When the whole bike world was talking about the release of Shimano’s Dura-Ace R9200, the series’ updated wheels barely had a look-in. It was all ‘semi-wireless this’ and ‘12-speed that’. It almost seems like Shimano needs to rethink its new parts bulk drop strategy, because these wheels deserve a lot more fanfare.
Let’s get this out of the way first: Shimano tells us the C36, C50 and C60 are all lighter, wider and more aerodynamic than anything that has come before them. Good to hear they’re on trend. And speaking of trend, the decals are all comparatively muted compared with Shimano’s carbon wheels of old. It’s another design feature we’ve been seeing across the industry lately, and it’s a good one.
Each of the rims in the R9270 series have 21mm internal and 28mm external widths and are available in both rim and disc brake configurations. They are tubeless ready and Shimano can offer tubular on special order.
Shimano says its C50 has a 5.1-watt drag reduction against the C40 from the previous generation and, impressively, is more aero than the older C60 by one watt. That will make sprinters and crit specialists salivate at these C60s.
We’re really looking forward to seeing more Shimano wheels specced on test bikes so we can get into them more. Like all Shimano products, they will set the standard for the price point they’re within, which at $3,385 a pair seems a bargain.
Shimano Dura-Ace WH-R9270 C36/C50/C60-HR tubeless wheels, $3,385 (pair)
