Shimano Dura Ace WH-9100-C60 Clincher Wheelset

SHIMANO DURA ACE WH-9100-C60 CLINCHER WHEELSET
With the Dura-Ace WH-9100-C60 Clincher Wheelset, Shimano has embraced wide rims for comfort and speed.

Wide rims are popular for good reason. The extra width decreases rolling resistance, increases comfort, and improves aerodynamics. They do this by increasing air volume and making a smoother, flatter transition from tire sidewall to rim sidewall. The C60 CL is 60mm deep and 24mm wide. At this width 23-25 mm tires, even some 26mm, will keep a continuous line from the edge of the tread to the rim sidewall. And with the increased volume, you’ll drop the pressure a bit and roll faster thanks to increased tire reflection on bumps and road imperfections.

The rim itself is a carbon/aluminum hybrid. The benefit here is the machined braking surface. Shimano prefers aluminum for clincher rims because of the impact strength and braking consistency. You can also use any pad with these rims. Weight is 788g for the front wheel, 982g for the rear.

As should be on aero wheels, the spokes are bladed. Shimano went with hidden spoke nipples for better aerodynamics. At the other end, they chose to make their hubs with wide flanges for better bracing angles. This results in greater lateral stiffness. They also designed the flanges to work with straight-pull spokes. The front wheel has radial spoking and sixteen spokes, while the rear sports a 2:1 ratio they call OPTBAL. Optimal Balance is their way of evening out spoke tension on a highly-dished hub. By having two drive spokes for every non-drive spoke, they achieve their goal. There are fourteen spokes on the right side and seven on the left.

They finish the hubs with loose-ball bearings for smoother rolling and they’ve redesigned the freehub as well. The titanium body is light and strong and covers newly-refined internals, which run quieter and smoother.

The wheels come with skewers.