# Campagnolo Bullet Ultra 50



## AnthonyL88 (Oct 9, 2007)

I would like some people opinion on the Campagnolo Bullet Ultra 50 wheelset. I can't seem to find any review on these wheels. How good are the Campy Bullet Ultra?


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## T0mi (Mar 2, 2011)

Campagnolo list them at 785 and 970 _italian grams_ : they are boat anchors and only marginally lighter than my 15y old campagnolo shamals in aluminium. Must be great at steady pace on the flat though. Nipples are external, looks like old tech to me. Hubs must be smooth as always from campagnolo but I would stay away from them because of what looks like prorpietary hubs/spokes. In a few years I bet you won't be able to replace it if you break a spoke. I pray when I hit a pothole with my old shamals.

Similar corima or zipp wheelsets weight 200 to 250gr less in clincher and they are much more reputable than campagnolo when talking about carbon wheels.


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## kbwh (May 28, 2010)

front wheel 727 g
rear wheel 863 g

According to Campa your weights are for the Bullet without Ultra, T0mi. Sub 1600 g for a 50 mm Al brake track clincher is competitive, and Italian grams can be conservative too, as the real weights of the current Zonda have shown. The hubs are like the ones on the Zonda and Eurus (also possible to "upgrade" to Shamal/Record and Super Record bearings), and it's a "system wheel".

(That pic has an embarassingly large cassette for a go fast on the flats wheel, btw.)


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## T0mi (Mar 2, 2011)

kbwh said:


> front wheel 727 g
> rear wheel 863 g
> 
> According to Campa your weights are for the Bullet without Ultra, T0mi.


oops didn't saw that, thanks for the correction.


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## smoo (Sep 20, 2007)

I'm very tempted by a set of either these wheels or the Fulcrum Red Wind XLR (same wheel in effect with slightly different rear spoking). 

The UK magazine Cycling Weekly reviewed the Fulcrum XLRs a couple of weeks ago, and if you read between the lines they fared very well. "Performed well across the board. They carry good speed on the flat, giving a fast sensation that's not just a flywheel effect as they're fairly light too. My only real gripe is a poor quality finish"

Apparently the particular set they reviewed had some resin visible on the join between the alu and carbon, but I haven't seen any similar complaints elsewhere. They thought the Giant P-SLR1 aero were a tad better, but these aren't available with campy freehubs (both the bullets and the red winds have the choice of either).

Actual weight of the Fulcrum Red Wind XLRs as tested - 1676g. My guess is that this was with shimano/sram freehub and that the campy freehub will be a few grams lighter.

I have seen quoted actual weights for the Campagnolo Bullet Ultras of between about 1615g and 1660g.

I would really like to know if the Bullet Ultras are on average slightly lighter than the Red Wind XLRs (I don't see why they should be) or if the shimano freehubs are just slightly heavier than the campy ones on both models.

I would also like to know if the red wind XLR "bright label" wheels are any heavier than the "dark label" ones on average. They have white painted hubs.

Another thing I would like to know is if these wheels are 2-way fit, and if so whether they all are or if there are separate 2-way fit and standard clincher models, and if the latter, whether there is any weight penalty for 2-way fit.

*Unfortunately the manufacturer(s) do not provide this information and ignore requests to do so, which is to my mind unacceptable.*

We really need legislation to force manufacturers to provide sufficient and accurate information about the products they are selling.


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## kbwh (May 28, 2010)

Afair, you choose between standard clincher and two way fit rims. Take a look in the Campagnolo wheels catalogue. Available on their web site with tables for overview. 

And thanks for the test referral.


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## T0mi (Mar 2, 2011)

smoo said:


> We really need legislation to force manufacturers to provide sufficient and accurate information about the products they are selling.


No need to legislate on this, just don't buy their product. It's not like it was food or something vital to you.


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## smoo (Sep 20, 2007)

T0mi said:


> No need to legislate on this, just don't buy their product. It's not like it was food or something vital to you.


The problem is that almost all manufacturers do it, so you would end up not buying anything.


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## T0mi (Mar 2, 2011)

smoo said:


> The problem is that almost all manufacturers do it, so you would end up not buying anything.


Not all. Choose with your wallet. 

For instance Corima tel you visit their factory even if you haven't ordered any product from them. It only cost you a call before. Of course this is not doable if you are not on the same continent but I bet other brands who do not outsource their products do the same.


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## smoo (Sep 20, 2007)

T0mi said:


> Not all. Choose with your wallet.
> 
> For instance Corima tel you visit their factory even if you haven't ordered any product from them. It only cost you a call before. Of course this is not doable if you are not on the same continent but I bet other brands who do not outsource their products do the same.


I may not wish to make my purchasing decision purely on the basis of this one issue, possibly ending up with an inferior (even if more honestly advertised) product. 

Consumers do not have much real power in the face of industry-wide conspiracies and bad practices. Legislation to appropriately enforce good business practices is a good thing IMO.


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