carbon clinchers and alu with a carbon fairing - imo, carbon fairings are the way to go (alloy brake surface and hooks with the aero benefit)
rob

“The way tyres are made nowadays you can get a beautiful ride out of a set of clinchers” - how about a shootout article on clincher tyres? Best for racing and training/commuting.
Steel

Nice discussion gents. Reading the Shimano marketing stuff, they also suggest that cup and cones can be placed further toward the outside of flange, allowing for wider spoke fitting and a consequently more stable triangle. Not sure how much truth there is to this, but my DA C24 are rock solid in high speed corners and out of the saddle sprints.

Also on quality, I’m surprised to here about poor quality rattles and the like. I pretty much buy Shimano exclusively because every time I pull it out of the packet, the quality is first class unlike some of the FSA, SRAM/Avid components I have bought in the past.
Martyn

I have to admit the qr skewers are a work of art, very nice indeed. Whilst I had my scales out, I weighed them - 126g for the pair. Not light, but safe
Paolo

$2000 for 1670g wheels with alloy rims and plastic cover? I rather buy some Campy Neutrons and a nice watch for that money ;-).
http://www.facebook.com/bruce.gray.710 Bruce Gray

The trouble with Dura Ace wheels can be discovered by phoning Shimano Australia, and asking how long they keep spares for DA wheelsets. i.e. ask for rims or spokes to rebuild the previous model. They obviously think people don’t want to use these wheels for longer than 3-4 years.
Eat.Sleep.TrainSmart Blog

How does the C50 compare to Zipp 404’s with regards to aerodynamics? Do they perform similarly or is there a clear distinction between the two?
- http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips
  
  I can’t tell the difference between the two.