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review

Campagnolo Vento Asymmetric wheels

7
£186.99

VERDICT:

7
10
Stiff, smooth rolling training wheels, but soft rims so not ideal for winter miles
Weight: 
1,680g
Contact: 
www.campagnolo.com

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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Campagnolo's second tier Vento wheels use a new asymmetric rim for 2014 to increase lateral and torsional rigidity. Asymmetric as in the spoke holes don't run centrally around the rim but slightly offset.

The 18-spoke front is laced radially while the rear is two-cross on the drive side, radial on the non-drive side, with 20 spokes in all. Rim depths differ front and rear too, 24mm and 27.5mm, the deeper being at the back for increased stiffness when you put the hammer down. They rear is also available in Campag's trademark G3 spoked version.

The axles are alloy, keeping weight down, while the spokes are butted steel. The asymmetry runs to the rear hub as well as it has an over-sized flange on the drive side while standard on the non-drive. A neat little touch are the red anodised alloy nipples; you can't beat a bit of bling to nudge up the perceived value.

Take the Ventos out for a spin and the first thing you notice is the sprightly feel about them. Acceleration is impressive as they whip up to speed without any feeling of drag and the performance is very good all round for a wheel set that weighs 1680g including rim tapes. Stiffness is high on the agenda to as the Ventos also climb and sprint without any feeling of flex. Even hard out of the saddle efforts didn't result in any brake rub.

The usual standard of Campag quality is there with smooth running hubs, equal spoke tension and smart looking graphics. The machined braking surface has left no signs of the rim joint so braking performance is spot on and smooth.

There is one issue when it comes to braking though. The amount of aluminium dust around the brake calipers and frame after a wet ride highlights how soft the alloy rims are. I had a pair of Khamsins on my winter bike a couple of years ago and it was the same story. I got through a set of rims in around 7,000 miles, albeit 7,000 wet, salty, gravel strewn miles. I still use Campagnolo wheels on two of my own bikes and the key is to use soft compound pads as this will increase rim life no end.

Other than that though, the Ventos have stood up to some serious abuse and weather conditions over the last few weeks. The bearings are still running smoothly after plenty of very wet rides and they have remained as true as when they were delivered.

On the whole the Ventos are decent-performing training/entry level race wheels with good levels of stiffness for the weight and they look pretty smart too.

I've been running them on both short and long rides and while they're stiff they don't sacrifice comfort to achieve it. The wear rate on the rims needs to be taken into consideration if you're going to be doing a lot of winter riding but for fair weather duties performance per pound is impressive.

Verdict

Stiff, smooth rolling quality training wheel, soft rims mean that they aren't ideal for winter miles though.

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Campagnolo Vento Asymmetric wheelset

Size tested: 18.5 x 622 / 28in, Front 770g Rear 910g

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

The Vento wheelset is Campagnolo's second tier model and they are aimed at the training, fitness riding end of the market. A job they do well with good performance and decent stiffness.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Asymmetric alloy rims

Butted steel spokes

24mm Front rim depth, 27.5mm rear

Oversized drive side flange

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
6/10

Not great if you do a lot of wet miles, fine in the dry though.

Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
7/10
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
7/10
Rate the product for value:
 
8/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

The Ventos are a very good wheelset being a decent mix of stiffness, comfort and weight for a good price.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The performance and the way they look.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The soft rims.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Yes.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 35  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: Whatever needs testing or Genesis Flyer, fixed of course!  My best bike is: Kinesis T2 with full Centaur Red

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,

 

As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!

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13 comments

Avatar
thegibdog | 10 years ago
0 likes

Good to see they've ditched the crazy lacing patterns on the rear, even if it does mean that now only the stickers distinguish them from the Fulcrums.

Avatar
n8udd | 10 years ago
0 likes

Coloured nipples appears to be the norm now, which slightly irritates me.

Yes these look good if you have any red on your bike, but I would be deterred from buying these wheels for my black and blue setup.

Avatar
Flying Scot | 10 years ago
0 likes

May be they don't make em like They used to, my Record Pave rims get a few thousand miles in summer every year....since 1989!

I had Khamsins for a few winters and sold them with no discernable wear, and I do really hilly routes.

Avatar
willdeath | 10 years ago
0 likes

I use SWISSTOP BXP (BLUE ONES) with my alloy Campag Zonda's in the summer and currently with cheapo rims for winter. Not noticing excessive rim wear and great in the wet... Not cheap but pay for what you get .. and stopping in the wet and cold ranks quite highly in my book...

Avatar
velotech_cycling | 10 years ago
0 likes

It'd be good to see some objective data on alloy hardness on the rims compared with other wheels in this price class and higher?

Soft blocks are not necessarily the answer as where you ride & in what conditions have a lot more to do with rim wear in most cases than do the blocks themselves, anyway - the biggest cause IME of rim wear is not the blocks, it's what traps between blocks and rim.

A lot of the gundge on urban roads is brake & clutch lining dust and synthetic rubber residues from automotive tyres. Trap that lot twixt rim and block, especially in the wet and you'll see wear and tear at an incredible rate, no matter how hard the rim material (as alloy rims go).

All black muck off the brake blocks in not alloy dust! Test it and see ....

Avatar
crikey | 10 years ago
0 likes

Alloy nipples on training wheels + salty roads = seize.

Avatar
ajd | 10 years ago
0 likes

I have a campagnolo aero alloy seatpin on my Shimano equipped bike cos it is the prettiest seatpin there is  1

Avatar
mrmo | 10 years ago
0 likes

fulcrum is owned by Campagnolo, do you want Campag wheels on your shimano/sram equipped bike?

Campags solution rebadge their wheels so you don't have to worry.

I am not sure if all the wheels are available from both but many are.

Shimano have some tie in with Pro, not as close I believe but again it keeps a bit of distance.

Avatar
joemmo replied to mrmo | 10 years ago
0 likes
mrmo wrote:

fulcrum is owned by Campagnolo, do you want Campag wheels on your shimano/sram equipped bike?

Campags solution rebadge their wheels so you don't have to worry.

I am not sure if all the wheels are available from both but many are.

Shimano have some tie in with Pro, not as close I believe but again it keeps a bit of distance.

Pro is Shimano, doesn't really get closer than that.

Avatar
mrmo replied to joemmo | 10 years ago
0 likes
joemmo wrote:
mrmo wrote:

fulcrum is owned by Campagnolo, do you want Campag wheels on your shimano/sram equipped bike?

Campags solution rebadge their wheels so you don't have to worry.

I am not sure if all the wheels are available from both but many are.

Shimano have some tie in with Pro, not as close I believe but again it keeps a bit of distance.

Pro is Shimano, doesn't really get closer than that.

I was under the impression that Shimano europe own Pro, and Pearl izumi is Shimano north america? or some such arrangement?

Avatar
jimc101 replied to mrmo | 10 years ago
0 likes
mrmo wrote:

I was under the impression that Shimano europe own Pro, and Pearl izumi is Shimano north america? or some such arrangement?

Being as they are both (Shimano America & Europe) subsidiaries of Shimano Inc; Shimano own them both.

For Fulcrum, there's nothing clearly visible on the Fulcrum web site about them being owned by Campagolo, although in the Campagnolo sites history there is, so unless you knew it Fulcrum would seem to be a separate company to Campagnolo.

Avatar
ajd | 10 years ago
0 likes

Is it me, or are these EXACTLY the same as my 2014 Fulcrum 5's ? Slightly cheaper though.
Can anyone recommend softer compound pads as this article has spooked me!

Avatar
Nick T replied to ajd | 10 years ago
0 likes
ajd wrote:

Can anyone recommend softer compound pads as this article has spooked me!

Google Discobrakes, then pick the red ones to match your brake system.

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