Fulcrum Racing 3 Ceramic Upgrade

StarleyR2

Hi All,
New to this site, so forgive if covered elsewhere.
I’m considering a wheel upgrade from my current Fulcrum Racing 3 Wheelset, it’s quite a jump for the next level wheel-set Racing zero’s etc, and I can see they roll on ceramic bearings, the weights between these wheel sets is much the same, so is it worth upgrading to ceramic bearings in the Racing 3’s ??
Or is the Racing Zero just simply better in all areas.

Also considering some handbuilts from Wheelsmith (Race 30’s) as have a set of his Dimpled Carbon 60 Section wheels on Hope Hubs that are sublime !!.

noodleman

In my experience ceramic bearings are a complete waste of money. Had ceramic speed bb bearings and changed them for standard bearings when they wore out after 1800 miles. Couldn't notice any difference at all. Also had ceramic in my fulcrum racing speed xlr wheels. They didn't last very long and again, I could tell no difference at all when replaced for standard bearings.
Spend the money on some weight savings and nice tyres. Much more of a noticeable and longer lasting difference.

trivial_poursuivant

noodleman wrote:

In my experience ceramic bearings are a complete waste of money. Had ceramic speed bb bearings and changed them for standard bearings when they wore out after 1800 miles. Couldn't notice any difference at all. Also had ceramic in my fulcrum racing speed xlr wheels. They didn't last very long and again, I could tell no difference at all when replaced for standard bearings.
Spend the money on some weight savings and nice tyres. Much more of a noticeable and longer lasting difference.

Yep, generally when things are highly engineered they do so at the expense of longevity. But in all reality with ceramic bearings, the only difference is the little ball bearings are a different material. The steel ones are exceptionally smooth and hard wearing and being made of ceramic add very little extra. I recently replaced the cartridge bearings on a Campagnolo front wheel. They are so smooth and silent. I can’t see how much extra the premium of ceramic bearings would have given me.,

StarleyR2

Thanks Guys, interesting, as on the face of it seemed a reasonable price to bridge the gap between R3’s and the R0’s, but your experience would suggest money bettter spent elsewhere.
Tyre wise I use Schwalbe One after switching from Vittoria cotton walled tyres due to cutting up quite badly.
I like to find “bang for buck” items, branding is secondary for me, so any left field wheel suggestions ?

trivial_poursuivant

StarleyR2 wrote:

Thanks Guys, interesting, as on the face of it seemed a reasonable price to bridge the gap between R3’s and the R0’s

I see where you’re coming from but there is a lot more to the zeros over F3’s than just a different bearing.