Are Campagnolo Neutron Ultra's much better than Neutrons?

miurasv

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.

miurasv

I'd also like to ask if these wheels are reliable and durable and if one is moreso than the other? Thanks again.

on-yer-bike

Aren't The Ultras same price as Eurus? I have 3 year old Neutrons and they seem pretty durable, I have ridden them most of the winter and they are still true and the bearings perfect. Before I bought them they belonged to a 16 stone ex rugby player who twice broke a spoke and gave up on them. They went back to campy under warranty and I snapped them up.

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.

Monty Dog

AFAIK the difference between the two is the hubs and bearings - the spokes and rims are pretty well the same as far as I can determine and the shallower rim will certainly be more forgiving than the deeper rims of the Eurus or Shamals. I have Shamals and previously had earlier Neutrons - both are good strong wheels. Magnus Backstedt won Paris-Roubaix riding Neutrons so durable enough - don't expevct any difference between the 2 models. FWIW Euros have steel spokes in comparisons to the Shamals alloy ones

miurasv

Thanks for your replies. The Eurus are too harsh for my brother which is partly due to the alloy spokes. Neutrons have steel spokes. I think the Eurus are about the same price as the Neutron Ultra. Do you know if Magnus used the standard Neutron or Neutron Ultra? I'm sure whatever is good for him to win the Paris Roubaix will be good enough for my brother. I met him last year. Nice chap. He looked more like a body builder than a cyclist. I mean he looks to be a very strong man. As money's a bit tight atm he's just wondering if he'll notice a difference with the Ultra and if worth spending the extra to get them

Velonutter

I have the new version Shamals, and a couple of pairs of the previous version Eurus, they are just superb wheels, not harsh and very forgiving and bullet proof, I have just received a standard pair of Neutrons this week and the hubs all look similar i.e Record Equivalent, but they do feel heavier than the Eurus or Shamals.

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.

rolf_f

Neutrons aren't G3.

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!

Velonutter wrote:

I have just received a standard pair of Neutrons this week and the hubs all look similar i.e Record Equivalent, but they do feel heavier than the Eurus or Shamals.

Standard Neutrons = exactly the same weight as Eurus!

Velonutter

I stand corrected Rolf, I just casually looked at them when they arrived and saw the unusual spoke pattern as I put them safely away and made the wrong assumption.

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.

rolf_f

I was basing my observation on the Campag 2010 catalogue so no doubt it does depend on year. I should have thought of that! (Mind, I was stressed- my computer was in the process of terminal death at the time - I now need a new one.....). I suspect the Eurus may have shed some weight.

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?!

Down the Road

Incidentally, my standard Neutrons don't have the traditional clicky Campag freewheel; they are actually very quiet. Very odd!

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

Monty Dog

The latest Campagnolo hubs - Record and those fitted to the Shamals and Neutron Ultras feature a different freehub to the older ones and lesser wheel models and are noticeable quieter - I was somewhat disappointed when I got my Shamals to find they didn't make the same noise as my old Record hubs.
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.

miurasv

Monty Dog wrote:

The latest Campagnolo hubs - Record and those fitted to the Shamals and Neutron Ultras feature a different freehub to the older ones and lesser wheel models and are noticeable quieter - I was somewhat disappointed when I got my Shamals to find they didn't make the same noise as my old Record hubs.
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.

Monty Dog

The magazine test was done a couple of years ago - don't think the Ultras existed at that point, just the regular Neutron AFAIK.

miurasv

Thanks Monty. Has the Neutron Ultra been updated recently? I'm asking as I'd like to make sure my brother is getting the latest spec wheels.

on-yer-bike

The shamals and eurus both have alu spokes. The rim on the front eurus is almost the same depth as the Neutron, it is the back wheel that is deeper. The spokes on both Neutrons are stainless.

Monty Dog

AFAIK the Neutron Ultra main change is the new hub - the rim has been pretty similar for a while.

antlaff

Without distracting from the OP's original post how do the Zonda's comPare to the neutrons. It's just I'm getting Zonda's on my new build

miurasv

Monty Dog wrote:

AFAIK the Neutron Ultra main change is the new hub - the rim has been pretty similar for a while.

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?

rbarcan

What was your brothers verdict? Is he happy with ultras? I have the same query. I am long time neutron fan wondering whether to upgrade to the ultras?
My main concern is whether the ride will be harsher?