Fulcrum has announced two new mountain bike wheelsets, the Red Zone Carbon and the Red Zone 3. Although Fulcrum has a number of mountain bike wheels in its range, the Red Zone Carbon is the first high-end carbon fibre mountain bike wheel it has launched since 2009, according to the brand.
The 29in wheel is designed for use on cross-country mountain bikes and downcountry mountain bikes, and has an asymmetric spoke eyelet design with an unusual undulating rim edge.
Tallying up with the demands of these two disciplines, Fulcrum says the wheel balances lightness and reactivity on the one hand with vertical absorption and resistance on the other.
The Red Zone 3 is an aluminium-rimmed 29in “all-purpose wheel” for mountain biking, but Fulcrum says it can also be used on gravel bikes with Boost spacing.
Fulcrum says the Red Zone 3 was informed by its experiences in the process of creating the Red Zone Carbon, and there are a number of shared characteristics.
The Red Zone Carbon and Red Zone 3 have the same number of stainless steel spokes, with 24 on the front wheel and 28 on the rear wheel.
The Red Zone 3 also has asymmetric spoke eyelets, but does not have the same wavy rim edge.
The two new wheel models share the same aluminium hubs, featuring adjustable cup and cone bearings, with the option of either a Shimano HG, Shimano Micro Spline or SRAM XD freehub on the rear wheel.
Although Fulcrum hasn't listed it as an option, the brand has confirmed you can run the wheels with a Campagnolo N3W freehub, so you could use the Red Zone 3 on Campagnolo Ekar equipped gravel bikes.
The wheels also share Fulcrum’s 2-Way Fit rim design, which means the wheels can be set up tubeless or with tubes. This technology now appears on many of Fulcrum’s wheels, including the Racing DB range, launched in June last year.
Fulcrum says you can now order the wheels directly and they will be available through other retailers soon.
Pricing starts at £1,299.99 / $1,717 / €1,378 for the Red Zone Carbon and £599.99 / $760 / €635 for the Red Zone 3.
Red Zone Carbon
For the Red Zone Carbon, Fulcrum says it looked at all elements of the wheel to match the demands of “high-level bikers”. The standout features of the wheel are its asymmetric design, which Fulcrum calls NipForce, an undulating edge and the carbon rim profile.
Short for “Nipple Force”, NipForce is said to lead to a wheel with a uniform feel that has a greater resistance to lateral stresses.
NipForce is described as a “double asymmetry”, with spokes alternating between being offset from the centre of the rim by 6mm and 3.5mm.
The 6mm offset is said to optimise the dish of the spokes on the side that is most affected by torsional stresses, which is the disc brake side on the front wheel and the drivetrain side on the rear wheel.
The 3.5mm offset is said to counter the forces applied by spoke pull from asymmetric designs, which can lead to carbon-stressing rotational movements.
To accommodate these two different asymmetries and to locate the nipple hole at the tip of the rim profile, Fulcrum has created a rim edge shape that appears to undulate like a wave rather than run in a straight line.
To balance the right levels of lateral stiffness and vertical absorption in the rim design, Fulcrum says it created 12 different prototypes tested in the field and in the lab.
Fulcrum says the rim height of 26mm and internal width of 28mm is “the ideal formula” for mountain bike tyres between 2.2in and 2.4in.
The rim has no spoke holes drilled into the bridge. According to Fulcrum, this ensures secure tubeless use and leads to a stronger structure than a drilled rim.
The carbon rim has a “straight from the mould” matt finish with minimal graphics across the wheel’s rim.
The wheel is fully produced in Europe, with the majority of parts produced in Italy, according to Fulcrum.
The Red Zone Carbon 3 has a claimed weight of 1,445g.
Red Zone 3
Fulcrum says the Red Zone 3 is "extremely versatile and suited to multiple uses”, from training to racing, as well as on gravel bikes with Boost spacing as gravel wheels.
Compared to the Red Zone Carbon wheel, this lower-tier wheel has a CNC-machined aluminium rim with a narrower inner width of 25mm and shallower 19mm rim height.
Fulcrum says the experience of designing the Red Zone Carbon has fed into the Red Zone 3 design, however. The wheel has an asymmetric design like the pricier carbon wheel, as well as a 24- and 28-spoke count.
The Red Zone 3 has the same hub as the Carbon, too. Fulcrum says the conical hub has flanges sunk into the body of the hub to achieve “the best possible seating of the spokes” and minimise bending.
The flanges are also designed so all the spokes can be the same length, minimising the number of spare parts needed – a real win if you’ve ever had the pleasure of tracking down a specific spoke for an offset wheel.
Like the Red Zone Carbon, the aesthetic of the Red Zone 3 is kept simple, with a matt surface and laser-etched graphics. A Fulcrum logo sits in a red box on the rim, but the brand says this is replaceable with a reflective black-on-black adhesive.
The Fulcrum Red Zone 3 has a claimed weight of 1,610g.
Red Zone wheel availability and pricing
Fulcrum says the Red Zone Carbon and Red Zone 3 are available to order now from Fulcrum stores and will be available through other retailers shortly.
Pricing starts at £1,299.99 / $1,717 / €1,378 for the Red Zone Carbon and £599.99 / $760 / €635 for the Red Zone 3, dependent on freehub.
Red Zone Carbon
- Shimano HyperGlide 11-speed: £1,299.99 / $1,717 / €1,378
- Shimano Micro Spline 12-speed: £1,299.99 / $1,734 / €1,390
- SRAM XD: £1,299.99 / $1,717 / €1,378
Red Zone 3
- Shimano HyperGlide 11-speed: £599.99 / $760 / €635
- Shimano Micro Spline 12-speed: £599.99 / $779 / €649
- SRAM XD: £599.99 / $760 / €635
