Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 C35 Wheels Review

Factory built wheels tend to conform to type. Most of us ride either full carbon or all aluminium rims, connected by alloy spokes to hubs with easily serviceable cartridge bearings. So it’s nice to see Shimano doing things differently with their top of the line Dura-Ace C35 clincher hoops, combining a composite rim to a cup and cone, ball bearing hub.
 
After the Preview article and success of their first competitive outing, I was keen to use the wheels as much as possible and since then they have been my go to wheels for all types of event, from crits and wet road races to Majorcan training camps.
 

 
In construction terms the rim of the C35 is similar to that of the RS80 wheels we tested previously. There’s the aluminium rim – or backbone more accurately – which is actually then wrapped in carbon fibre to give a truly composite wheel.
 
It’s of medium depth, at 35mm, and is boxier than one might expect for a rim of this depth where aero is becoming the norm.
 

 
Like the RS80 the rear rim is offset to aid power transfer and it certainly seems to work. It is definitely a stiff rim as I’ve had no issues with the rear rubbing or with power transfer during either climbing or full on sprint finishes in races.
 

 
Shimano’s OptBal spoke technology is designed to create this stiffness in the rear, where there’s an odd number of spokes, at 21. There they are a mix of 14, 294mm spokes on the drive side, laced in a 3-cross pattern, combined with just 7, 272mm radially laced spokes on the non-drive side. It is similar to the pattern adopted by other manufacturers and obviously works; it is very stiff. Up front it’s all normal with just 16, 272mm radial spokes.
 

 
The rim is fashionably a bit wider at 20.8mm but not overly so. It is also very light and picks up speed impressively, perhaps not as fast as my lightest full carbon tubulars but certainly ahead of other clinchers. But possibly as a result of the rim weight being so light, I did have some issues with the front rim going out of true.
 

 
Strangely the back, where you might usually expect misalignment after prolonged usage, has not had similar issues and we now think that the front going out of true may have been due to travel damage whilst en route to Majorca. Certainly my wheel builder, the very skilled Harry Webb, reckons the front rim is very slightly out of shape i.e. damaged.
 

 
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