Shimano C24 Dura Ace and RS80 Wheelset Review

Look and feel similar

I now have WH-6700 Ultegra, RS80 and WH-7850 Dura Ace and most recently WH-7900 wheelsets. All three C24 sport identically shaped rear hubs with straight pulled spokes. RS80 is stated as 1521g per pair (goto bottom for my measurements). It’s a hybrid of the other two: taking the Dura Ace carbon rim and laced it to the Ultegra hub. Nice idea! Each upgrade offers about 100g saving but you can get the other two for the price of one Dura Ace, which carries a hefty premium meant for the elites and some eBay-ers. That’s how they all came to me - used and discontinued and via auction. So if you are reading this now probably means one of them has been listed and caught your imagination.

There appears to be two versions of RS80. The initial 2008 release sports the RS-EiGHTY decal with distinctive red nipples and stainless spokes. The post 2011 version sports RS80 decal with less flashy black spoke and nipple. The latest RS81/WH-9000 upgrades adds the 11-speed option and improved black hub.

The RS80 front and rear hub looks identical to the WH-6700 Ultegra. The WH-7900 upgrade over the WH-7850 sports beefier front hub (see below) and weighs a hair more. 

WH-7900 sports a larger hub over WH-7850 (left) 

The current 11-spd RS81 is priced around £350 and the last sale stock of RS80 went for around £280. Is it worth the extra £50 over the Ultegra?

Most definitely!

I started with the WH-6700 and moved to RS80 for extra comfort and style and to save about 130g. I find the WH-6700 styling rather boring and squarish. My other wheels are bombproof Campagnolo Khamsin and super lightweight Pro Lite Bracciano A27. Performance wise Ultegra is laterally stiffer yet comfier than Bracciano but pick up feels relatively sluggish (weighs somewhere between the other two). The RS80 solves this with even better acceleration and comfort - no less than you would expect for the extra outlay. Rewarding feeling for the pedal effort backed up by higher clocked speed.

Very boxy construction

Just perception perhaps as the Dura Ace (below) has the same angles on close inspection

Offest rim may have given it rounder profile

However, this RS80 used rear hub is not as smooth as I expected. Nonetheless this wheel just roll and rolls in use and I just accepts that it is all wear and tear and ultimately will need replacing. To add to the negatives, I noticed the freehub has developed a tiny play in it which is improved slightly when I took off the cones and tighten the H10 HEX bolt. The bearings are clean though which vindicate the quality of Shimano seals.

Regarding road.cc review "Shimano use a thinner Aluminium extrusion (0.6mm instead of the more usual 1–1.3mm) for the basic structure of the rim, and then bond on a Carbon outer layer".

I believe this thinner wall refers to the rim outer, not the braking surface which is standard thickness and height. Some have reported potential failure here where the nipple seats. Something to watch out for by regular inspection I suppose (what else can you realistically do?).

Value for money, RS80 is really hard to beat.


Measured Weight
WH-6700: 680g front 970g rear 1650g pair

RS80: 638g front 890g rear 1528 pair

WH-7850: 610g front 835 rear 1445g pair

WH-7900: 625g front 806g rear 1431g pair

Pro-Lite Bracciano A27: 625g front 884g rear 1509g pair