Campagnolo 2014 wheels

thiscocks
thiscocks Posts: 549
edited January 2014 in Road buying advice
I have been looking for a wheelset for next summer to race on and I had pretty much decided on the Zonda wheel, but have just seen their new Vento wheelset which looks really good value: http://www.campagnolo.com/jsp/en/wheels ... tid_10.jsp

The Vento is about £160 compared to the zonda which is £280 and by the claimed weights it is only about 100g heavier. The only slight downside I can see regarding durability is it has alu nipples compared to the Zondas brass ones.

Would there really be much noticable difference between the two?

Comments

  • magliaceleste
    magliaceleste Posts: 748
    The Zonda's are one of the best price/performance wheel sets around and punch above their weight (pardon the pun). Far better value than the higher end Shamal and Eurus and slightly better ride quality too due to steel spokes. Zonda bearings are great too and (if I recall correctly use cup and cone type, Record style) whereas the Ventos use Cartridge bearings.
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    magliaceleste wrote:
    Zonda bearings are great too and (if I recall correctly use cup and cone type, Record style) whereas the Ventos use Cartridge bearings.

    Not sure really what the advantage really is of cup and cone. Cartridge bearings are cheap, need no adjustment, run smoothly, are easy to replace and don't run the risk of ruining the hub if neglected.

    I have the old style Khamsins and Ventos. Aside from a small weight penalty for the Khamsins and slightly less good looks (and that doesn't seem to apply now as both look pretty much the same for 2014), there is no difference between them - certainly nothing you would spot riding the bike.

    I can't see any great reason to buy Ventos over Khamsins so if you don't want to spend Zonda money, you might as well save a bit more and go for the Khamsins.
    Faster than a tent.......
  • gfk_velo
    gfk_velo Posts: 78
    @ Rolf - Happy New Year! To answer your query, cup and cone have a lower preload so lower rolling resistance.

    You could (if the bank account would stand it and the fancy took you) swap the standard bearings for full ceramic with Cronitect bearing surfaces (the CULT system) in the Zonda - in the Vento it's always going to be a cartridge bearing albeit (possibly) one with ceramic balls if you decided to upgrade the bearings.

    The Zonda bearing inners can be replaced if the hubs are neglected to the point where the cups suffer damage - but they are the hardest part of the bearing system (intentionally) so that is not generally too much of an issue.


    HTH
    Graeme
    Velotech Cycling Ltd
    Campagnolo main UK Service Centre
    Velotech Cycling Ltd - The Campagnolo Specialists since 1987
    :: GFK has been a Campagnolo SRL factory-trained and appointed technician in the UK since 2004 ::
    :: GFK has been Campagnolo SRL factory-accredited technical trainer since 2004 ::
    :: Velotech Cycling Ltd have been the UK's lead Appointed Service Centre since 2008 ::
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    gfk_velo wrote:
    @ Rolf - Happy New Year! To answer your query, cup and cone have a lower preload so lower rolling resistance.

    Taa muchly for that Graeme (and HappyNewYear to you as well!). Is this lower rolling resistance something that is meaningfully beneficial or primarily a benefit if you like showing your friends how long your wheel will spin for?

    I can't say I notice the Ventos and Khamsins spin less effectively than my Neutrons but that's perhaps only because my attention span isn't long enough to make the comparison! :lol:
    Faster than a tent.......
  • GordonH
    GordonH Posts: 58
    Rolf F - did you need to fit a spacer to your Vento rear wheel before fitting a cassette? I have a just fitted a new campag cassette to a new Vento wheel and there seems to be a hell of a lot of play...
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    Nope - no spacers; that's for Campag 10 speed cassette. Certainly no play either. I find the final sprocket only just locates so the only way I could imagine it being loose is if I'd missed a spacer.
    Faster than a tent.......
  • BenderRodriguez
    BenderRodriguez Posts: 907
    Rolf F wrote:
    Not sure really what the advantage really is of cup and cone.

    On road wheels the quick release mechanism exerts a very strong clamping force that will to some degree compress the bearings. With a cup and cone the bearing can be adjusted so that it has a small amount of play when the QR is released but no play and no compression of the bearing when the QR is tight. With a cartridge bearing it is a matter of luck if the clamping force exactly equals out the non-adjustable play designed into the bearing, and in any case annular ball bearings are designed to run in the centre of the race, not slightly offset by a sideways force. With a cup and cone the bearing can also be adjusted for wear.
    "an original thinker… the intellectual heir of Galileo and Einstein… suspicious of orthodoxy - any orthodoxy… He relishes all forms of ontological argument": jane90.
  • edten
    edten Posts: 228
    GordonH wrote:
    Rolf F - did you need to fit a spacer to your Vento rear wheel before fitting a cassette? I have a just fitted a new campag cassette to a new Vento wheel and there seems to be a hell of a lot of play...

    you're skewers probably aren't tight enough or if they are a lightweight type they may not offer sufficient clamping force.

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