Cole is a smaller-sized wheel company that has taken a different path towards the design and construction of its hubs and rims. Recently, Marianne Vos became the UCI World Road and Cyclocross Champion on hand-built Cole wheels. The Cole Shuriken Lite Carbo 0.5 is designed for road racing and training and the semi-aero, carbon/aluminum rims and innovative DSA hubs make for a stunning wheelset.

TECH
Cole molds its V-section carbon rim using a “random weave” layup. The now-popular construction method incorporates confetti-like strips of unidirectional pre-impregnated carbon material that are compacted during the molding process. The visible pattern of the random weave process is said to give strength in all directions. The 32-millimeter tall, 19-millimeter wide carbon rim is bonded to aluminum braking surfaces, which allows the use of more capable, conventional brake pads.

Cole Shuriken Lite DSA hubs are cold forged and then CNC-machined 7075 T-6 aluminum alloy. Look closely at Cole’s signature hub-spoke interface, which uses aluminum cylinders to anchor double-threaded stainless steel spokes (2.0 x 1.7 x 2.0 millimeters). The DSA (Dynamic Spoke Alignment) hubs use the patent-pending spoke-cylinders to eliminate spoke misalignment, insure even tension, and extend the life of the wheels. Axles are aluminum alloy and the rear hub has a six-pawl free-hub ratchet to handle the strongest, 800-watt climbers. A conventional alloy nipple is then used at the rim to adjust the tension much higher than a conventional spoke would allow. Cole’s engineers chose a 16-spoke, one-cross front wheel. The 20-spoke rear wheel uses a proven, two-cross pattern on the drive side and one-cross on the left side.
You can order the Cole Carbo Lite 0.5 wheelset with either a Shimano ten-speed free-hub body (tested) or a Campagnolo free-hub. Shuriken Lite Carbon wheels include chromoly-shaft, alloy handled quick releases and an attractive carrying bag. It is unusual to find a company that does not represent their products to be lighter than they actually are. We weighed Cole’s wheelset and found it to be 37 grams lighter than stated. For your information: the front wheel weighed 703 grams, while the rear was 918 grams, totaling 1621 grams. The pair of chromoly quick releases add 92 grams to that figure.

RBA SAYS
We would recommend the Cole Shuriken Lite Carbo 0.5 wheelset to anyone searching for a racing clincher wheel with an extra measure of durability. The Carbo 0.5 wheels provided us with very quick acceleration, from one of the stiffest (in a radial plane) wheelsets that we’ve tested. When it was our turn to take a pull at the front, we were thankful to have the narrow, carbon V-section rims cheating the wind for us. You’ll love them during your next time trial or triathlon and your time will probably reflect Cole’s use of high-quality bearings, which needed no break-in. In the mountain stages, we (gratefully) found that the Carbo Lite 0.5’s aluminum braking surfaces delivered easily modulated, powerful speed control. We did notice a little lateral flex in the wheels during high-speed descents, and as a heads up, we tested the Cole’s with Vittoria Open Corsa EVO clincher tires, and needed to resort to a lever to mount them.

Cost: $999
Weight: 1713 grams
Contact: www.cole-products.com