Wheel upgrade - Fulcrum Racing 5?

[Harleyboy]

Hi,

I have had a Boardman Team Carbon since april and am considering upgrading the wheels. I’ve done around 1500 miles on the Boardman and love it. The wheels don’t look great and a few people have suggested I would notice quite a big difference with even a relatively cheap wheel upgrade.

I checked the price of the Mavic rims the bike came with and they are only £27!!

Fulcrum Racing 5’s have been suggested - would these be a good choice or are there others at this price that are better?

I’m riding with friends to distances up to 60-70 miles if that helps. All back roads in varying states of repair

Cheers

[Bobley]

I nicked my sons Fulcrum 3s and stuck them on my BTC. They were great. The 5's aren't much different.

[Master Bean]

Fulcrum 0 are better

[g7jhp]

I went from Fulcrum 6's to Fulcrum Zeros. The feel a quality upgrade.

Depends what you want and the type of riding.

Would probably look at Hunt (for lightweight) or Zipp (for aero).

[Harleyboy]

Thanks folks, more food for thought!

[SVS]

Have you checked out Cero’s range of wheels? Some of them are very light and nimble - well worth considering in the mix.

[wobert]

Where are you based? I have a pair of 5s going now I’ve upgraded to a gravel bike for winter use.

They’ve had light use...maybe a dozen rides...

Edited by wobert on Monday 10th September 20:39

[gazza285]

The unavailability of spares put me off, I'd worn out a rear rim and the cost of a new one, when I eventually found one, made it uneconomic to rebuild. Couldn't even use the hub for anything else because of the 2:1 spoke count.

[neilr]

I don't know if the 5 uses the same hubs as the 7 (I think it does) but rear hub on my 7's was totally shot after about 7,000km which for me was about 18mnths riding at the time. I wasn't impressed. The Rims had plenty of life in them though. Quote for a replacement part was 49quid. Shame as I liked the wheels.

[bakerstreet]

I would look at the Ceros from Cycle Division or maybe the Fulcrum 3s?

Also worth upgraidng the tyres. The kit tyres will about £10 each and not great. Maybe something like Contionental GP4000S

[TwistingMyMelon]

I had 5s on my last bike and campag Ventos on my current winter bike, which are pretty similar if not the same ish

I really like them, great wheel, spin forever, do the job.

Only ever issues I had was a bit of play in rear wheels, as per every wheel ive ever had and it drives me nuts. Tightening up the retaining bolt and then changing the bearings fixed it.

Id be a bit hesitant if I was over 12 stone though, otherwise great wheel

[Master Bean]

TwistingMyMelon said:

I had 5s on my last bike and campag Ventos on my current winter bike, which are pretty similar if not the same ish

I really like them, great wheel, spin forever, do the job.

Only ever issues I had was a bit of play in rear wheels, as per every wheel ive ever had and it drives me nuts. Tightening up the retaining bolt and then changing the bearings fixed it.

Id be a bit hesitant if I was over 12 stone though, otherwise great wheel

I'm over 12 stone you bd.

[SVS]

bakerstreet said:

I would look at the Ceros from Cycle Division

I’ve been very pleased with my Cero wheels - bought after being recommended here on PH

[Labradorofperception]

Hunts - I have a set of their CX wheels, and they've been excellent - tubeless and with Novatec hubs. Crash replacement is 30% off - I replaced a rim after I dinged it on a drop off I'd struggle to do on my MTB.

If not then try Campag Zondas. Super light and bombproof (and the same company as Fulcrum). They now do a disc version .

Both sets cost around £300.

[Harleyboy]

Thanks everyone, will check out the others mentioned.

wobert, have PM’d you

[wobert]

I’ve replied with some photos... :-)

[covmutley]

My first bike had similarly poor wheels and a good aspect of a van hitting me was that I upgraded to Fulcrum 5's.

They have been great and the stiffness and 'rollability' (?) Was very noticeable and much better.

I am looking for an upgrade in the spring as I have had the fulcrums 5 years or so. Done quite a bit of research and hunt wheels do seem to get good review. Borg wheels from cycle clinic also.

[lufbramatt]

Check out Spokesman Wheels also, very similar thinking to Borg wheels but might work out a bit cheaper. think they are away at the moment but worth an email.

[gazza285]

Both Hunt and Borg use Kinlin rims I think, as well as Novatec hubs.
A quick Google suggests that Cero use Kinlin rims as well...

Reminds me of this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bb7eCgLbLI

[lufbramatt]

Borg wheels tend to use Miche hubs.

The other guy is DCR on the south coast, IIRC his hubs are based on a Bitex hub.