With a new, wider profile which enables a more confident stance, the Shamals have a better bead to rim unison, and better aerodynamic performance when used with the increasingly popular larger tyre sizes.
Like many of their wheels, Campagnolo named their Shamals after a regional wind. A shamal is a north-westerly wind blowing over Iraq and the Persian Gulf states often strong during the day, but decreasing at night.
The first Shamals were released in the early 90s and Miguel “Big Mig” Indurain rode Shamals during his reign as Tour de France champion from ’91 to ’95.
All of the essential components of the Shamal wheelset have been designed and purpose made for the Shamal, rather than being a cobbled together set of components.
They feature a differentiated rim height, deeper in the rear wheel, and both hubs have a carbon fibre body with the rear hub featuring an oversized driveside flange to better manage the forces delivered through the cassette.
Inside the hubs Camapgnolo’s Ultra Smooth Bearing (USB) ceramic bearings to deliver exceptional rolling performance.
Speaking of smooth, have you ever spun your wheels while the bike is in a maintenance stand? If the wheels are out of balance the whole bike will shake. Not so with the Shamals. Excess weight in the rim is machined out before the rims are dynamically balanced for a super smooth spin.
All up the clinchers tip the scales at 1495g, while the two way fit set weighs 1510g.