Mathieu van der Poel has been spotted testing an unbranded wheelset, which is almost certainly a new set of flagship Shimano Dura-Ace wheels.
The key giveaway that these are new wheels can be seen at the hubs, where the nipples appear to have moved from the rim end to the hub itself.
This is a design Shimano has used in the past on its road bike wheels, but not on the current Dura-Ace wheelset.
The WH-7700 wheelset, launched in the late 1990s, was the first generation to feature spoke nipples positioned at the hub end, rather than at the rim.
Claimed to reduce rotational weight and improve aerodynamics, the design was used until at least the 7810-era of Dura-Ace, before being dropped in 2007, with the brand’s then-flagship carbon/alloy hybrid WH-7850 wheelset.
Though Shimano briefly flirted with internal nipples throughout the R9000-era of Dura-Ace, in the intervening years Shimano has gone back to external nipples.
Though a win for serviceability, all else being equal, external nipples are less aerodynamic than internal nipples.
With the nipples relatively accessible at the hub end, Shimano may believe the new design we’ve spotted offers the advantages of ‘hidden’ nipples without the need to remove the tyre and tape to true the wheel. Though of marginal importance, this design could also offer reduced rotating mass.
Elsewhere, the driveside spokes on the front wheel are laced radially. They’re laced in a conventional straight-pull 2x layout on the existing wheelset, signalling another change for the new wheels.
It’s harder to glean details on what may have changed on the unbranded rims.
The spacer/nut bed beneath the tubeless valve lockring also looks like it could be moulded as part of the rim, rather than a separate piece.
At a glance, the rims also appear slightly broader and blunter than the outgoing wheelset – par for the course for a new wheelset in 2025.
Though solid and dependable, Shimano’s wheels are relatively conservative in design. This has seen Van der Poel turn to unbranded Scope wheels for time trials.
However, given the close relationship between Alpecin–Deceuninck and Shimano, and the overall design of the hubs, we’re confident these are new Dura-Ace wheels.
Shimano also has a history of teasing new, unbranded wheels. In recent times, the Dutchman used stealthy black rims laced to Dura-Ace hubs to win at the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships.
Shimano issued its standard response in reply to our request for comment: “Shimano is continually developing new products and evaluates the performance of our products based on valuable rider feedback.
“We however do not address rumours, speculation, or unverified information about our products, regardless of whether they are currently in development or not.”
