Fulcrum 3's for £300 - Worth it or save for better?

Slow1

Have been offered new Fulcrum 3 wheelset for £300. Appears to be the latest spec.

Just wondered if anyone had any thoughts on whether this was a good deal. I have some old Alex Race 28 which weigh over 1 kilo more than the F3's.

Cheers

nochekmate

If that's Fulcrum 3s new for £300 then not a bad price (Planet X were shifting them for sub £300 a few months back). If it's for secondhand F3s then that's a fair bit of money to pay IMO.

You shouldn't need to pay much more than that for a decent set of wheels - they should offer a noticeable upgrade on your current wheelset.

Slow1

Thanks

yaya

Just one note, the higher end Fulcrums (3 included) don't have any holes drilled for the nipples

If you loose a spoke and the nipple gets pushed into the rim it can take anything from 1 minute to an hour to get it out and the same time to fit a new one in. So just be aware of what the shop is going to charge you in case this happens

Otherwise they are great, had mine (2010 model) for about 20 months now, a few thousand miles and they are still going strong...never touched the hubs and the front wheel never had to be adjusted either. I'm 90Kg with MTB background and am not a fair weather rider...

HTH

racingcondor

At that price they're good wheels (and a whole lot better than your current ones). Reasonable weight and very strong.

Ciclicasati

Err..Cycle Surgery have 40% off some wheels for today only which includes your Fulcrum 3 £500> £300...
My pleasure.

ugo.santalucia

Are the Fulcrum three the ones with 21 spokes?
Try and find a replacement rim if you can, Fulcrum or not there isn't any... I wouldn't bother

thegreatdivide

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Are the Fulcrum three the ones with 21 spokes?
Try and find a replacement rim if you can, Fulcrum or not there isn't any... I wouldn't bother

You're not trying hard enough then.

ugo.santalucia

thegreatdivide wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Are the Fulcrum three the ones with 21 spokes?
Try and find a replacement rim if you can, Fulcrum or not there isn't any... I wouldn't bother

You're not trying hard enough then.

Share the secret....

thegreatdivide

ugo.santalucia wrote:

thegreatdivide wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Are the Fulcrum three the ones with 21 spokes?
Try and find a replacement rim if you can, Fulcrum or not there isn't any... I wouldn't bother

You're not trying hard enough then.

Share the secret....

You contact a good Fulcrum dealer (I use Winstanleys) and ask them to order you an R3 rear rim from Fulcrum. They contact Fulcrum/Campagnolo and Fulcrum ships one to the dealer who then ship it onto you.

andyg1966

I have some, and I'd avoid. Kinked a rim in the Alps last year and a rim is £84 + fitting. Thus rim is still kinked.

Also I don't think the bearings are a standard size, from the service manual the bearings are
32x20x7 and 30x20x17 (hub either side) and 28x19x5 (freehub) , try and buy these from anywhere else than the importer who charges a fortune if they in stock.A single bearing is £20!

I'd go for some Hope Hubs on XM719's from Merlin.

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ugo.santalucia

thegreatdivide wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

thegreatdivide wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Are the Fulcrum three the ones with 21 spokes?
Try and find a replacement rim if you can, Fulcrum or not there isn't any... I wouldn't bother

You're not trying hard enough then.

Share the secret....

You contact a good Fulcrum dealer (I use Winstanleys) and ask them to order you an R3 rear rim from Fulcrum. They contact Fulcrum/Campagnolo and Fulcrum ships one to the dealer who then ship it onto you.

I was led to believe Fulcrum does not sell spares, but if that's not true...

I'd still avoid a 21 holes rim, just in case the procedure you describe is not so smooth (let alone the cost of one rim). They're not better than other wheels with an even number of spokes, so why bother?

racingcondor

ugo.santalucia - If you're the poster that I think you are then I've got a Fulcrum 3 rim lying around at home. PM me, £90 and it's yours.

My original one was damaged by an idiot in our bike sheds but Condor ordered and fitted me a new one (+ some new spokes for £90 all in), just a shame the freehub went shortly afterwards.

As with all factory built wheels the rims are overpriced but they are available.

yaya

andyg1966 wrote:

I have some, and I'd avoid. Kinked a rim in the Alps last year and a rim is £84 + fitting. Thus rim is still kinked.

Also I don't think the bearings are a standard size, from the service manual the bearings are
32x20x7 and 30x20x17 (hub either side) and 28x19x5 (freehub) , try and buy these from anywhere else than the importer who charges a fortune if they in stock.A single bearing is £20!

I'd go for some Hope Hubs on XM719's from Merlin.

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How often do you change bearings? Am asking because I've never had to change bearings on any of my bikes and wheels...thousands of miles of road and off road (inc. desert) use...

andyg1966

I've changed mine once at the rear, not sure of the mileage, but in the 1000+ on a hard ridden hard tail , they are 2008 model wheels. There was about 2-3mm side to side play at the rim. Free hub bearings where OK.

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