I wrote about considering rear wheels in terms of spoke count,
so I'll also write about "front wheel spoke count" while I'm at it.
For example, a CX-RAY 32H front wheel has 65×32 = 2080,
but this is almost the same as a 20H front wheel built with CX or Champion
100×20 = 2000.
For a typical Nomu Lab wheel spec,
a CX-RAY 20H front wheel has 1300,
and a Shimano CX-RAY equivalent spoke 16H front wheel has 1040,
but from experience I know that
most customers don't complain specifically about rigidity with 1300.
However, recently my personal front wheels have been increasingly built as 24H if CX-RAY,
or 20H with spokes that have a higher spoke weight ratio than CX-RAY,
because in certain situations they just feel better on the road.
HB-7700 24H - Actually a radial-lacing-prohibited hub,
but CX-RAY anti-radial lacing
Black hub 20H Aerostar Bright II-type anti-radial lacing
The spoke weight ratio of the Aerostar Bright is, strictly speaking, a Shimano standard.
Unrelated to the reason for that,
but in the image above, the Aerostar Bright II-type has 254mm on top and 276mm on bottom.
With Sapim and DT flat spokes,
the plain section length at both ends outside the butted portion is constant,
but with Shimano spokes it varies, causing fluctuations in the decimal places of spoke weight ratio.
For Racing 3 (16H) and Cosmic Elite (18H) front wheels,
spokes with a higher weight ratio than CX-RAY are used.
Before that, both Campagnolo and Mavic
actually don't build wheels with unnecessarily thin spokes.
Excluding people weighing 0.1 tonsMost people won't find them loose —
I think they've done a good job determining the right spoke count along with spoke number.
This is because 16H of course, but 18H too
is a dangerously low spoke count for building front wheels with butted spokes compared to 20H.
The adoption of straight-gauge spokes and all, but also things like thickening the rim material only around the spoke holes —
pre-built wheels with under 20H front wheels have reinforcements not found in generic materials,
making them a completely different beast from hand-built wheels.
If Racing 3 came in a tubular version, I'd want just the front wheel.
Among Campagnolo's pre-built wheels, there's one model that exceptionally uses CX-RAY equivalent spokes for the front wheel.
Neutron Ultra.
A spoke count of 22H is unique to Campagnolo except for
Neutron — only Neucrion, Electron,
Proton, and Hyperion (all low-profile rim models) share this spec.
20H is a bit too little, but 24H seems like overkill,
and it's radial lacing with an odd number of spokes on one side anyway, so maybe it doesn't matter — there may have been some internal conflict like that.
The other day, when I tried to order just a front wheel (WO rim is fine)
from the dealer most knowledgeable about Campagnolo in all Japan,
I got a no.
In individual part numbers,
the front wheel is WH7-NECFU
WH (wheel)
7 (first released in 2007)
NE (Neutron)
C (clincher)
F (front)
U (Ultra)
That's what it means.
The reason it's not arranged as WH7-NEUFC
is probably because U (Ultra) was added as a spec later.
The Campagnolo freebody rear wheel for Neutron is
WH7-NECRU,
but with Shimano freebody it's
WH13-NEUX1U.
It's 13 because from 2013 it switched to Shimano 11-speed freebody,
and X1 in the part number indicates Shimano freebody spec.
Campagnolo started offering white aluminum spec for Shimano freebody from 2015,
but before that the part number for steel Shimano 11-speed freebody was FH-BUU015X1
and for white aluminum freebody it's FH-BO015X1.
The current Bora Ultra 80 (tubular spec only)
still has a narrow rim, but
the rear wheel part number with Shimano freebody is
WH15-BOTRX180
15 (first released in 2015)
BO (Bora)
T (tubular)
R (rear)
X1 (Shimano freebody)
80 (80mm deep rim)
That's the meaning.
It's listed as a 2015 model
but it was announced in the late 2014 period,
so the Bora Ultra 80 Shimano freebody is equipped with the old steel type.
For the current Bora One 35 clincher spec
Shimano freebody (white aluminum spec) rear wheel,
the part number is WH18-BOCRX1135
18 (first released in 2018)
BO (Bora)
C (clincher)
R (rear)
X1 (Shimano freebody)
1 (Bora One. For Ultra, there's no number here instead)
35 (35mm deep rim)
That's what it means.
What I'm getting at is,
given that the part number for Neutron's Shimano freebody rear wheel
starts with WH13, it's confirmed that the 11-speed freebody is steel.
I actually checked, and that's correct.
Anyway, the fact that they're cutting individual sales at this point
suggests this will likely be discontinued around 2020.
Hyperion is already discontinued...
Hmm, what to do. I really just want the front wheel, or more precisely,
just the front hub and front rim.
so I'll also write about "front wheel spoke count" while I'm at it.
For example, a CX-RAY 32H front wheel has 65×32 = 2080,
but this is almost the same as a 20H front wheel built with CX or Champion
100×20 = 2000.
For a typical Nomu Lab wheel spec,
a CX-RAY 20H front wheel has 1300,
and a Shimano CX-RAY equivalent spoke 16H front wheel has 1040,
but from experience I know that
most customers don't complain specifically about rigidity with 1300.
However, recently my personal front wheels have been increasingly built as 24H if CX-RAY,
or 20H with spokes that have a higher spoke weight ratio than CX-RAY,
because in certain situations they just feel better on the road.
HB-7700 24H - Actually a radial-lacing-prohibited hub,
but CX-RAY anti-radial lacing
Black hub 20H Aerostar Bright II-type anti-radial lacing
The spoke weight ratio of the Aerostar Bright is, strictly speaking, a Shimano standard.
Unrelated to the reason for that,
but in the image above, the Aerostar Bright II-type has 254mm on top and 276mm on bottom.
With Sapim and DT flat spokes,
the plain section length at both ends outside the butted portion is constant,
but with Shimano spokes it varies, causing fluctuations in the decimal places of spoke weight ratio.
For Racing 3 (16H) and Cosmic Elite (18H) front wheels,
spokes with a higher weight ratio than CX-RAY are used.
Before that, both Campagnolo and Mavic
actually don't build wheels with unnecessarily thin spokes.
I think they've done a good job determining the right spoke count along with spoke number.
This is because 16H of course, but 18H too
is a dangerously low spoke count for building front wheels with butted spokes compared to 20H.
The adoption of straight-gauge spokes and all, but also things like thickening the rim material only around the spoke holes —
pre-built wheels with under 20H front wheels have reinforcements not found in generic materials,
making them a completely different beast from hand-built wheels.
If Racing 3 came in a tubular version, I'd want just the front wheel.
Among Campagnolo's pre-built wheels, there's one model that exceptionally uses CX-RAY equivalent spokes for the front wheel.
Neutron Ultra.
A spoke count of 22H is unique to Campagnolo except for
Neutron — only Neucrion, Electron,
Proton, and Hyperion (all low-profile rim models) share this spec.
20H is a bit too little, but 24H seems like overkill,
and it's radial lacing with an odd number of spokes on one side anyway, so maybe it doesn't matter — there may have been some internal conflict like that.
The other day, when I tried to order just a front wheel (WO rim is fine)
from the dealer most knowledgeable about Campagnolo in all Japan,
I got a no.
In individual part numbers,
the front wheel is WH7-NECFU
WH (wheel)
7 (first released in 2007)
NE (Neutron)
C (clincher)
F (front)
U (Ultra)
That's what it means.
The reason it's not arranged as WH7-NEUFC
is probably because U (Ultra) was added as a spec later.
The Campagnolo freebody rear wheel for Neutron is
WH7-NECRU,
but with Shimano freebody it's
WH13-NEUX1U.
It's 13 because from 2013 it switched to Shimano 11-speed freebody,
and X1 in the part number indicates Shimano freebody spec.
Campagnolo started offering white aluminum spec for Shimano freebody from 2015,
but before that the part number for steel Shimano 11-speed freebody was FH-BUU015X1
and for white aluminum freebody it's FH-BO015X1.
The current Bora Ultra 80 (tubular spec only)
still has a narrow rim, but
the rear wheel part number with Shimano freebody is
WH15-BOTRX180
15 (first released in 2015)
BO (Bora)
T (tubular)
R (rear)
X1 (Shimano freebody)
80 (80mm deep rim)
That's the meaning.
It's listed as a 2015 model
but it was announced in the late 2014 period,
so the Bora Ultra 80 Shimano freebody is equipped with the old steel type.
For the current Bora One 35 clincher spec
Shimano freebody (white aluminum spec) rear wheel,
the part number is WH18-BOCRX1135
18 (first released in 2018)
BO (Bora)
C (clincher)
R (rear)
X1 (Shimano freebody)
1 (Bora One. For Ultra, there's no number here instead)
35 (35mm deep rim)
That's what it means.
What I'm getting at is,
given that the part number for Neutron's Shimano freebody rear wheel
starts with WH13, it's confirmed that the 11-speed freebody is steel.
I actually checked, and that's correct.
Anyway, the fact that they're cutting individual sales at this point
suggests this will likely be discontinued around 2020.
Hyperion is already discontinued...
Hmm, what to do. I really just want the front wheel, or more precisely,
just the front hub and front rim.