Campagnolo Shamal Carbon Disc Brake wheelset

The Campagnolo Shamal Carbon Disc Brake wheels are beautiful looking, fast, and stable. They spin up quickly, corner confidently, and are a cinch to set up tubeless. Compared with the best road bike and gravel bike wheels at the same price, they're carrying a bit of extra weight, but the tyre levers they come with are probably the best I've ever used.

The first thing that struck me was that they are absolutely stunning to look at. Rather than standard matt carbon rims with decals, these are glossy, shiny, and have minimal branding; they just look superb whether you're running them on the road or gravel.

I remember seeing my first set of Shamals many years ago, their deep aluminium rims being incredibly eye-catching – if incredibly heavy compared with today's carbon versions. In this new guise they move away from being aero animals, instead becoming all-rounders that can be used in several different situations.

With a 21mm internal width, they work just as well on gravel as they do on the road. I did the majority of testing on 28mm rubber, but also did a few rides on a set of knobbly 40s. The Shamals performed equally well on both, which isn't something I was really expecting after my initial road rides, given how stiff and responsive they were on tarmac.

The wheels have different rim depths front and rear: 35mm on the front and 40mm on the back, depths that give you a decent balance between aeroness and weight. You will be happy to hear that you still get enough of that aero swoosh to let you know you are cutting through the air, though it isn't as pronounced as something a little deeper.

With these rim depths, combined with their 28mm external width, you also don't get any kind of noticeable jitters in crosswinds, but they're not just stable in crosswinds, they're responsive when cornering too, and offer an assured feeling when taking bends at speed. This is a benefit you tend to find in wider rims, and it is definitely the case here.

They also pack a punch when accelerating, offering quick pickup when you put the power down. This is testament to the stiffness of the wheels, which comes partly from the distinctive Campagnolo G3 spoke pattern which places double the number of spokes on the drive side on the rear and on the left up front to improve braking performance. Whether this actually makes a huge difference I couldn't say, but these are without a doubt a pair of stiff and responsive wheels.

Normally, this wouldn't translate well to gravel, where, although performance is important, comfort is generally the main criteria. However, these are so smooth that despite the stiffness they also tend to suck up divots and rough roads with ease, whether I was riding on 28s or 40s. Having the ability to be both this stiff and this forgiving is something I wasn't expecting but was very well received.

Helping the responsiveness is the rear hub, which spins up well and engages quickly when you put the power down. It also has a fairly understated freewheel noise – not so quiet that you aren't aware you're riding a quality set of wheels, but quiet enough that you aren't terrified of overtaking horses without pedalling.

Tubeless or tubed

Throughout the review I ran these as tubeless, on both sets of tyres, but they can be set up with an inner tube if that's what you prefer.

Tubeless setup is very simple thanks to Campag's Momag mounting system, which essentially removes the need for rim tape and enables spokes to be mounted with magnets rather than threading them through the rims as normal.

Mounting both sets of tyres was a cinch. In both cases I could roll the tyres onto the rims by hand and could get them to seat very easily nearly every time with just a regular track pump, just occasionally needing a blast from my tubeless pump.

Lever love

I wouldn't normally say much about the extra stuff that comes with a set of wheels, and these come with the standard tubeless valves, bushing, and 11/12-speed adapters, and a pair of wheel bags. However, they also come with a set of tyre levers, and these are, without doubt, the best I have ever used – to the extent that I have actually bought two sets for my other bikes. The way they combine strength and flex is brilliant; it makes them so easy to use.

Weight & value

The wheels weighed 1,670g on the road.cc Scales of Truth, which isn't the lightest at this price, but they didn't feel sluggish when the road went upwards. The weight comes from a combination of things, predominantly the steel spokes and the Momag system; but as both have significant advantages, I can forgive them somewhat.

They're more expensive than the Roval Rapide C38s that Jamie reviewed and liked so much last year, which have gone down in price since, to £999; they're also a little lighter at 1,620g, and have the same multi-discipline qualities.

Vel's 38 RSLs, which Iwein tested last year, are similarly deep, lighter at 1,490g, and cheaper at £1,099 (up £100 since our review), but do have an intrusive freewheel noise compared to the understated Campags.

Conclusion

Despite the Shamals costing a little more than their rivals, and weighing a little more, I've been very impressed by their performance. They offer great stability in the corners, stiffness, and the ability to soak up all the rough roads and gravel I could find. They also look amazing.

Verdict

Beautiful looking set of wheels that deliver an impressive performance combining stiffness and comfort