Test: The Fulcrum Racing 339 DB all-round wheelset, which is quite cheap at 6 euros, is a good choice for gravel bikes or crossers. In the Velomotion test, the aluminum wheels impress with their relatively low weight and perfect function - even and especially with tubeless tires.
Three point nine kilos, four point two kilos - if you weigh the wheelsets of current mid-range gravel bikes, you can start pondering. Around 40% of the total weight of a complete bike is in the wheels? Okay, if you convert to tubeless, you can save around 120 grams per wheel, depending on the tubes installed. But that's not always possible, and some wheel sets that have already been built without tubes break the four-kilo bar. The old adage that rotating components consume a lot of energy when accelerating if they are heavier should be treated with caution, but heavy wheels do have an impact on handling – you notice this, for example, when pedaling out of the saddle or in certain situations when steering . So starting with the wheels if you want to slim down on the gravel bike definitely makes sense. There are two reasons for this: First, it is comparatively easy to mount other wheels, and second, several hundred grams can be saved in one fell swoop.
A pound saving for little money
Take the Giant Revolt 1, for example, a solid aluminum gravel bike for 1.599 euros. The bike weighs 10,5 kilos, plus the pedals; the ready-to-drive wheel set contributes a whopping 4.230 grams to the weight. The "Giant CrossCut" tires are already mounted tubeless. Is there anything that can be done at a reasonable cost? And whether – for example with the Fulcrum Racing 6 DB, which weighs 3.670 grams with Donnelly tires, cassette and brake discs as shown. Almost 600 grams less, without having to dig too deep into your pocket.
The Italian supplier Fulcrum, founded in 2004 and a subsidiary of the legendary component manufacturer Campagnolo, on the one hand supplies bicycle manufacturers with wheelsets, but on the other hand addresses end users directly - above all, but not only to those who do not use Campagnolo parts on their bikes. After all, it is still unusual today to mount Campa wheels on a racing bike with Shimano equipment, for example. And so the subsidiary brand of its famous mother has opened up important new market segments.
All-rounder with solid technology
Of course, Fulcrum benefits from Campagnolo in many ways. The two suppliers share numerous construction features, such as the construction of the rims or the high quality of the bearings. The attachment of the brake discs with an outer ring is also typical of Campa and Fulcrum. Also, both companies offer wheels in a wide range of prices, and Fulcrum in particular has some pretty interesting stuff for pretty little money. For example the Racing 6 DB, which, as already mentioned, at 339 euros represents the entry-level model for wheels for disc brakes. It has to be said right away: The Racing 6 does not see itself as a dedicated Gravel wheelset, but rather as an all-rounder. This can be seen from the fact that the rims have an inner width of 20 mm, whereas special Gravel rims are noticeably wider on the inside, even with Fulcrum. But a wheelset like the Gravel-specific Rapid Red Carbon with an internal width of 25 mm may only be ridden with tires that are 38 mm or wider - and that of course significantly limits the range of use. The Racing 6 DB, on the other hand, can be mounted on pretty much any bike with drop handlebars - on a real racing bike with 25 mm tires as well as on a cyclocross bike used in competitions, which can only be ridden with tires that are a maximum of 33 mm wide. And of course gravel bikes with tires that are typically 40 mm or wider.
Pretty easy for the price
What speaks for the cheap wheelset? First of all, the really low weight for the price range. The front (1.790 g) and rear wheel (830 g) weigh 960 grams, including pre-glued tubeless rim tape, which weighs around 10 grams per rim. This means that Fulcrum is at least on par with various competitors who offer similarly designed wheel sets, some at perceptibly higher prices, some with noticeably heavier weight. The Racing 6 can also convince technically. Let's start with the rims, which are asymmetrically shaped so that a more balanced spoke tension can be achieved - this makes sense especially with wheels for disc brakes. The 24 spokes per wheel are distributed 2:1 on the two sides of the wheel - 16 steel bars at the front left absorb the braking forces, 16 spokes at the rear right improve power transmission. The spokes are not cranked so that they can optimally absorb the tensile forces. Fulcrum uses round spokes, which on the one hand makes production easier - so you don't have to worry too much about the shape of the spoke holes in the hub body - but on the other hand is not exactly ideal aerodynamically. However, one can ask oneself whether gravel bikes, crossers or training racers are all too often in speed ranges where aerodynamics play a role.
The hubs run smoothly on industrial ball bearings; the softly whirring freewheel body can be removed without tools and exchanged for another model - something for Campagnolo 13-speed. "2-Way fit ready", as you can read on the rim, means at Fulcrum that the rims with tubeless rim tape can be ridden tubeless; As I said, the tape is already glued in. "2-Way fit" (without "ready"), on the other hand, means that the rim bed is not drilled, so that no sealing tape has to be glued in.
Easy tubeless assembly
As already mentioned, the possibility of being able to ride tubeless and thus with higher puncture resistance and lower rolling resistance is a good reason to switch to a different wheelset. With Fulcrum, tubeless installation is pretty easy: The 40 Donnelly MSO can be pushed over the rim flange with manageable effort; with the normal floor pump, both tires are immediately full and remain so as soon as a good portion of sealant has been poured in. The tires settle fairly quickly; at just under 2 bar, they slide into their position in the rim with a sharp bang and run smoothly.
Unobtrusive driving fun when gravelling
So, once the rim and brake discs are fitted, it's ready to hit the track where you forgot about the Fulcrum wheelset... right away. Because you have to accept that too: A wheelset of this design behaves inconspicuously in a positive sense. The weight – ready to ride with 520 gram tires, the complete set weighs 3.670 grams, as mentioned – is still so high that there are no noticeable differences in handling. In order to really feel something here, another 300 to 400 grams have to be saved, but then you have to invest a four-digit sum. Even if the rims aren't too wide, the 40 mm tires are very stable; it doesn't seem spongy in sharp corners on gravel and at an angle. And the Fulcrum wheels seem really stiff when stepping in and out of the saddle. And so the cheap wheel set leaves a very positive impression - if you want to "upgrade" your gravel bike or cyclocrosser for little money, the Fulcrum Racing 6 is a good choice.
WEB: fulcrumwheels. com
