Campagnolo Shamal



tafi

Active Member
Jul 31, 2003
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As part of my traipsing around looking for Aerodynamic wheels, I remebered the Campagnolo Shamal wheel which looks quite nice (best I think in black livery) and has been used in the past with great success.
Does anyone have any experience with this wheel and can tell me how it performs against some of the latest and (allegedly) greatest?
 
Originally posted by tafi
As part of my traipsing around looking for Aerodynamic wheels, I remebered the Campagnolo Shamal wheel which looks quite nice (best I think in black livery) and has been used in the past with great success.
Does anyone have any experience with this wheel and can tell me how it performs against some of the latest and (allegedly) greatest?

I've used Shamals and the very early (circa 1994) Mavic Cosmics....both excellent for the day, but well and truly superseded now.

Shamals got a bit dodgy in crosswinds, that's all.
 
I have read a lot of reviews though that say that they are still very good and one of the best Aero wheels made and people who have used them say they are also very tough. There are still people who use them at the track too.

Has anybody been using the more recent incarnations of the Shamal I have only seen one pair being ridden on road in Australia.

That's kinda what I'm after a pair of fast, tough wheels.
 
I guess the other options are Mavic Cosmics (which are reportedly bullet proof) or Zipp 404s. Don't know of many other similarly deep wheels around.
 
i am sure that the shamals arent made any more, although the old ones were quite strong and fast but a fraction heavy compared to todays aero wheels. I dont think they are legal any more for mass start events though (UCI ruling). U had better check this out b4 buying a set. Also from my observations the rim profile of the black version (newer) was more rounded and possibly not as strong or aero as the silver version.
 
I know they're not made anymore. I'm not sure aout them being disallowed because I have seen them used a fair bit in track racing. I'll check it out.
Thanks.
 
Originally posted by drewjc
i am sure that the shamals arent made any more, although the old ones were quite strong and fast but a fraction heavy compared to todays aero wheels. I dont think they are legal any more for mass start events though (UCI ruling). U had better check this out b4 buying a set. Also from my observations the rim profile of the black version (newer) was more rounded and possibly not as strong or aero as the silver version.

i think you can get campy boras labeled as shamals, if im not nuts, anyone?
 
The last version of the Shamals came with black painted side walls. THe Boras of the same time actually had carbon fairings, I think
 
Would anyone also have a clue about if there are really deep V rims which you can buy separately (ie: about 30~50mm deep)
 
tafi said:
Would anyone also have a clue about if there are really deep V rims which you can buy separately (ie: about 30~50mm deep)

I had a pair of Campag Atlanta 96 rims made up on Dura-Ace hubs in the late 90s. they were pretty deep, pretty strong and pretty heavy!!

Don't think they are still made....the selection of stand alone rims is constantly dwindling.
 
Thats a shame. The only ones I have seen so far are 30mm Velocity or FIR rims. Not really deep enough to get too much drag reduction.
 
You might look at two of the mid priced aero wheels Campy turns out today - the Eurus and Zonda. I picked up my Zondas on sale for $350 a set, not bad for what you're getting. Both wheelsets have a 30mm aero rim and are turned out in a very handsome black with silver lettering scheme.
 
tafi said:
I know they're not made anymore. I'm not sure aout them being disallowed because I have seen them used a fair bit in track racing. I'll check it out.
Thanks.

The UCI ruling is applicable only to road and cyclo cross races as far as i know. Aero wheels including tri/quad/five spokes are still widely used and quite legal on the track (but not on the road, except TT's). I wasnt sure if the original question was in regards to track or road, that's why i added that the UCI "may" deem them illegal in massed start events. Good luck with the search. Like i say, just be careful if you plan using them in road races.
 
Cheers for that. I would have thought that since they do use less than 16 spokes that campag would have sent a few to be impact tested for the benefit of their customers. Those who bought them I guess can no longer use them for their intended purpose. Bit sad really cos everyone who uses them seems to think they're very tough, fast and nice to ride.
 
I sold my Shamal's in Jan. '03. Wish now that I didn't. They were the latest and last version: 14/16 spokes, black 38mm. rims/silver spokes/black hubs. They were very fast and tough - never had to true them in almost 3 years of use and never broke a spoke. AFAIK, the Shamal's always had one of the lowest coefficients of aero drag on the market. The only one to beat it was the Bora and I think a certain Lew, but don't remember which model.

Not exactly the best climbers, but then again I didn't notice the weight too much on hills. Campy stopped production in 2002.