Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 C24 Clincher Wheelset Review

Posted in: Blog, Cycling | Dec 23, 2014 at 4:43 PM

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INTRODUCTION

Because of one reason and another I have now sold my Enve 3.4. Click here for its review. The Enve to date (prior me purchasing the C24) has been the best wheelset I’ve ever tried. It’s nimble, stiff and “invisible” ie. It feels slow but when you check your speed, you’re actually going faster than you think you are. I replaced my Enve with the Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 C24 clincher wheelset and saved the remaining cash. I have now owned the C24 for about 2 weeks (to the date of writing this article) and last Saturday I took them to a long hill ride. The ride was supposed to be 170km with 2200m of climbing but my legs were no longer responsive near the end so unfortunately, I had to end the ride early at 150km and 1900m of climbing. It had nothing to do with the wheels but all to do with my fitness. But anyway, without further ado, let me summarise the C24. I will then explain the details later.

The Strava link to the ride is here.

RIDER PROFILE

Height: 170cm
Riding type: Commuting daily, weekend short or long hill rides. Never race.
Riding frequency: Commuting 40km 5 days a week. Short hill (~80km) or long hill (~130-150km) on either Saturday or Sunday.
Weight: 70-73.5kg (depending on season).
Strength: 200watt @ 160bpm.
Starting cycling: October 2010.
Bike: Trek Madone 7 2014 53.5cm top-tube.
Total bike weight (with bottle cages and pedals): 6.6kg

QUICK SUMMARY

What I like the most from the C24 is its stiffness and low spokes count. The fact that it’s only 24mm depth, it’s very-very minimally affected at all by crosswind (which is very important during descend). Whether you stand or seated during climbs, the wheels don’t flex at all. Every pedal stroke moves you forward (or should I say: upward during climbs). The low spokes count allow the wheels to roll better in crosswind. The Enve has more spokes and a little bit harder to roll on strong crosswind. Here in Perth you are facing 15-37kmh crosswind almost everyday. In a nutshell, for Perth condition the C24 is probably the best wheelset I’ve ever owned.

DETAILED REVIEW

Price
Price of C24 is excellent. For value you simply can’t beat this wheelset. I bought it of Pro Bike Kit with extra 10% discount voucher that was sent to my mailbox! In the end I paid AUD$797 for the wheelset while other websites list the wheelset for AUD$900+. Even Wiggle was listing the wheelset at $850 and they were out of stock on the day I bought them.

Also, with Pro Bike Kit any purchase you make above $330 qualifies you for a FREE tracked shipping package which has been great. I could check my parcel delivery status everyday. Item was shipped in less than 12 hours from the time I ordered and delivery time took about 2 weeks. They shipped my C24 from Belgium. Please note that even though they have an Australian website, their merchant service is still overseas (same as Wiggle and Cycling Express) meaning that if you pay using your credit card, there can be a 3% surcharge. I suggest you apply for credit card that has free overseas purchase surcharge such as 28 Degrees.

Stiffness
The C24 is definitely stiff. I felt that it is as stiff as the Enve during both climbs and sprinting. Whether you are standing or seated, the wheels definitely deliver. They push you forward (and upward).

Rolling
The Dura-Ace hub just rolls forever. There is no feeling of resistance whatsoever. Comparing this to the Enve’s Chris King R45 however I need to say that the Chris King rolls (and sounds) better. The Dura-Ace is a lot quieter compared to the CK. But nevertheless, the Dura-Ace hub is still one of the top-of-the-range hubs out there which you will not be dissatisfied about.

The low spokes count (16 front and 20 rear) also contributes to the lack of rolling resistance. It slices through the wind better. People say that it is harder to maintain a higher speed on the shallower wheelset but that’s not the case with me. I can command the same if not higher speed than the Enve simply because I can roll easier with it. With the daily crosswind I get in Perth, a deeper wheelset such as the Enve causes greater resistance; and I find it a bit harder to ride at a faster cadence on the deeper wheelset when the crosswind hits.

Comfort
The C24 soaks up vibration slightly better than the Enve. I don’t know by how much but all I can tell you is this, I did a 150km ride that took about 7-8 hours on both the Enve and the C24 (see the Strava link on this article for the C24 or on the Enve review article for the ride with Enve), and during the ride I needed to rest my hands several times during the ride with Enve due to the numbness I get from the vibration. On C24, that just didn’t happen at all. All the other setup eg. handlebar, saddles, etc are all the same on both rides. So I can assume that C24 is a lot more comfortable than the Enve.

Near my office there is a stretch of brick paving on the road and the C24 rattles a bit less compared to the Enve.

Climbing
Climbing feels a bit snappier than the Enve. Even though the weight is quiet similar between the two (C24 and Enve), but somehow the C24 feels lighter during climbing. I still suspect that it’s the crosswind that affects the deeper wheelset, causes it harder to roll.

Near my house there is a 3km stretch of 5-7%. On the Enve I had to switch down to 34×16-17 while on the C24 I can stay at 50×22-25.

Descending
During descend this wheel just rolls excellently. I ended up catching my mates all the time during the descend and while all of us free-wheeled, I was somehow quicker than them. The wheels turn with precision, wherever you want to go, wherever you point your steering to, the wheels will just go with you.

Braking
Braking is a lot better than the Enve since it’s alloy. Also, as mentioned in the Enve review article, Enve’s default brake pads just suck! I would change them to SwissStop Black Prince had the warranty not been avoided should we use other brake pads than the ones Enve supplies. While on the C24 I’m just using stock-standard alloy brake pads and performance has been superb.

I’m yet to test the C24 in the wet but since it’s summer at the moment, there hasn’t been any rain since I bought the C24. Will keep you updated with the brake performance on the wet.

Installing Tires
The internal width of this rim is 15.5cm and I had no trouble whatsoever installing tires on this rim. Same with the Enve, installing tires will not cause any blisters on your hands. They just slide in nicely. I have tried to install both Hutchinson Fusion 3 and Michelin Pro 4 Endurance and I could install both without much effort whatsoever.

SUMMARY

As a summary, you can’t go wrong with this wheelset. It’s good value, stiff, climb superbly, light, descend and brake well. What else do you expect? Comparing to other websites Pro Bike Kit still gives the best price on the C24.

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