October 20/10 14:54 pm - Cole Shuriken Lite C50 Road Wheels

Posted by Editoress on 10/20/10
 

If you're like me, and you spent many a morning in July watching the Tour de France, then you couldn't help but see so many of the racers on deep-V section wheels. In the past, this aerodynamic design was used exclusively in time trials. Today they've turned into the everyday wheel for the pros. The aero advantage is there, of course, plus advancements in carbon technology have produced super strong rims with very low spoke counts and the requisite light weight. The vast majority models until now have used tubular tires, but there are now a small number of them that accept clincher tires.

Cole Wheels, a German based company, has a number of different carbon clincher models. The Shuriken Lite C50 wheels are close to the top of the product line. The rims are full carbon, with a 5 centimetre deep V profile. The rims are carbon black with stainless spokes and highly polished silver hubs. They are very attractive, in an industrial kind of way.

There is one extremely unique feature to the Cole rim. Rather than reinforce the entire sidewall as a braking surface, Cole has dropped the braking surface approximately 6 mm below the rim bead, and then added extra reinforcing material. As with most carbon rims, specific brake pads are required, and they come supplied with the wheels. The pads have aluminum housings, which supply lots of adjustability. They were a non-issue for installation. They have to be mounted a bit lower on the brake to hit the rim correctly. I didn't have any issues regarding fit on my bike but it might possibly be an issue on some, so check before buying.

With the strength of the carbon rim the spoke count in the front is 16, cross 1, double butted (2 - 1.8 - 2 mm) spokes. In the rear wheel it is 20 spokes, cross 2 drive, cross 1 non-drive. Standard spoke nipples are used, but the junction at the hub is different. The spokes thread into a small metal puck that in turn fits into a machined slot in the hub. It requires some exacting machining to get everything correct in the hub, but Cole has very high standards of finish.

The hubs are beautifully polished externally. Internally the hubs use silky smooth sealed bearings. The hard anodized freehub supplied was a Shimano cassette pattern, so Campagnolo users like me will have to order the Campy specific freehub. The quick releases are a hollow cromoly shaft with an alloy lever. The advertised weight for the wheelset is a combined 1545 grams, which is very good and certainly more than competitive with other manufacturers.

Installation is straight forward, except for the fact that you are dealing with a deep V rim. You need valve extenders. My test wheels didn't come with any so I used my trusty Zipp extenders. Even then the choice of tube was an issue. The only one that gave sufficient valve height was an IRC tube with a 3 centimetre long valve. My usual Specialized Turbo tubes just wouldn't work, surprisingly. After the testing, Canadian Cyclist was informed that the wheels will come with extenders as standard equipment.

I've never used an aero rim on my bike. Being a larger person I've always gone with something strong and therefore somewhat heavier. Yes, the Shuriken C50's made my bike lighter. More importantly they look really, really sexy. If you are going to be spending this much money (the suggested retail price of these Cole wheels is $1999) then they better look great. These most certainly do.

The ride was very nice. Smooth, with just a slight difference in sound as compared to my regular wheels. Kind of a slight hiss as you're riding. My first couple of rides were on the streets near my house, which feature some short steep climbs, and some tight corners that can be taken at speed.

Handling was excellent, with nothing out of the ordinary. My second ride had a 35 kmph wind. Only when the wind was coming directly from the side was there any noticeable push on the wheels. Winds at a slight angle to the bike were not a concern. The only minor issue I had was during the first couple of standing climbs there was some pinging (de-tensioning) from the spokes in the front wheel, but this didn't last, and the wheels stayed perfectly true.

Braking was good overall. As I mentioned previously, the Cole wheels come with carbon specific brake pads. They worked quite well without any grabbing. Only repeated hard braking efforts produced a bit of squeal from the rear wheel. I really didn't notice much of a difference between my regular alloy wheels and brake pads.

The Cole Shuriken C50's are a fine wheelset. They look great. They function well. Hell, they're expensive. If you've got the bucks and the need for speed, they're certainly worth looking at. Personally I wouldn't use them for crit riding, but for a classic road race I'd bet that they'd work just wonderfully. As well, you don't have to worry about setting up tubulars, the past approach to most carbon road wheels. The user-friendly nature of clinchers certainly makes them something to consider.

Cole makes a wide assortment of wheels, even for mountain, that are either carbon, alloy or a mixture of both. We had a limited amount of time for our test [these were some of the first samples in the country, and had to go to sales reps afterwards], so Canadian Cyclist didn't have a chance to test another set of wheels supplied to us called the C30 Lite Carbon. The V profile is only 3 centimetres in this case and the carbon V is bonded to an aluminum alloy rim. The C30 wheelset weighs in at a claimed 1688 grams. They are very pretty as well, but not quite as sexy as the C-50's. Suggested retail price in Canada is a much more affordable $1049.

Cole wheels are new to the Canadian market. Their products can be seen at www.colewheels.com. Cole products are distributed in Canada by ARG Enterprises - www.arg-sports.com. Many thanks to ARG for arranging the test.

Review and photos by Mike Badyk