All About the New Shimano Dura-Ace Wheelsets in Zwift: C36, C50, C60, and C99/Disc

Back on July 29th, Shimano announced the details of their new DURA ACE wheelsets. Keen eyes had already spotted these wheels in the WorldTour peloton, including Mathieu van der Poel riding them to multiple victories, including his epic TdF stage 21 win on Champs-Élysées!

The new wheelsets include the C99/Disc combo, the C60, the C50, and the C36. These wheels currently show as “coming soon”, with Shimano saying they’ll be available to consumers beginning in September:

The new C36, C50, and C60 are effectively replacing the wheelsets of the same name that have been in Zwift for years (but you’ll need to buy the new wheels to get the upgrade). The older C36, C50, and C60 have been removed from the Drop Shop, but will remain in your garage if you’ve already purchased them. (Currently, the older wheels include “DURA-ACE” in the name, while the new wheels do not. Zwift says this will be changed soon, as all of Shimano’s wheels in Zwift come from their DURA-ACE line.)

Here are the ratings of the new wheels, along with level unlocks and pricing:

• Shimano DURA-ACE C36: 3 stars aero, 4 stars weight, requires level 6+ and 600,000 Drops
• Shimano DURA-ACE C50: 4 stars aero, 4 stars weight, requires level 10+ and 650,000 Drops
• Shimano DURA-ACE C60: 4 stars aero, 3 stars weight, requires level 12+ and 650,000 Drops
• Shimano DURA-ACE C99/Disc: 4 stars aero, 1 star weight, requires level 28+ and 900,000 Drops

The wheels are now available in the Drop Shop. But how do they compare with the previous versions, and how fast are they compared to other wheels on Zwift? Since Zwift’s 4-star rating system isn’t precise enough for our tastes, we ran these wheels through our standard battery of tests to determine exactly how they perform in Zwift and stack up against other wheelsets.

Let’s dive in and learn all about the in-game performance of these new Shimano DURA-ACE wheels!

Aero (Flat/Rolling) Performance

Shimano’s wheels have always been rather lackluster performers in game when compared to the full Drop Shop list, but they’ve been top performers if you look at wheels available at lower levels (like 12 and below). These new wheelsets continue the trend of being available at low levels, but are sped up so much that they effectively erase the need to purchase anything else!

Here’s how much faster the new versions of these DURA-ACE wheels are on the flats, compared to the older models:

• C36: 11.2 seconds faster
• C50: 21 seconds faster
• C60: 17 seconds faster

Those are huge leaps! And the new C99/Disc pictured above is basically as fast as the best discs on the flats (and slightly faster on the climbs), while being available at a lower level (28). This has led to a major shakeup in our “fastest bike setups by level” tables, as shown below:

Fastest Wheelsets By Level (Pre 8/18/2026)

Fastest Wheelsets By Level (New Table As Of 8/18/2026)

Climb Performance

As mentioned in the Flat Performance section above, Shimano’s wheels have been top performers among those unlocked at lower levels. These updated DURA-ACE hoops climb significantly better than their predecessors.

Here’s how much faster the new versions of these DURA-ACE wheels are on the climbs, compared to the older models:

• C36: 3.5 seconds faster
• C50: 12.6 seconds faster
• C60: 13.1 seconds faster

This has led to a revision of our “Fastest Wheels by Level” list. While not as radical a revision as the aero performance list referenced above, it’s worth a mention.

Fastest Climbing Wheelsets by Level (Pre 8/18/2026)

Fastest Climbing Wheelsets by Level (New Table As Of 8/18/2026)

Not reflected in these tables but worth mentioning, the new C50 wheels come in just behind the C36 in climbing performance, putting them 5th overall. But the C50 are much better aero performers.

The new C99/Disc wheelset, while of course not a strong climber compared to non-disc wheelsets, is actually a bit lighter than the top disc wheels, meaning it climbs better than the DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 85/Disc and Swiss Side HADRON Ultimate 850/Disc. And when I say “a bit,” I mean less than 1 second faster – within our margin of error, but a measurable difference nonetheless.

Note: all test results above are from a 75kg, 183cm rider holding 300W steady using the Zwift Carbon frame.

Conclusions

With the release of these updated DURA-ACE wheelsets, Shimano’s wheels are finally truly strong performers. This is particularly true when you look at their very low level unlocks, but it’s even true compared to the overall landscape of wheels available to upper-level Zwifters. Our Wheel Ranking Charts show this clearly:

• The C60 and C50 are in the 3rd and 4th slots in the Time Savings, Stacked (300W) chart
• The C99/Disc is ranked above all other disc wheels when sorting by climb performance in the Time Savings Over 1 Hour (300W) chart, while the C36 and C50 are in the 4th and 5th slots

More experienced Zwifters may not pull the trigger to purchase the new DURA-ACE wheels (although I would bet many TT racers buy the new C99/Disc). But beginning Zwifters will surely be adding the non-disc DURA-ACE hoops to their garage early in their progression, since they’re the fastest wheels available below level 28.

These wheels have been added to the following posts:

• Master Zwift Wheels List
• Zwift Speed Tests: Wheel Ranking Charts
• Zwift Shopping Guide: What To Buy from the Drop Shop at Each Level
• Zwift Speed Tests Public Data (Google Sheet)

Questions or comments?

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