Campagnolo Bora AC3 Braking Treatment

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graeme_f_k
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by graeme_f_k

robertbb wrote:
JKolmo wrote:
graeme_f_k wrote:
robertbb wrote:Out of interest, which Shamals? I've got the C17's and I think the braking is fantastic in both dry and wet. Never tried the Mille's so can't talk to how good those are, but for me the ability to easily swap between my Zonda C17's and Shamal C17's outweighs any marginal braking power gains that may be had with the Mille.

Shamal Mille also available in C17 for 2018 ...


I guess he meant not having to switch between regular alu brake pads and the Mille specific blue pads, not that there would be any difference in rim width between the Zondas and the Shamals.


Correct. :thumbup:


Yes, I only thought of that later ...
It seems slow to penetrate into retail world though, that the whole Shamal family has migrated to C17 now, I've been into a few (admittedly non-ProShop) retailers who haven't got the memo yet ...
A Tech-Reps work is never done ...
Head Tech, Campagnolo main UK ASC
Pls contact via velotechcycling"at"aim"dot"com, not PM, for a quicker answer. Thanks!

robertbb
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by robertbb

... or who have got a sweet wholesale deal on the older style ;-)

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Greg66
Posts: 231
Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:06 pm

by Greg66

My AC3 Bora One 35s arrived today. Loveliness.

The brake track feels appreciably rougher than the wheel, and any other carbon brake tracks I've felt.

Unfortunately I have a holiday from the middle of next week for close to a month, so taking into account gluing time, I have limited chances to try them out, and there's no rain in the forecast either...

ntb1001
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by ntb1001

how do these wheels compare to Zipp 303's ???

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NGtim
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Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2016 5:27 am

by NGtim

I'm seriously considering these. I have the dark label clincher 50's in my cart at the moment.

Alexandrumarian
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Location: Romania

by Alexandrumarian

I kind of wish I did not hold and bought the AC3, even if 575 euro more at current prices. I am rather underwhelmed with the braking on Bora (Record brakes), probably my 95k have a good deal to do with it too. Practicing some 40kph stopping on the flat, i need to squeeze the levers much harder and for longer to stop compared to alu. They climb superbly but I am not looking fw to going in the mountains, not before I grow a larger pair.

alcatraz
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by alcatraz

Alexandrumarian wrote:I kind of wish I did not hold and bought the AC3, even if 575 euro more at current prices. I am rather underwhelmed with the braking on Bora (Record brakes), probably my 95k have a good deal to do with it too. Practicing some 40kph stopping on the flat, i need to squeeze the levers much harder and for longer to stop compared to alu. They climb superbly but I am not looking fw to going in the mountains, not before I grow a larger pair.


I wouldn't expect any carbon wheel to stop as well as I'd like. They are all lacking...

Solution: disc brakes.

/a

Alexandrumarian
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Location: Romania

by Alexandrumarian

I certainly didn't expect a miracle but I did see several posts claiming the dry braking is almost as good as alu. To me it is as close as a 6k racer to a 14k commuter.

But to be honest, I never had to do a panic stop in traffic. Preventive riding plus normal braking (and maybe some evasion) served me better to escape retarded drivers etc. However on descents I often had to resort to a lot of hand force to stop my pork going faster than I could mentally cope. With these it will be mandatory to improve my descending skills. A clear example where pro equipment is not suited for wannabes :lol:

Edit: I just returned from a chill ride. Did a bit of sprinting and braking. There was a bit of rain too.

First thing, if both brakes are used, stopping is OK actually. In the past i mostly leaned on the front as the rear was easy to lock and run off from under my butt. The carbon rear can still lock if sharply biten!

As for the rain, i did not notice any degradation. It wasn't a downpour but really i wouldn't want to descend a mountain under heavy rain even if i had the mother of all discs installed.

Noctiluxx
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by Noctiluxx

Other than improved braking are there other advantages over the previous Bora Ultras? I'm in Southern California where rain is rare. Currently I have the 2015 Bora Ultra 50 Clinchers and prefer them over my Zipp 404 NSW (except braking) and previous 303's.
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3Pio
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by 3Pio

Dont know how are the real user experience, but this interesting reviews/test and seem that AC3 is more marketing that it's real difference..

So im even more interested in real world user experiences:

https://cyclingtips.com/2017/08/campagn ... et-review/

Image


So is there any benefit of AC3 or they seem evern weaker version? Is there any other improvement?

Boshk
Posts: 462
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:59 am

by Boshk

Alexandrumarian wrote:I kind of wish I did not hold and bought the AC3, even if 575 euro more at current prices. I am rather underwhelmed with the braking on Bora (Record brakes), probably my 95k have a good deal to do with it too. Practicing some 40kph stopping on the flat, i need to squeeze the levers much harder and for longer to stop compared to alu. They climb superbly but I am not looking fw to going in the mountains, not before I grow a larger pair.


I don't know much at all regarding carbon wheel, (mine are still Campy Zonda...bascially alu rim) but isn't it a general consensus that carbon rims take longer to stop vs alu rim and even more so in damp/wet weather?

Imaking20
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Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2011 5:19 am

by Imaking20

I got caught out in the rain for a bit last night on my Boras with diamante braking. That's the 3rd time I've been caught out now - twice with rain coming down and once with pools of water on the ground. Both times with rain coming down I was shocked at how well the wheels still stop. Power still felt as good as any Enves I've ridden and still light years ahead of classic Enve.

Through standing water, stopping wasn't so great... but still better than classic Enves when they're dry :)

My summary: AC3 is yet another expense that isn't necessary.

3Pio
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by 3Pio

Boshk wrote:
Alexandrumarian wrote:I kind of wish I did not hold and bought the AC3, even if 575 euro more at current prices. I am rather underwhelmed with the braking on Bora (Record brakes), probably my 95k have a good deal to do with it too. Practicing some 40kph stopping on the flat, i need to squeeze the levers much harder and for longer to stop compared to alu. They climb superbly but I am not looking fw to going in the mountains, not before I grow a larger pair.


I don't know much at all regarding carbon wheel, (mine are still Campy Zonda...bascially alu rim) but isn't it a general consensus that carbon rims take longer to stop vs alu rim and even more so in damp/wet weather?


I have Shamal Ultra (alloy rims) and also Bora One 35 Tub. In Dry weather i have better braking on Bora then on Shamals (better modulation, better control, i prefer the whole feeling). In Wet totaly oposite by big margin.. So in wet i dont ride at all Bora's (i rode them few times when i had to, and where rain started without any warning, so had to ride it) and switch to Shamals when is raining (with Conti 4Season tires as well)

Alexandrumarian
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Joined: Mon Mar 28, 2016 6:34 pm
Location: Romania

by Alexandrumarian

Now I have 2000km on my pre-AC3 Boras, including a fair amount of descents, some very steep. I did not have any problems and the unimpressive start might have been simply influenced by reading "carbon braking sucks" too many times. We actually ran into a bear and the guy in front of me did a panic stop on disc brakes - I managed not to slam into his rear. I once got too fast in a corner, was out of 1-finger-power and had to go all across the incoming lane, but so did the guy behind me on brand new Ultegra brakes with alu rims. His brakes are obviously stiffer than my Campy and he is also 15kg lighter. Grabbier brakes can't really make up for poor road judgment. Maybe I'd want a faster grab, at my weight I feel there is too much modulation and control (read: powerful grabbing comes a bit too slow with 1 finger) but on the other hand I never felt the front wheel even coming close to doing anything funky. I did lock the rear a few times though, which makes me regret having dual pivot.

As for a bit of wet, one hill ride was on damp roads with sleet coming down and I didn't feel anything off with the braking. Maybe it really sucks in a downpour but I'm fortunate to live in a place with reasonable and predictable weather, only been soaked once in 10k km and that time I forgot to check in advance.

Noctiluxx
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Location: Southern California

by Noctiluxx

My 2015 Bora Ultra 50 clinchers are being replaced due to a faulty rear hub. Can I expect to see the AC3 BU's as replacement?
Bianchi Oltre XR4, De Rosa SK Pininfarina, Trek Madone SLR, Giant TCR Advanced SL, Cervelo R5 Disk, Giant Revolt

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