PLUS: Very durable and reliable; lightweight
At 1,255 grams per set, Campagnolo's "Hyperon Ultra" carbon wheels are no longer quite up to date - but during the 15,000 kilometres of testing, the wheels proved to be extremely reliable: The lateral runout on the front wheel after this long distance is 0.5 millimetres, on the rear wheel even only 0.3 millimetres. Without re-centring, this is a good result. The lateral stiffness of the wheels has also hardly diminished. We measured 55 N/mm on the new front wheel and 53 N/mm on the rear wheel; after 15,000 kilometres the values are 51 and 49 N/mm. This means that the wheelset is also recommended for heavy riders over 80 kilograms. The cone bearings of our two "long runners" turned a little rougher than at the beginning of the test, a little grease eliminated the noise. What remains, however, is the poor braking behaviour of the carbon rims. Although the lightweight Hyperons are actually ideal for mountain tours, the braking characteristics take some getting used to downhill and especially in the rain - even in dry conditions, the test riders only awarded them a "satisfactory". Both the tubular and clincher versions are compatible with Campa's nine- and ten-speed gears, while the "HG" version also accepts Shimano's ten-speed cassettes.
Reference/Info: Campagnolo Germany; phone 0214/206953-20; www.campagnolo.de
Price: Tubular tyre version 1,960 euros (incl. quick release), clincher tyre version 2,500 euros
(Photo: Daniel Simon)
