Campagnolo has announced the Levante, a brand new wheelset that has been designed to be Campagnolo's best gravel bike wheels for riding, racing, and adventuring. The new wheels will sit alongside the existing all-road Shemal wheelset that was launched in mid-2020 and was the brand's first tentative steps off-road.
The new wheelset features a H.U.L.C. carbon rim that has a 30mm depth and 25mm internal channel. H.U.L.C. stands for Hand Made Ultra-Light Carbon and is Campagnolo's method of controlling both fiber and bonding resin in order to tune the wheel's ride feel. The rims are finished in Campagnolo Luxury (C-LUX) finish with lasered on graphics, the C-LUX finish is applied to both the outside of the rim and the internal channel, as seen on Campagnolo's premium Bora Ultra WTO wheelset. Campagnolo says that applying the C-LUX to the internal channel helps tubeless tires pop into place easier.
The rim itself uses what Campagnolo calls a Mini Hook design. Readers will be pleased to know this isn't a new standard, Campagnolo has simply matched the ETRTO requirements using the minimal dimension possible. Campagnolo says that the Mini-Hook system is fully compliant with ETRTO clincher and tubeless safety standards. Campagnolo says that its two-way fit rim profile further ensures clincher and tubeless compatibility. The wheels are recommended to be used with tires between 38mm to 78mm wide.
Campagnolo has opted for a regular spoke pattern, rather than its distinctive road-orientated G3 lacing pattern. The 24 spokes use external nipples for easier mid-trip maintenance. The hubs also use a cup and cone design so should be simple enough to adjust as the miles rack up.
Campagnolo obviously hopes that the Levante wheelset will be paired with its Ekar groupset. That means the rear hub comes with its N3W freehub which works with Campagnolo's 11, 12, and 13-speed cassettes. It will also come with Shimano HG and SRAM XDR freehub body options.
Despite being rated for the rigors of off-road, the overall weight of the Levante wheelset is claimed to be 1,485g.
Priced at $1,899.95, £1,349.99, and €1,575 across all freehub standards (there is a slight Euro price fluctuation across freehub options) and Levante is available now.
