A new era of balanced speed. Refined with athletes to meet race-day demands.
A new era of balanced speed. Refined with athletes to meet race-day demands.
In this article
Built on Shimano's Science of Speed, our disciplined approach to real-world performance, this lineup is the result of five years of refinement, validation, and collaboration with WorldTour cyclists and professional triathletes, who measure equipment in grams, watts, seconds, and feel.
From lightweight climbing wheels to complete time-trial systems, each model is engineered as a complete structure, with the rim, spokes, hub, and bearings working together to deliver speed you can trust.
When riders talk about "fast wheels," they're rarely focusing on a single number. They're describing a sensation. The way a wheel carries momentum, snaps forward under load, tracks through a sweeping bend, and stays predictable when the wind shifts. It's a feeling you recognize immediately. And one that only comes from balance.
Across the new DURA-ACE wheel lineup, the target is the same. A wheel that feels fast because it behaves fast. Not just in a wind tunnel, on a perfect road, or at one speed, but across the changing demands of race day.
A wheel is a system. Rim shape influences airflow and crosswind behavior. Spokes affect stiffness, responsiveness, and vibration characteristics. Hubs and bearings dictate smoothness, durability, and serviceability. When these elements are engineered together, the result isn't just more speed, it's more confidence.
That’s why this new wheel family focuses on three pillars:
The new DURA-ACE rim profiles were developed through extensive simulation and validation, with shapes refined to manage airflow across a range of yaw angles and real-world conditions. The goal wasn't only low drag in isolation; it was usable speed in real-world conditions.
The R9300 generation introduces newly engineered carbon spokes and purpose-built lacing concepts across the range. Spoke choices aren't aesthetic. They're structural decisions that influence lateral stiffness, acceleration, and how directly power becomes forward motion.
Across the family, Shimano developed spoke patterns tailored to each use case, so each wheel's character matches its job. For punchy accelerations uphill, you want snap. For varied race terrain, you need balance. For high-speed finales, absolute stability matters. Every spoke layout reflects those distinct performance priorities.
Shimano's cup & cone heritage remains central because it supports the performance riders actually need over time: smoothness under load, durability, adjustability, and serviceability. The result is a wheelset that stays precise, not only on day one, but season after season. DURA-ACE WH-R9370 wheels debut an evolved, fully serviceable cup-and-cone hub architecture with replaceable bearing cups, upgraded waterproof sealing, and enhanced long-term durability.
The new DURA-ACE lineup is built to cover modern road racing including summit finishes, full-gas sprints, and time trials. Here’s how to think about each model.
If your riding is shaped by gradients, long climbs, repeated accelerations, and the need to change pace instantly, the C36 is built for that environment.
With a 36 mm rim profile and a focus on reducing weight without losing responsiveness, C36 is tuned for the feeling climber’s chase: quick acceleration, easy changes in cadence, and a sense that the wheel disappears beneath you. It remains aerodynamically optimized for its depth, so you don't give away speed when the road flattens and the pace rises.
Key features:
The C36 is the wheel for riders who want to turn every change in gradient into an advantage without sacrificing control on fast descents.
If there's one wheel that epitomizes balance, it's the C50.
Designed as a refined all-round race wheelset, C50 blends aerodynamics, low weight, and stiffness in a profile that suits almost any route and any rider. It's the wheel you reach for when you don't want to choose between climbing performance and flat-road speed.
The C50 uses an optimized carbon-spoke setup and a revised rim layup, with stability in mind for sprinting, cornering, and changing wind conditions. The result is a wheelset that feels direct when you accelerate, calm at the limit, and efficient when the pace stays high.
Key features:
If you want one wheel that can handle everything at a level worthy of DURA-ACE, this is your benchmark.
Built for riders who live for fast sections like breakaways, crosswind splits, lead-outs, and high-speed circuits, the C60 is precisely tuned to deliver efficiency at speed.
With a 60 mm rim depth, C60 focuses on aerodynamic performance and the stiffness required for repeated, high-output efforts. Spoke choices and structure are designed to support drive rigidity and confident handling when you're putting down power and holding the line.
Key features:
The C60 is built for riders who seek more than outright speed. It's for those who want the feeling of stable, repeatable speed, ready whenever the race surges.
Aerodynamics is often discussed as a single output, but riders experience it as a collection of small advantages. Less resistance when you're already on the rivet, less disruption when the wind shifts, and more calm in the front end when the road opens up.
That's why the new DURA-ACE wheel profiles were developed through a process grounded in simulation and validation, then brought back to the road to test the only metric that truly matters: ride feel under race pressure.
Carbon spokes follow the same philosophy. They are not an isolated feature, but an integral part of the wheel system. The goal is not novelty, but response. Sharper acceleration, more precise line control, and the way the wheel maintains its shape and speed when you ask for more.
These wheels were developed with the demands of some of the world's leading racers in mind, in which equipment is tested under harsh conditions and with high consequences.
Rider feedback from WorldTour cycling teams helped focus development. Their on-the-bike insights, such as how stiffness and weight reductions in targeted areas affected performance, how the wheels should behave when the pace turns violent, and what "confidence" actually feels like in a sprint or a descent, were invaluable.
The result is not a theoretical ideal. It's a refined toolset built around the realities of racing, whether you're pinning a number on a Sunday or chasing a new PR on a climb with friends.
Smoothness is speed. So is reliability.
Cup & cone bearings remain central to our approach because they provide strong lateral resistance under load, durability, and the ability to be adjusted and serviced over time. Thanks to rider feedback, we improved the cup & cone design to make the entire bearing system serviceable and more waterproof. For performance riders who put in structured training week after week, that matters.
It's a simple idea that carries real value. When your equipment stays precise, your effort stays efficient.
Shimano's time-trial and triathlon wheelset is built to move more cleanly through the air, helping you carry speed with less resistance.
The C99 front wheel is designed for high-speed cruising and sustained efforts, with a 99 mm rim depth and a 16-spoke configuration enabled by its deep structure. It's built to reduce drag where it counts, when you're holding power and chasing time.
Key features:
At the rear, the DURA-ACE Disc Wheel is the low-drag choice, featuring an aerodynamic profile informed by extensive simulation. It's designed for predictable pacing at speed and completes the race-day system with the C99 front.
Key features:
For riders who measure performance in seconds and split times, the C99 and the Rear Disc deliver a focused, uncompromising setup, built for the moment you commit to a single line and hold it.
From mountain stages to sprint finishes to the final start ramp, the new DURA-ACE wheel family is built around a single guiding principle. Balanced performance that translates to speed you can trust.
| Model | Design | Front Wheel | Rear Wheel |
|---|---|---|---|
| C36 | Exceptionally light for climbing stages. |
Spoke type: Aero Carbon Spokes: 18 External rim width: 29.4 mm |
Spoke type: Aero Carbon Spokes: 21 External rim width: 29.4 mm |
| C50 | Broad performance window. All-round. |
Spoke type: Aero Carbon Spokes: 21 External rim width: 31 mm |
Spoke type: Aero Carbon Spokes: 21 External rim width: 32 mm |
| C60 | Superior aerodynamics and high stiffness. |
Spoke type: Aero Carbon Spokes: 21 External rim width: 31.5 mm |
Spoke type: Aero Carbon Spokes: 24 External rim width: 32.3 mm |
| C99/DISC | Specialized in Aerodynamics. For time trial and triathlon. |
Spoke type: Super Aero Carbon Spokes: 16 External rim width: 35.2 mm |
DISC |
In modern racing, the optimal setup isn't defined by a single category. It's defined by its ability to keep delivering as conditions change, while the pace doesn't.
Discover the new DURA-ACE wheel family and choose the profile built for your defining moments.
