Campag Shamal or Vento question

Retro Dan

Devout Dirtbag
Hi Guys, looking at picking up a set of period Campagnolo wheels for my Bianchi TSX - either Shamals, Vento`s or Electrons (if I can find any...)

Question - is the only difference between shamal and ventro`s the depth - looks like ones around 30mm deep and the other 40mm or am I missing something? Would be the 16 hole tpw version of either I`d be after.

Cjeers, Dan.
 
Retro Dan":3bnwmlte said:
Hi Guys, looking at picking up a set of period Campagnolo wheels for my Bianchi TSX - either Shamals, Vento`s or Electrons (if I can find any...)

Question - is the only difference between shamal and ventro`s the depth - looks like ones around 30mm deep and the other 40mm or am I missing something? Would be the 16 hole tpw version of either I`d be after.

Cjeers, Dan.


Hi Dan,


Prob not the answer you needed but i just asked one of my pals at Campag hq in Vicenza for you and got this reply...


"Vento had steel spokes and shamal aluminum beefy spokes.

I don’t believe that the rim was quite the same either

What year are we talking about?
There was a year when it had a big hub flange on the front
One year when the g3 was really tight together"
 
Augustus":agut6kna said:
Retro Dan":agut6kna said:
Hi Guys, looking at picking up a set of period Campagnolo wheels for my Bianchi TSX - either Shamals, Vento`s or Electrons (if I can find any...)

Question - is the only difference between shamal and ventro`s the depth - looks like ones around 30mm deep and the other 40mm or am I missing something? Would be the 16 hole tpw version of either I`d be after.

Cjeers, Dan.


Hi Dan,


Prob not the answer you needed but i just asked one of my pals at Campag hq in Vicenza for you and got this reply...


"Vento had steel spokes and shamal aluminum beefy spokes.

I don’t believe that the rim was quite the same either

What year are we talking about?
There was a year when it had a big hub flange on the front
One year when the g3 was really tight together"

Pretty sure that the OP is asking about the 90s wheels, which both had steel spokes.

Shamal came in either 12-spoke or 16-spoke variants, with silver rims (there was a black set, but they were rare - I bought a set for £150 and sold them a month later for £400, back in 2002). Weight was 965g/1190g.

Vento and Zonda were the 2 models lower down Campagnolo's aero wheel line-up. They weighed a bit more, but the Vento looked very similar.
 
FiveAlpha":1qbi3wj3 said:
Augustus":1qbi3wj3 said:
Retro Dan":1qbi3wj3 said:
Hi Guys, looking at picking up a set of period Campagnolo wheels for my Bianchi TSX - either Shamals, Vento`s or Electrons (if I can find any...)

Question - is the only difference between shamal and ventro`s the depth - looks like ones around 30mm deep and the other 40mm or am I missing something? Would be the 16 hole tpw version of either I`d be after.

Cjeers, Dan.


Hi Dan,


Prob not the answer you needed but i just asked one of my pals at Campag hq in Vicenza for you and got this reply...


"Vento had steel spokes and shamal aluminum beefy spokes.

I don’t believe that the rim was quite the same either

What year are we talking about?
There was a year when it had a big hub flange on the front
One year when the g3 was really tight together"

Pretty sure that the OP is asking about the 90s wheels, which both had steel spokes.

Shamal came in either 12-spoke or 16-spoke variants, with silver rims (there was a black set, but they were rare - I bought a set for £150 and sold them a month later for £400, back in 2002). Weight was 965g/1190g.

Vento and Zonda were the 2 models lower down Campagnolo's aero wheel line-up. They weighed a bit more, but the Vento looked very similar.

I keep considering an older set of the Shamals for one of my steel 8 speed Campy equipped bikes. How did the wheels ride, did you notice the weight?
 
At the time, they were the only really affordable aero wheels, so they were popular with time-triallists (that's what I used them for).

As for weight - I don't recall them being significantly different to the standard road wheels of the time, but I can't be sure

It might be confirmation bias, but I always found them fast, for 10 mile/25 mile TTs. Harsh, but then everything would have been on the ridiculous Continental 20mm tyres I rode!
 
I had a pair of Shamal for a couple of months. They can be very aero but as long as I was not doing TT but more touring with ups & down hills, I found them very heavy. Nice looking wheels but harsh to ride. Sold them fast and replaced with low profile open pro's. I presume vento's will be prettty simliar if not heavier. TSX is not a light tubing so be aware of not building a very heavy bike if you plan to ride it regularly.
 
"TSX is not a light tubing so be aware of not building a very heavy bike if you plan to ride it regularly."

TSX isn't heavy, either. It is marginally lighter than SLX. Besides, nobody rides vintage and classic bikes for their light weight!

My bottom of the range Trek 1.1 from 2014, with alu frame, carbon fork and Shimano Claris groupset, weighs less than my Dura Ace equipped Fondriest SLX. And the Trek commuter only cost about £600 new (I bought it for £120, but that's another story). Modern bikes are MUCH lighter - starting around early 2000s.
 
Re:

As ever, with a little time I figured on something totally different - just picked up a set of c record 24h hubs and one ambrosio sprinter nos rim to match, just need to find another rim them off to the LBS to get them laced up - call me paranoid but I do like wheels to be as new/old as possible....
 
Re:

I know I'm late to this so probably of no help but might be for others. I have a first gen. Shamal and Vento mix on my Colnago (not sure of the reason why, I bought it like that) and they both have alloy spokes. The obvious (?) difference is the Shamal rear hub isn't anodised whereas the Vento front is. Other than that, except for a couple more spokes on the Vento, which you don't notice unless you count them, I can't see any other differences.

As for weight you do notice it when you move off but then they roll really well. Not really a surprise or they wouldn't have been popular with the pros. Perhaps it's down to the frame but I don't find them harsh even on 23c's. Not noticeably harsher than a standard wheel. So I really like them and they look good too which is always a bonus.

I keep thinking about replacing the Vento but always end up thinking that there's not much point.
 
Hi guys,

Just saw this thread and maybe you can give me some advice.

I picked up an Eddy Merckx Corsa Extra (Max tubing) frameset today and a pair of Shamal Titanium (HPW 12) were part of the deal. I'm a 77 kg rider, do you think it's smart to ride these wheels (I read somewhere they crack rather easily) or do I better sell them and put my box section wheels in it?
 
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