April 13, 2018 (Canary Islands, Spain) – During Campagnolo’s 2018 Global Press Camp in the Canary Islands, Pedal also had the chance to check out their new Bora 60 and 77 WTO wheels.

When Campy began work on their new Bora WTO project, they had the solid foundation of their proven Bora wheelsets to draw upon and were able to improve efficiency while overcoming aerodynamic resistance, rolling resistance and weight/gradient.

The result of their work is the creation of two aero wheel offerings, the Bora 77 WTO front wheel and the Bora 66 WTO wheelset.

The Bora WTO, Wind Tunnel Optimize, project had Campy engineers spending many hours in the wind tunnel, but it didn’t stop there. They took in real-world aspects like changing wind direction, variations in road direction, and the ever-changing position of the rider. Add to that in-depth research into aerodynamic efficiency and a myriad of mathematical calculations, and you get new rim profiles that not only reduce drag in all wind directions, but can even reduce drag to zero.

The rim construction uses Campy’s in-house Internally Developed and Resin Technology. Braking is improved with their new AC3 braking surface. To help tackle rolling resistance, the rim takes on a horseshoe rim profile, with a C19 rim width to accommodate 25 to 28mm tires.

After extensive testing, it was determined that tubeless tires had the least rolling resistance followed by clincher tires in second. For this reason, the Bora 60 and Bora 77 utilize Campagnolo’s 2-Way Fit system which comes in tubeless and clincher compatible sets. As the internal rim has no spoke holes, there is no need for rim tape, and the wheels come complete with a Campy valve stem to run the tubeless option.

The hub is made of aluminum, which was found to be the best material for its aero design, with the result being a narrower center increasing in diameter to the outer flange. The 3D Diamond Aero Profile spokes also account for variations in wind direction to reduce drag.

The Bora 77 hubs use Cults Ceramic Bearings, which are claimed to be nine times more efficient than standard steel, while the Bora 60 uses USB Ceramic Bearings.

Through design and the select use of materials, theses wheels are some of the lightest in their class. The Bora 77 WTO front wheel tips the scales at 745 grams, while the Bora 60 WTO set weighs 1,540 grams. Like all Campagnolo products, these lightweights still address safety and reliability.

For real world applications, the Bora 77 WTO is designed for TT and triathlons and match-up nicely with the Bora rear disc wheel on your time trial machine. This wheel combination would also be a great weapon of choice in bunch races on the track.

The Bora 60 WTO is intended to be the wheels of choice for road races and on courses where an aerodynamic advantage is at play.

These wheels are expected to hit the market in the late Spring of 2018.

For more information click here.