A customer dropped off some mysterious wheels with me.
They look like BORA Ultra, but they're not.
BORA's first 35mm high rim appeared in 2014, but
at that time in 2014, the BORA Ultra equivalent model was:
50mm high = BORA ULTRA TWO marking / internal nipple
35mm high = BORA ULTRA 35 marking / external nipple
Both had 20mm rim width and were only available in tubular versions.
From 2015 onwards, the 50mm high model also
switched to BORA ULTRA 50 marking with external nipples,
and clincher versions appeared for both the 35mm and 50mm heights
with rim width widened to 24.2mm.
What I'm getting at is:
A BORA ULTRA TWO marked 35mm high model does not exist.
The label on this wheel won't come off.
It's applied under clear coating and has the same tactile quality as the real thing – quite detailed work.
Also, the nipples are standard 3.2mm hex nipples, which is different from genuine ones.
This is another point where it differs from the real thing.
The rim says CULT, but
The hub is a sibling of the Leaf hub, so it's not CULT.
The spokes are flat aero CN spokes with the required slit holes.
Because the thin hub shell extends beyond the flange on both sides,
they use smaller bearings, and bearing balls the size of pills fail quickly—
that's one of the weaknesses of American Classic-style hubs.
But this hub actually uses reasonably sized bearings,
which is why it has an outbatted appearance.
They've properly used a hub optimized for 2:1 spoking.
Optimization means "making optimal," but
when referring to drilling out parts for weight reduction,
it's also called optimization.
The freehub side spokes are laced in reverse Italian lacing, but
when Campagnolo builds wheels with broken-spoke spokes,
the freehub side is typically laced Italian style (like Camsin on current models).
Come to think of it, there was a shop that pompously sold hand-built 2:1 laced wheels,
but those were built 32H hub / 24H rim without a purpose-designed hub, and
they were inexplicably built with a rim that had tight alternating hole offset,
so there were always spots where spokes would come out opposite to the rim hole offset—
pretty shoddy work.
There are plenty of 24H rims with no hole offset (or seemingly none),
so it's baffling why they deliberately chose one with tight offset.
This wheel's rear rim has right-left-right hole offset,
so you can't accidentally build it reversed.
↑Both front and rear have subtle centering issues like this,
and the rear wheel also has fine lateral runout.
They look like BORA Ultra, but they're not.
BORA's first 35mm high rim appeared in 2014, but
at that time in 2014, the BORA Ultra equivalent model was:
50mm high = BORA ULTRA TWO marking / internal nipple
35mm high = BORA ULTRA 35 marking / external nipple
Both had 20mm rim width and were only available in tubular versions.
From 2015 onwards, the 50mm high model also
switched to BORA ULTRA 50 marking with external nipples,
and clincher versions appeared for both the 35mm and 50mm heights
with rim width widened to 24.2mm.
What I'm getting at is:
A BORA ULTRA TWO marked 35mm high model does not exist.
The label on this wheel won't come off.
It's applied under clear coating and has the same tactile quality as the real thing – quite detailed work.
Also, the nipples are standard 3.2mm hex nipples, which is different from genuine ones.
This is another point where it differs from the real thing.
The rim says CULT, but
The hub is a sibling of the Leaf hub, so it's not CULT.
The spokes are flat aero CN spokes with the required slit holes.
Because the thin hub shell extends beyond the flange on both sides,
they use smaller bearings, and bearing balls the size of pills fail quickly—
that's one of the weaknesses of American Classic-style hubs.
But this hub actually uses reasonably sized bearings,
which is why it has an outbatted appearance.
They've properly used a hub optimized for 2:1 spoking.
Optimization means "making optimal," but
when referring to drilling out parts for weight reduction,
it's also called optimization.
The freehub side spokes are laced in reverse Italian lacing, but
when Campagnolo builds wheels with broken-spoke spokes,
the freehub side is typically laced Italian style (like Camsin on current models).
Come to think of it, there was a shop that pompously sold hand-built 2:1 laced wheels,
but those were built 32H hub / 24H rim without a purpose-designed hub, and
they were inexplicably built with a rim that had tight alternating hole offset,
so there were always spots where spokes would come out opposite to the rim hole offset—
pretty shoddy work.
There are plenty of 24H rims with no hole offset (or seemingly none),
so it's baffling why they deliberately chose one with tight offset.
This wheel's rear rim has right-left-right hole offset,
so you can't accidentally build it reversed.
↑Both front and rear have subtle centering issues like this,
and the rear wheel also has fine lateral runout.