Campagnolo, known as "Campy" in the bike industry and by cycling enthusiasts, is an Italian company that has been a bike parts maker for several decades. Campagnolo had a warehouse facility in the New Jersey area which they closed in around 1991. Up to that time, wholesale distributors were able to draw from their stock on hand to fill any spot shortages they may have had of Campy goods. The wholesale distributor's primary means of inventory was the direct importation of Campy goods from the Italian factory.
Because this stocking warehouse existed there was rarely a large scale shortage of Campy parts in the US, even if wholesale companies had to pay a higher price from the Campagnolo USA warehouse. Now that the warehouse facility has been closed, the only means of inventory for Campy goods is the direct import by the wholesale distributors. These importer/distributors of Campy goods like other goods they sell are obligated to order and pay for the goods, then wait for them to be manufactured, shipped and clear U.S. Customs before they are available for sale to retailers.
The manufacture, transport, and customs clearing take generally between 90 and 120 days with the importers money or bank line of credit tied up during that time, though they have no goods to sell. For that reason the companies who are privileged to import Campy goods do so with great care and a cautious eye toward rate of sale and the likelihood of selling all the parts in a short period of time. Under the most favorable of conditions a Campagnolo importer/distributor would be lucky to sell through their Campy inventory twice a year so they generally buy exactly what they know will have a high rate of sale. Not all Campy parts have a high rate of sale, their expense, though worth it for the quality received, means that just a few cyclists will be willing to afford the premium price of Campy parts. This relatively low turnover and their generally higher than average price (though the high Yen has helped equalize the pricing against Japanese makers) for Campy parts means that not all their product is available or represented in U.S. at any given moment, or occasionally at all.
You will notice that our published weights for these rims is consistently heavier than Campy's own published weights. This is because they weigh rims having steel eyelets without the eyelets mounted in the rim leading to an underweighing of at least 30 grams.
The Campy Omega Hardox is double wall designed 700c diameter road racing rim. It is made from 6082 series aluminum alloy with a temper designation of T6, indicating that it is solution heat treated then artificially aged. The Omega Hardox is a Box shaped rim with flat sidewalls that is hard anodized to a dark Grey finish. Once the extrusion has been rolled into its hoop shape, the ends are joined using an aluminum insert into the cavity between the cross-tie and spoke bed walls of the rim. It uses the rim ends as a "sleeve" to hold and retain the inner aluminum core. The joint done this way rigidly holds the ends together, but have a tiny small rise on the joint, occasionally, that the brake pad may grab. After joining, the rim is drilled for the spokes and valve hole.
The Omega Hardox uses two-piece, double wall steel eyelets to equalize the spoke nipple stress and prevent nipple pull through rim failure. The two pieces are stamped from plate steel, one an upper cup, the second lower piece to rivet the two in place. The upper cupped eyelet piece has an oval flange and is placed into the spoke hole from the rim interior or tire side. The lower piece is dropped in on top of the upper cup, protruding slightly through the spoke bed wall. Force is applied to the top of the lower eyelet piece, so the bottom of the lower eyelet blossoms into a Silver roundness gripping the hub side of the spoke bed wall, holding the eyelet firmly in place. The spoke bed wall showed no distortion from this peening process.
We sell the Omega Hardox rim with 32 or 36 spoke holes and a Presta valve drilling. Specifics about the rim are available in the Rim table.
Omega Hardox 700c (Hole-2-6) $ Price in Catalog
The Campy Lambda is a 700c diameter road racing rim and is the same rim as above except in the surface finish. The Lambda has the three exterior surfaces, sidewalls and hub facing wall polished and left in an un-anodized bright Silver finish. All the other aspects of the rim are the same as the Omega Hardox.
We sell the Lambda rim with 32 or 36 spoke holes and a Presta valve drilling. Specifics about the rim are available in the Rim table.
Lambda 700c (Hole-2-6) $ Price in Catalog
The Lambda V is an aero shaped 700c road racing clincher rim. It is made of 6082 series aluminum alloy raised to a T6 temper. The side walls have a slight outward curve to accommodate the Aero, low wind resistance profile. Once the extrusion has been rolled into its hoop shape the ends are joined using aluminum insert wedged pressed into the cavity between the cross-tie wall and the spoke bed wall using the rim ends as a "sleeve" to hold and retain the aluminum core. The bottom of the spoke bed wall, which the nipple butts against has added thickness to help prevent spoke nipple pull through failure. The sloping outer surfaces of the Lambda V are high polished and left in an un-anodized bright Silver finish.
We sell the Lambda V rim with 32 or 36 spoke holes and a Presta valve drilling. More specifics about the rim are available in the Rim table.
Lambda V Aero 700c (Hole-2-6) $ Price in Catalog
The Campy Omega 19 is available as a Hardox model that is dark hard anodized Grey and Polished in a Silver color. The 700c road racing clincher rim is made of 6082 series aluminum alloy raised to a T6 temper. The tall Box shaped rim has sidewalls that are flat, with a tall 12.9mm high brake pad contact surface, one of the tallest on a road rim we've seen. Once the extrusion has been rolled into its hoop shape, the ends are joined using an aluminum insert that's wedged into the cavity between the cross-tie wall and the spoke bed wall using the rim ends as a "sleeve" to firmly hold the ends and aluminum together. We found the joints on the specimens for our writing to be well constructed with just very slight rises at the joint likely to grab a brake pad.
After joining, the rim is drilled for the spoke and valve holes. The Omega 19 uses two-piece, double wall steel eyelets to equalize the spoke nipple stress and prevent nipple pull through rim failure. The two pieces are stamped from plate steel, one an upper cup, the second lower piece to rivet the two in place. The upper cupped eyelet piece has an oval seat, and is placed into the spoke hole from the rim interior or tire side. The lower piece is dropped in on top of the upper cup, protruding slightly through the spoke bed wall. Force is applied to the top of the lower eyelet piece, so the bottom of the lower eyelet blossoms into a Silver roundness gripping the hub side of the spoke bed wall, holding the eyelet set firmly in place. The spoke bed wall showed no distortion from this peening process.
We sell the Omega 19 rim with 28, 32 or 36 spoke holes and a Presta valve drilling. Further specifics about the rim are available in the Rim table.
Omega 19 Hardox 700c (Hole-8-2-6) $ Price in Catalog
Omega 19 Polished 700c (Hole-8-2-6) $ Price in Catalog
The Atek is the first of the Campy mountain rims we review. It is extruded of 6082 series aluminum alloy, raised to a T6 temper. It uses a V-Box shape, with the spoke bed wall forming a "V" and the side wall rising and expanding toward the bead hook. The rising side wall has a concave shape. After the extrusion has been rolled into its hoop shape the ends are joined using an aluminum insert pressed into the cavity between the cross-tie and the spoke bed walls, using the rim ends as a "sleeve" to hold the rim firmly together. We found the joint to have near perfect smoothness on our specimens. Once the ends are joined, the rim is drilled for the spoke and valve holes. The Atek doesn't use steel eyelets to prevent spoke nipple pull through failure, instead the spoke bed wall in the area of the spoke nipple is made with added thickness.
The Hardox version is hard anodized to a dark Grey color, while the polished is a high lustre, un-anodized polished Silver aluminum. The un-anodized polished rim exhibits greater thermal conductivity, so they are more capable of dissipating the heat generated by brake pad contact against the wheel motion. For good braking it has been recognized that rapid heat dissipation is desirable. We sell the Atek with 32 or 36 spoke holes and a Presta valve drilling. For more specifics about the Atek rim please consult the Rim table.
Atek Hardox 26" (Hole-2-6) $ Price in Catalog
Atek Polished 26" (Hole-2-6 / S) $ Price in Catalog
The Mirox is a 26" diameter mountain bike rim, made from 6082 series aluminum raised to a T6 temper. The Mirox is a "U" shaped extrusion, with a rounded spoke bed wall and concave side walls that expand as they rise toward the bead hook. After the extrusion has been rolled into its hoop shape the ends are joined using an aluminum insert pressed into the cavity between the cross-tie and the spoke bed walls, using the rim ends as a "sleeve" to hold the rim firmly together. The Mirox joint is very smooth, with a nearly imperceptible rise between the two surfaces.
The Mirox uses two-piece double wall steel eyelets to equalize spoke nipple stress and assist in preventing spoke nipple pull through failure. The two eyelet pieces are stamped from plate steel, one an upper cup, the second lower piece to rivet the two in place. The upper cupped eyelet piece has an oval seat, and is placed into the spoke hole from the rim interior or tire side. The lower piece is dropped in through the top of the upper cup, and protrudes slightly through the spoke bed wall. Force is applied to the top of the lower eyelet piece, so the bottom of the lower eyelet blossoms into a Silver roundness gripping the hub side of the spoke bed wall, holding the eyelet set firmly in place. The spoke bed wall showed no evidence of distortion from this peening process. We can't explain why the 32 hole model weighs so much more than the 36 hole model, we immediately double checked our weights and found them to be correct.
The Mirox rim is available in a Hardox model with a hard anodized finish in Grey and a Polished un-anodized Silver aluminum model. As we have mentioned the Polished model is capable of greater thermal conductivity, considered better for braking. We sell the Mirox rim with 32 or 36 spoke holes and a Presta valve drilling. For more specifics about the Mirox rims please consult the Rim table.
Mirox Hardox Grey 26" (Hole-2-6) $ Price in Catalog
Mirox Polished Silver 26"(Hole-2-6) $ Price in Catalog
We had doubts at first, but our micrometer reveals that the Zark is the same extrusion as the Mirox. They both share the same dimensions, but are not made of the material. The Zark is made of the relatively well known 6061 rather than relatively unknown 6082 aluminum alloy. All other aspects of the Zark rim is the same. It's made in the same way with the same joint technique, and the same eyelets.
The Zark Polished has the three outer sides high polished to a bright Silver aluminum finish that is left un-anodized. More specifics are available on the Zark Polished in the Rim table.
Zark Polished 26" (Hole-2-6) $ Price in Catalog
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