Are Campagnolo Neutron Ultra's much better than Neutrons?
miurasv
Posts: 345
Are the Neutron Ultra's noticeably better than the standard Neutron? My brother would like to know as he needs to get a set of wheels this week for his recently acquired Colnago EPS. He doesn't want Shamals or Eurus as he finds the ride too hard and after buying the EPS and all the other Campy bits they are outside budget anyway. His understanding is that the Neutrons will be more forgiving but which one should he get, the Neutron or Neutron Ultra and is the Ultra worth the extra money? Thanks in advance for any replies.
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I doubt if the Ultras are that much different but it depends on what fits with the bike bling and the rest of the campag. Eurus have a more aggressive, aero look and are basically Shamals without the Ultra.
Colnago
Cervelo
Campagnolo
I believe CW ran a test sometime ago saying that the Ultra Neutrons were a better wheel than any other factory wheel in their test.
Personally I can't see the Neutrons riding any softer than the Shamals or Eurus as they all use the G3 spoke arrangement, however the deeper section Shamals and Eurus have some advantages at speed whereas the shallower section makes the Neutrons perfect for hill climbing.
If I had to choose one wheel for everything then I would probably have gone with the Ultra Neutrons as they are lighter.
The Ultras are lighter but I'd bet barely anyone could tell the difference on the bike.
Incidentally, my standard Neutrons don't have the traditional clicky Campag freewheel; they are actually very quiet. Very odd!
Standard Neutrons = exactly the same weight as Eurus!
The say Asymetric on the side and they certainly are different, radial on one side and crossed on the other, the freewheel sounds the same as all the other wheels though.
According to Campags site my Shamals came in 1425g, whereas my Eurus are the previous version so not sure if they come in at the same weight of the current version i.e. 1482g, according to the Campag site the Standard Neutrons are 1550g whereas the Ultras are 1470g.
The Standard Neutrons are going on my C40 as it isn't about weight on them.
If you look closely, you'll see that whilst the rear wheel says asymmetric, the front says symmetric; it is referring to the fact that the spokes on the rear wheel are off centre on the rim - presumably to even out the dishing. They aren't G3 though as I understand it (I'm assuming that refers to the triple pairing of spokes).
Intrigued by the freewheel now. My Neutrons are pretty much silent. My Khamsins and Vento Reactions properly clicky clacky. I'm not complaining mind - just puzzled :?
Anyone else got silent Neutrons?!
Easily fixed. Take Freehub body off Wipe out the excess grease and refit. This was done as too many shimano people couldn't understand the noise of a quality frrehub and wanted them as quite as their fishing gear ones.
Real Campag people wipe out all the grease and stick a little bit of chain lube in
In reference to the Cycling Weekly wheel test mentioned in an earlier post - the winners were the Shamals with the Neutron marginally behind. Both were judged to be better than many others including Ksyriums, Eastons and Shimano.
Was it the Neutron or Neutron Ultra that were marginally behind the Shamal? My brother ordered the Ultra today.
Colnago
Cervelo
Campagnolo
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Thanks again for your reply. When was the hub changed? Was it recently or would it have been a while back so there won't be any danger of getting the old wheels/hubs on the new wheels my brother ordered today?
My main concern is whether the ride will be harsher?