Bora WTO vs Far Sports?!

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Nixster
Posts: 253
Joined: Wed Oct 04, 2017 3:30 pm

by Nixster

Don’t get me wrong, I agree you’re feeling something. it’s just that the vertical movement is on a level you would struggle to catch your finger nail on if it were a scratch on a table. There’s lots going on with a wheel’s response to vibration, resonance, lateral and torsional flexure, difference in spokes resonance etc etc. Like I said above about ride feel on that rough downhill section.

jwchew
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Aug 03, 2021 6:51 am

by jwchew

Nixster wrote:
Sun May 15, 2022 12:09 pm
Okay, 55km this morning and some more thoughts on the wheels and a comparison with the Far Sports wheels they are replacing as principal wheelset. Clearly not a long term review!

Short version: very good solid premium wheels, buy them and you won’t be disappointed.

Long version:
Comparing with 30mm tubular Far Sports rims on Carbon Ti hubs, 20 /24 C X-ray spokes. 28mm Vittoria Corsa Control tubs which measure around 27mm. Bora 45 WTO have Veloflex Corsa race 25mm TLR tyres run tubeless. So this isn’t an apples/apples comparison.

Braking: the stand out difference. Boras and Campag red pads make a great system with progressive easily modulated braking. I had a little rain and the braking was still good but I wouldn’t say that’s enough to conclude too much about wet weather performance. The Far Sports basalt brake tracks and Swiss stop black Prince have plenty of power but can be a bit grabby. Don’t know what the more recent FS brake treatment does for that but the Bora rims are very even where I can get some pulsing with the FS front rim.

Stiffness: Boras are as expected slightly laterally stiffer and the frame is now the more flexible part of the system. I could just about elicit some brake rub with the pads set pretty close which I can’t with the FS but my conclusion is that the frame is flexing more than the wheels now. But the FS wheels are stiff enough.

Aero: a benefit from the Boras I could neither justify or quantify given my power output but it is there as you would expect from the deeper rims and better matched tyres.

Cross winds: no issue with 25-30kph cross winds as you would expect.

Comfort: comes from tyres. In my opinion people who claim to be able to detect vertical compliance differences in wheels are delusional. However, there are some differences in ride quality.

Feel: so this is obviously highly subjective but here’s an anecdote. There’s a shortish steep downhill section of ‘road’ on this route that wouldn’t be out of place in Paris Roubaix. Always makes me think about replacement costs of tyres and rims when I ride it! FS rims with fatter tyres should be better on this but they are not. Boras feel super solid, hold the line better and generally inspired more confidence. I wasn’t expecting that and was pleasantly surprised.

Snappiness/ reactivity/ acceleration: I can’t tell a difference. There’s about 150g between the two systems, all in the rims, and I can’t tell the difference in such a small amount of rotational inertia. In fact the pure rim weight is likely in the region of 200g per rim different, compensated by the lighter tyres. If I was comparing to my 50mm FS rims it would be even closer and impossible for me to detect.

‘They roll well’: give me a break. They’re round aren’t they? The Bora bearings are fine, initially not as smooth as the Carbon Ti NTN bearings but they will no doubt wear in. But I can’t tell when riding. The freehub is not too noisy whereas the CTi freehub is raucous and good for warning pedestrians of your approach. And scaring small children and animals.

Other stuff: I suspect that the Boras are torsionally stiffer rims, which together with the weight makes for a well damped, solid feeling wheel with good directional control. I also suspect Campagnolo could drop 30-50g per rim and maintain that, which is my only beef with them. And frankly that’s felt much more looking at the scale than when riding on the road. If you want cutting edge, ‘fall apart after crossing the finish line in first place’ race wheels then look elsewhere. If you want a solid feeling, confidence inspiring premium wheel I suspect the Boras are it. But if you want best value for money above all I think Far Sports have a lot to offer still.

Thanks for sharing. Any updates to this after spending more time with the WTOs?

by Weenie


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