Fulcrum Racing 3 vs Mavic Ksyrium Elites

gabriel959

Hi guys,

I am having a bit of a nightmare (well a good one to have I imagine) – I want to upgrade my wheels for my new Sabbath I am getting next week.

I am 15st and unlikely to be less than 14st due to my height (6’ 6”). Which set of wheels do you think will suit my weight better? I don’t really care about the freewheel noise that these wheels are reputed for. The Fulcrums are also reputed for their stiffness but how about the Elites – how do they compare? Fight fight – 1st hand experience preferred of course

No, I don’t want handbuilts or Eastons so don’t mention them!

bendertherobot

Do you like noise or tranquility?

TheStone

When I got my bike (2 years ago), I was expecting it to come with some cheap wheels, so spent a while investigating wheels for heavier riders. Decided on Fulcrum 3, but then they changed the spec and the bike came with Ksyrium Elites, so I stuck with them.

They've been great. I'm just over 15st, have done about 10,000km and have not needed to do a single thing to them. Still perfectly true.

Mettan

I'm on the Kysrium SL's - noisey rear wheel, but they're light and they work well-enough. You don't notice the freewheeling noise so much after a while though. (am only ~ 10.7 stone though) - pleased enough with mine.

fast as fupp

got k elites- the back wheel has never been/stayed true - mavics are ok but the build quality can be iffy

fulcrums seem much better made

gabriel959

Don't mind the noise if it means better performance - glad to hear some people happy with the Mavics though.


That's not so good about that back wheel though - you got me worried now!

bendertherobot

K elites - silent and brilliant as far as I am concerned.

My noise comment was about the ratchet Fulcrums (otherwise super though)

gkerr4

how about some nice handbuilts - or maybe some eastons?


He he - i had to.

anyway - I'd personally go for the fulcrums - I like campag wheels but also because in "forum-speak" you rarely hear a bad word about the fulcrum3's whereas K elites often split opinion (although curiously, this thread seems to fly in the face of that logic!)

gabriel959

I understand the fulcrums are noisier, but I can also get them slightly cheaper than the elites.

Difficult decision it seems to me

gabriel959

Right I am nearly sure I am going to go for the Fulcrums as they seem a tiny bit better but I am a bit worried as I plan to use them for weekend rides and the odd sportive and people seem to think they give you a harsher ride ... Any comments about this?

Again, i don't mind the noise 8)

gkerr4

I doubt they are a noticeably harsher ride - at the end of the day - stiff wheels don't give a smooth ride cos they are, well, stiff!

Go for the fulcrums - they are well rated, look smart and are renowned as hardwearing and true.

gabriel959

SOLD!!!!

StrangelyBrown

FWIW - I've got Fulcrum 3's and am very happy with them. Was nearly 16st when I started with them (now 13.5), ride them all the time and they have been trouble free and are still completely true, despite a few good thumpings.

Can't comment on the ride compared to the Elites but they are certainly a world apart from Aksiums. And they are not particularly noisy - just a distinctive clicky clicky.

And they look very nice too. Not that that's in the least bit important, no no no.

richa

I have a pair of Fulcrum 3's that I am selling. They were my 'sportive' wheels for my Allez. But I've recently bought a shiny new bike (TCR Adv), and as the Allez is now my training bike I can't justify having a second pair of wheels for it. Let me know if interested.

gabriel959

Thanks but I am looking for a new set preferably unless yours is nearly as new and you are prepared to send me a silly offer (I can find them for £290 new).

weapons

On a similar note to this thread, how much difference would you notice by upgrading up the range ie between Ksyrium Elites and Ksyrium SLs?

Would the 150g or so weight difference per pair be noticeable, and are there any other tangible improvements other than weight?

HonestAl

I got a really good deal on a pair of Fulcrum 1's which I've got on a TCR advanced. I've not ridden it with anything else, and they are clearly very rigid, but to me the ride's not unduly harsh, so I'd go for them. And yes, the freewheel IS loud, but I like to think of it as "distinctive"

getdownonit

This may be 4-years late, but hey… so for people reading this thread in the future, interested in Fulcrum 3 v Mavic Ksyrium Elites here is my experience.

Fulcrum 3’s
I’ve had these on my winter / wet weather bike for 3 years. They have probably covered approx. 5000 miles.

Pros: In terms of ride performance they are great wheels, they roll really well & never come out of true on our crappy UK country roads. In terms of noise, what noise, don’t stop pedaling!

Would I buy them again, absolutely NOT, for the following reasons:
• both front & rear bearings have gone and are really expensive to replace
• the aero spokes rotate for no apparent reason
• alloy spoke nipples all seized up
• wet weather braking performance is terrible. Much worse that other wheels I have.
• the braking surfaces are completely knackered & worn down to the bone. the rims are made from soft alloy which is why they wear so quickly.

Mavic Ksyrium
I also have a pair of Mavic Ksyrium SL’s on one of my summer / race bikes. I’ve have these for 5 years & probably covered approx. 10,000 miles on them.

Pros:
• light, fast, roll really well, bomb proof, never come out of true.
• Wet weather performance is good compared to the Fulcrum 3’s
• The braking surfaces are pretty much as new, virtually no wear. But then they haven’t subjected to winter use, only occasional rain.
• Never had any problems with the spokes or bearings

Cons: Absolutely none. They are brilliant

Based on my experience I have recently brought a pair Mavic Ksyrium Elites for my winter bike. I will update this thread in 3-years and let you know how they fair.

bendertherobot

Umm, you've used one set half as much but in winter and you reckon the alloy is softer?

rolf_f

getdownonit wrote:

This may be 4-years late, but hey… so for people reading this thread in the future, interested in Fulcrum 3 v Mavic Ksyrium Elites here is my experience.

Fulcrum 3’s
• the braking surfaces are completely knackered & worn down to the bone. the rims are made from soft alloy which is why they wear so quickly.

Mavic Ksyrium
• The braking surfaces are pretty much as new, virtually no wear. But then they haven’t subjected to winter use, only occasional rain.

Strange. I have good 13000 plus miles on my Campagnolo Khamsins (same make as Fulcrum, same alloy etc) in all weathers, everyday commuting and, whilst well worn still have a good season I reckon left in them. What you must have been doing to your Fulcrum 3 rims to wear them out in 5000 miles I have no idea but for that reason alone, I'm out.

Maybe if you cleaned the wheels, pads, braking surfaces occasionally you wouldn't wreck your stuff so quickly.

getdownonit

Sorry to disappoint you but the bike is cleaned petty much every week, especially in the winter, and I mean properly cleaned. The wear rate on the Fulcrums is very poor even when looked after!

rolf_f

getdownonit wrote:

Sorry to disappoint you but the bike is cleaned petty much every week, especially in the winter, and I mean properly cleaned. The wear rate on the Fulcrums is very poor even when looked after!

Same alloy as on my Khamsins so you must be doing something wrong.

As for the dry weather wheels - you'd expect pretty minimal wear even after 10,000 miles if they barely ever get wet.

bendertherobot

getdownonit wrote:

Sorry to disappoint you but the bike is cleaned petty much every week, especially in the winter, and I mean properly cleaned. The wear rate on the Fulcrums is very poor even when looked after!

You can clean them all you like. When you use the wheels the winter dirt is sanding them down. It's hardly a scientific comparison you're making here.

How Far is too Far

I have Shimano RS80, Mavic Elites and Fulcrum Zeros on 3 diffrent bikes.

I have found the RS80,s to have the softer braking surface, The mavics have done well over 10k miles and have never had a spoke key on them or bearing changed, the RS80s, have done about 4k miles and again no spoke key has been on them but I have had to adjst and grease the bearings twice. The Zeros, have not done much yet but they do seem to ride better than the others 2, mainly noticable when you have a sprint up a hill.

blablablacksheep

mavics+1

Long story short.

They bombproof till the rear hub brakes from the spokes, then they KIA.
BUT..
The service i got from canyon via mavic was excellent and got repaired.

As wheels go who cares about noise, they not they loud, but very good wheels esp on the climbs where they light

adamfo

I've got the 2013 spec Zondas. Nothing stands still and Mavic and Campagnolo/Fulcrum update their products regularly so the performance of a wheel from 3 years ago is not much help buying new today.

Both the Zonda and Fulcrum 3 outpointed the RS80/81 and Mavic Ksyrium Elites in a recent test in the German magazine 'Tour'. The Zonda also tends to be cheaper, I paid £235 from a German retailer sale with free shipping ! The Zonda had the stiffest Nm figures which perhaps makes it a good choice for the heavier rider. The rear hub is much quieter than Mavic although that is irrelevant really.
I'd be happy with any of them, but I'm not keen on the elevated Fulcrum pricing structure in the UK when they are made on the same Italian production line as Campag !

Mine are Shimano fit











http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/k632/a ... gnolo.html

http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/k632/a ... 226cr=GBP#

rolf_f

adamfo wrote:

I've got the 2013 spec Zondas. Nothing stands still and Mavic and Campagnolo/Fulcrum update their products regularly so the performance of a wheel from 3 years ago is not much help buying new today.

You have much faith in the manufacturers blurb. I'd be willing to bet that there is next to no difference between Campag/Fulcrum wheels of three years ago and the current ones. Not in any meaningful sense. They knock a gram or two off here and there and muck about with the lacing and rim hole placement but even the assymmetric rims probably make no difference to 95% of us. It's really all about styling hence the antipathy a lot of folk have towards handbuilts which largely ignore such frippery!

If you want to quieten down a Campag/Fulcrum hub, the lightest of smears of grease on the freehub ratchet will do the job.

mamba80

a wheel is a wheel, they go round and around, believe all the blurb you like.

As for rim wear, no one can compare a wheel used in the dry with one in the wet, especially grit/mud infested country roads, that's why for winter, you need to either use some handbuilts or some dirt cheap shimano, obviously not if your on campag , wheels.

chain saw chain oil is the best thing to silence a noisy freehub, £5 per litre from a garden centre, it doesn't get washed out like oil or pushed to one side like grease.

springtide9

The Campagnolo Zonda Clincher Wheels looks like a bargain as are supposed to be the R3 equiv:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/campagnolo-zond ... -wheelset/

Edit... even cheaper at Halfords:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... 0QAPA#tab2

(Almost same price as Bike D in Germany)

adamfo

Rolf F wrote:

adamfo wrote:

I've got the 2013 spec Zondas. Nothing stands still and Mavic and Campagnolo/Fulcrum update their products regularly so the performance of a wheel from 3 years ago is not much help buying new today.

You have much faith in the manufacturers blurb. I'd be willing to bet that there is next to no difference between Campag/Fulcrum wheels of three years ago and the current ones. Not in any meaningful sense. They knock a gram or two off here and there and muck about with the lacing and rim hole placement but even the assymmetric rims probably make no difference to 95% of us. It's really all about styling hence the antipathy a lot of folk have towards handbuilts which largely ignore such frippery!

If you want to quieten down a Campag/Fulcrum hub, the lightest of smears of grease on the freehub ratchet will do the job.

Actually, the current Zondas are quite a bit different. The rear hub is larger and similar in spec. to the one that used to found on the more expensive models. The rim is milled out more (look at my photos) and the wheels are substantially lighter (over 100g.) The freehub is silent. The QR are redesigned too. In fact comparing the 2012 with the 2013 only the bearings are the same ! Before that they changed the way the spokes are attached to stop twisting. Basically what's happening is trickle down. Good news for those on a limited budget.

That Halfords Zonda price looks competitive particularly if you apply the various promo codes floating around.

phillips1965

Hi there. Not certain if I purchased a Friday afternoon build set of Ksyriums but I cannot believe how poorly they roll compared to my Campag Neutrons. On a simple spinning test the campags continue spinning almost twice as long as the mavics. Have I got a dodgy build.? Any views would be appreciated.