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New wheelset for my Flux. Fulcrum Red Metal 1's...

4K views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  Coldass 
#1 · (Edited)
To set the stage I mostly ride my 5-Spot through the week. Now and then I ride my Flux - but its main job is to participate in events and races. It was time to swap out my Mavic Crossmax SL's for something new on my 05 Flux as while the Mavic's are in great condition - true as can be, the rear freehub takes too much attention and failed me once in a race, and all the time by being 'sloppy' causing shift issues.

(also my Flux is getting an RP23, new crankset (I think XTR), new cassette (XT) and if Turner can find me some soon, 08 rockers and a bush refresh....)

The hunt was on to satisfy these criteria...

  • Light enough. Must be less than 1700grams for the set.
  • Tubeless ready. Must be sans spoke holes or have a factory fitted strip (no aftermarket).
  • Great hubs. Great freehub.
  • Must have more than two pawls.

My shortlist came to this:
Bontrager Race XXX Lite (on DT Swiss 240's)
Shimano XTR
Customs builds using DT 240's, DT Revolution spokes and 819 rims.
Fulcrum Red Metal Zero, 1 or 3's

I did not consider any wheelset's with rims that need generic or DIY tubeless conversion. I know these work, but, I find that they need more attention and conversions can be hit and mis.

Sorry Mavic. I have purchased five sets of Mavic wheels, and only one road set delivered. Pawls sucked, so have the freehubs. Too much maintenance, too much freehub drag, too many shift issues. I love Mavic rims and front hubs. I will need to have some pretty hard proof that Mavic have fixed their freehub design issues before I ever consider buying a Mavic wheelset again. And I don't mean reviews. How many good reviews have there been for SL's, SLR's and Crossmax in general? Crap loads. All wrong IMO. Bye Mavic.

The Bonti's came in too expensive.

The XTR's have reports of axle issues - and this was backed my my buddy who snapped one. Out.

The custom builds just can't get light enough where it counts as the Mavic 819 rims are all that meets my needs. No Kings this time... Perhaps for my Spot later...

So that left the Fulcrums.

They meet all my criteria. So which set?

I picked the 1's cause they are only 70 grams more than the zero's yet share the same hub internals and offer brass nipples and steel bladed spokes. Order placed....

Impressions and review later with pictures...
 
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#3 ·
Coldass said:
To set the stage I mostly ride my 5-Spot through the week. Now and then I ride my Flux - but its main job is to participate in events and races. It was time to swap out my Mavic Crossmax SL's for something new on my 05 Flux as while the Mavic's are in great condition - true as can be, the rear freehub takes too much attention and failed me once in a race, and all the time by being 'sloppy' causing shift issues.

(also my Flux is getting an RP23, new crankset (I think XTR), new cassette (XT) and if Turner can find me some soon, 08 rockers and a bush refresh....)

The hunt was on to satisfy these criteria...

  • Light enough. Must be less than 1700grams for the set.
  • Tubeless ready. Must be sans spoke holes or have a factory fitted strip (no aftermarket).
  • Great hubs. Great freehub.
  • Must have more than two pawls.

My shortlist came to this:
Bontrager Race XXX Lite (on DT Swiss 240's)
Shimano XTR
Customs builds using DT 240's, DT Revolution spokes and 819 rims.
Fulcrum Red Metal Zero, 1 or 3's

I did not consider any wheelset's with rims that need generic or DIY tubeless conversion. I know these work, but, I find that they need more attention and conversions can be hit and mis.

Sorry Mavic. I have purchased five sets of Mavic wheels, and only one road set delivered. Pawls sucked, so have the freehubs. Too much maintenance, too much freehub drag, too many shift issues. I love Mavic rims and front hubs. I will need to have some pretty hard proof that Mavic have fixed their freehub design issues before I ever consider buying a Mavic wheelset again. And I don't mean reviews. How many good reviews have there been for SL's, SLR's and Crossmax in general? Crap loads. All wrong IMO. Bye Mavic.

The Bonti's came in too expensive.

The XTR's have reports of axle issues - and this was backed my my buddy who snapped one. Out.

The custom builds just can't get light enough where it counts as the Mavic 819 rims are all that meets my needs. No Kings this time... Perhaps for my Spot later...

So that left the Fulcrums.

They meet all my criteria. So which set?

I picked the 1's cause they are only 70 grams more than the zero's yet share the same hub internals and offer brass nipples and steel bladed spokes. Order placed....

Impressions and review later with pictures...
i was in the same spot a while back and ended up getting an xt 08 wheel set; cheap, UST and only 1600 gr. the reliability issues with the rear hub would cross it off your list but so far Ive been lucky and i don't race so its less of an issue. one thing a thought of later is that i should of considered building a wheel set based around DT 4.10 with DT's proprietary tubeless strips which are claimed to be a permanent solutions and work as good a UST rims. at any rate they would weigh a lot less than 819's and i think less than the fulcurms depending which hubs you use
 
#4 ·
They arrive

Ok they are here... Less than a weeks shipping time - including a customs inspection!

They were well packed although on first inspection the black disk things they put in the hubs to support the wheels in shipping were all snapped off - all four! This has left behind black plastic bits inside the skewer holes... This will be tricky to clear out without leaving some bits inside the axle. Was it the customs inspection? My guess yes.

The wheels look nice - very similar to Mavic's in many ways. Decals over-bearing. Anyway more on this later.

Here are the specs so I can start comments on them as I build this review - ending in ride reports on my Flux:

Fulcrum Red Metal 1

* Lightweight at 1665g per pair (disc brake)
* CNC UST compatible rim
* Calibrated profile
* Aerodynamic stainless steel spokes
* 2-1 spoking configuration on both front and rear wheels for stability under braking or acceleration
* High precision bearings
* Includes quick release skewers
* Available as 6 bolt international standard or AFS Centerlock


Now here is a stock picture:
Bicycle wheel rim Bicycle tire Spoke Bicycle part Rim


Description from the net somewhere...

Red Metal 1 wheels represent the top end of the Fulcrum® range. These wheels are only available in the disc brake version and are aimed at professional racers and high-level users with very high quality demands.

They use an aluminium rim with a welded joint, lightened in the spaces between the spokes and with a calibrated profile without a braking track. They are fitted with aerodynamic stainless steel spokes, with variable 2-1.8-2 mm thickness, and with a 2:1 Two-to-One™ configuration at both the front and rear in a 16+8 unit combination.
The hub features an oversize body with both axles measuring 20 mm and adjustable precision bearings with cones and cups.

The wheel is available in versions for International Standard disc and AFS™.

Nominal weight*:
front:760 g
rear: 905 g

* The weight of the wheels does not include the quick release, and it refers to the lightest configuration.

Metal 1 HH

They use an aluminium rim with a welded joint, lightened in the spaces between the spokes and with a calibrated profile without a braking track. They are fitted with aerodynamic stainless steel spokes, with variable 2-1.8-2 mm thickness, and with a 2:1 Two-to-One™ configuration at both the front and rear in a 16+8 unit combination. The hub features an oversize body with both axles measuring 20 mm and adjustable precision bearings with cones and cups.

The wheel is available in versions for International Standard disc and AFS™.


More soon....

CA.
 
#6 ·
PSI said:
i was in the same spot a while back and ended up getting an xt 08 wheel set; cheap, UST and only 1600 gr. the reliability issues with the rear hub would cross it off your list but so far Ive been lucky and i don't race so its less of an issue. one thing a thought of later is that i should of considered building a wheel set based around DT 4.10 with DT's proprietary tubeless strips which are claimed to be a permanent solutions and work as good a UST rims. at any rate they would weigh a lot less than 819's and i think less than the fulcurms depending which hubs you use
I liked the XT wheelset. Great weight. But the axle thing scared me off and the freehub didn't feel that nice when I played with a naked set.

I decided to stay away from any strip system. The DT strips look good but are not included and cost HEAPS extra. Like $50 a wheel more. I love DT's 240 hubs and their spokes so this set came to mind (I would have gone a Mavic 717 rim).

The Fulcrums are a bit heavy overall - but I can say this as a lead to my review. The weight is at the hub and not rim. They have a real steel freehub body and massive for a XC hub bearings. They have saved weight where it counts and have added it where it counts. Anyway more when I get to my review. Stay tuned.

Thanks for posting.

CA.
 
#8 ·
having used mav UST rims in the past, i gotta say the stans rim (w/ yellow tape - which is applied by you or the wheelbuilder and is one of those 'do it once' things) functions similarly to the mavic UST rims but is much lighter. millions have agreed. ;)

dt hubs / arch rims (or even the 355s) makes a nice, light, raceable wheelset.

but interested to see what your fulcrum / campy experiences end up being.
 
#9 ·
frorider said:
having used mav UST rims in the past, i gotta say the stans rim (w/ yellow tape - which is applied by you or the wheelbuilder and is one of those 'do it once' things) functions similarly to the mavic UST rims but is much lighter. millions have agreed. ;)
.
You know I thought long and hard about building a wheelset and trying the Stans rims. A few things turner me away from this - mostly fear, uncertainty and doubt, caused by some comments here and there - but with no real mass foundation perhaps. Here are the negatives I heard:

Flex
Soft alloy - no eyelets
Bead lock designed for Stans tires
Best to build with more spokes, brass nipples and not light spokes
Build quality no up to Mavic rim standard

But I have heard of many very happy owners and for these negatives out there the positive reviews far exceed these odd comments. Perhaps not millions of users yet, but enought to say they were worthy of serious consideration.

Ironically it was the idea of a rim strip to seal that turned me away. I am sure once correctly applied it is fine but if I could buy a light, no spoke hole rim, why consider this?

Also the UST thing also factored. All those UST tires designed for a UST rim.

Anyway. I will build some new wheels for my Spot soon. They will be CK hubs with Sapim spokes and I'll try Stans Flow rims. So there.

I am riding the Fulcrums now. I'll post the review and live pictures this weekend.

CA.
 
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