Fulcrum Zero v Mavic SL Premium

martins2463

specifically Fulcrum Zero v Mavic SL premium, at a weight of 1470g the Mavic's are just 5g more weight but some £200 cheaper approximatley, but are the Fulcrums better made, better quality last longer? thoughts appreciated

Monty Dog

Cycling Weekly did a wheel test a few weeks ago and compared the likes of the Fulcrums against the Mavics - Ksyriums were the worst, performance-wise against the likes of Campagnolo and Fulcrum. If you're running Campag I'd opt for Shamals - similar to the Zeros but ony £550 if you shop around. Depends whether you can find a good deal on the Zeros to match the price of the Ksyriums. If spending £700 also look at the new Mavic R-Sys - very light and strong - some shops have demo pairs to ride too.

aracer

Looking at quoted weights, the Fulcrums are 1425g, the Mavics 1480g. That's ignoring the fact that Fulcrum weights are fairly accurate (they are very similar to Shamals for which I've seen 1425g real weight) whilst Mavic weights are always extremely optimistic - real weight for a Ksyrium ES is about 1530g vs 1485 claimed. So I'd suggest that the real difference is more like 100g!

4kicks

Cant help with a direct comparison, but just to say you can get Fulcrum Zeros a lot cheaper - I got a pair for just under GBP500 - on-line.
fwiw Im extremely happy with the Zeros, they have zero flex, they are very responsive in sprints/climbs (just did 120kms yesterday on them with 2x Cat2´s climbs) and spin up real fast - my last wheels were 2005 Eurus and I believe the difference was clear.

JWSurrey

Monty Dog wrote:

...If you're running Campag I'd opt for Shamals....

Apologies for thread hi-jack...
Monty, I read the article too - What's your opinion on Neutrons? I quite liked the look of them, but I wondered if they were perhaps a little too lightweight - are they (Neutrons) LBS servicable?

martins2463

Went with the Mavic SL 2008 premiums, on offer at £549 reduced from £670,

With Regards the comment that Fulcrum Zero could be had for £500 GBP, I wish, yes in Germany or Spain but the UK Distributor is keeping UK prices £200 approx above mainland European prices, could have imported from Germany 48 hour delivery, but warranty issues made me play safe, I think this is called restrictive trade, so much for a common market!!!!

see http://www.jedi-sports.de/js-shop/index.php they have very good feedback too, on ebay

Anyone used them before?

4kicks

Yes, have used them and they were great. And my understanding is you CAN take a warranty claim back to them, and they do speak a bit of English.
Actually the wheels would have been cheaper had i sent them to my UK address...
Also found them at http://www.lordgunbicycles.com/shop/road-c-39_40.html

andyp

JWSurrey wrote:

Apologies for thread hi-jack...
Monty, I read the article too - What's your opinion on Neutrons? I quite liked the look of them, but I wondered if they were perhaps a little too lightweight - are they (Neutrons) LBS servicable?

Having seen Magnus Backstedt win Paris-Roubaix on a pair I have no concerns for them being "too lightweight"! :shock:

I've got a pair and have never had any trouble with them but if I should my LBS can service them.

meesterbond

Monty Dog wrote:

Cycling Weekly did a wheel test a few weeks ago and compared the likes of the Fulcrums against the Mavics - Ksyriums were the worst, performance-wise against the likes of Campagnolo and Fulcrum. If you're running Campag I'd opt for Shamals - similar to the Zeros but ony £550 if you shop around. Depends whether you can find a good deal on the Zeros to match the price of the Ksyriums. If spending £700 also look at the new Mavic R-Sys - very light and strong - some shops have demo pairs to ride too.

Rather bizarrely though, whilst the Mavic were the 'worst performing' in their pseudo scientific test with the power meter, they acually got the best 0-10 score of all the clinchers on test. If memory serves, they scored 9/10 with the Fulcrums scoring 8/10 and there was certainly no mention of them feeling sluggish in the mini-review.

I don't know whether that says more about the inconclusive nature of the test or the importance of other factors in deciding on a wheel...

aracer

I think it just suggests that Mavic have their marketing spot on.

giant_man

martins2463 wrote:

Went with the Mavic SL 2008 premiums, on offer at £549 reduced from £670,

With Regards the comment that Fulcrum Zero could be had for £500 GBP, I wish, yes in Germany or Spain but the UK Distributor is keeping UK prices £200 approx above mainland European prices, could have imported from Germany 48 hour delivery, but warranty issues made me play safe, I think this is called restrictive trade, so much for a common market!!!!

see http://www.jedi-sports.de/js-shop/index.php they have very good feedback too, on ebay

Anyone used them before?

So what's the deal here then? If you were to order a pair of wheels from Jedi Sports or Comobike or elsewhere in Italy, the prices on their sites include their 19% VAT. Is that it or would you also have to pay UK VAT once it gets over here in the UK? 4Kicks where did you get yours from if you don't mind me asking?

Monty Dog

I have no experience of Neutrons, but I did have a pair of Electrons - which were pretty well the same rims with a Chorus-quality hub. They were nice wheels and regretted selling them. As others said, Neutrons have been ridden to victory at Paris-Roubaix, so are strong too. On the question of Comobike/Jedibike, you need to add 19% local vat to their prices, but don't pay anything more here as they're an EU import.

wildmoustache

cycling weekly had also previously nailed their colours to the mavic mast, describing the ES as something like "the best new wheelset for years".

ESs are fine, but overpriced. They look nice, but they're everywhere, so that kind of negates the looking nice IMO. They do handle very nicely and they are strong.

at the Etape du Tour in 2007 there were unbelievable numbers of people on ESs ... at one point it was all I could see on dozens of bikes up the road. Mavic's whole red spoke and hub thing did get everyone excited.

Brian B

Sorry to hijack this thread but are the mavic SL Premiums 2008 going to replace the ES wheels?

giant_man

I doubt it, they'll probably sell them alongside the ESs

martins2463

Take the Ksyrium SL with the different rim heights, carbon front hub, optimised rear dish, asymetrical rear rim and then lighten it even further with titanium!

weight 1480 grams per pair, front wheel: 645 grams, rear wheel: 835 grams

4kicks

Actually got mine at Comobike but its because I own a company which enabled could get it without VAT. Long story!
James

dennisn

Plenty of good wheels out there. For me, it sometimes seems to be about comparing
apples and apples. Generally the lighter the wheel the more expensive it is. Light
wheels have a bit of an advantage in racing and climbing but you sacrifice day to day
realiabilty. You can hear carbon rims crack, occasionally, at the races and then see
the look of disgust on the riders face because he's just trashed a mega dollar wheel.
If you're not a racer or don't do a lot of hills I'd go with good sturdy handbuilts. Maybe the
bling factor isn't guite there but they will last.

Dennis Noward

giant_man

[quote="4kicks"]Actually got mine at Comobike but its because I own a company which enabled could get it without VAT. Long story!
James[/quote]
That's interesting. I also own a company but I doubt whether I could get away without paying VAT! :roll: How does that work?

aracer

I can only presume his company has a genuine business need for a set of nice bike wheels :shock:

giant_man

Yes i guess so.