New Fulcrum Racing 3 road wheels coming

The Fulcrum Racing 3 wheelset has been redesigned for 2010, and will be available in two versions: Racing 3 and Racing 3 2-Way Fit.

The former is dedicated exclusively to the use of standard tyres, while the latter uses a special rim profile developed by Fulcrum that makes it possible to use both tubeless and standard tyres.

According to Fulcrum's communication manager Lerrj Piazza, the Fulcrum Racing 3 maintains the performance features of the previous season.

"The (new) wheels feature Dynamic Balance technology, which perfectly stabilises the wheel at high speeds," he said. "The spokes are stainless steel with aero profile at differentiated thickness 2-1,5-2. The hubs are oversize with aluminium body and axle and adjustable high-precision bearings to achieve the best performance every time."

Racing 3 wheels are compatible with Campagnolo, Shimano, and SRAM drivetrains.

2010 Fulcrum Racing 3 - technical specs

Rims:

Material: aluminium
Height: 24mm
Colour: black

Spokes:

Material: stainless steel
Form: aero, differentiated thickness (2/1.5/2)
Spoking: radial front (16); Two-to-One (21) rear
Colour: black

Hubs:

Material: aluminium
Bearings: Fulcrum proprietary
Colour: black
Compatibility: Campagnolo, Shimano, and SRAM

Weight: 1,659g/pair

Fulcrum Racing 3 2-Way Fit

According to Piazza, tests carried out in collaboration with Hutchinson demonstrated that a Fulcrum wheel fitted with a tubeless tyre has a rolling capacity more than 31-percent higher than the same wheel fitted with a standard clincher tyre.

"Precisely due to the advantages offered by the tubeless tires, Fulcrum has now decided to extend this technology to the Racing 3 model as well, but we decided to do it in the most advantageous way for the user," he added.

"This means being able to take advantage of the best features of both solutions: performance, comfort, and seal for tubeless tyres; convenience of use in training for the standard tyres."

According to Piazza, the Fulcrum Racing 3 2-Way Fit wheels differ from the Racing 3 version.

"First of all, the weight, as this version is a full 80 grams lighter, a huge difference for this type of wheel," he said. "In fact, Fulcrum has used differentiated rims, 24 mm for the front and 30mm the rear, so that the front wheel, along with radial spoking, produces perfect aerodynamic penetration.

"The rear wheel, on the other hand, was developed to instantaneously transmit the cyclist’s power, the reason why Fulcrum chose a more rigid 30mm rim together with the now celebrated Two-to-One spoke ratio. Here, too, Fulcrum Dynamic Balance keeps the Racing 3 2-Way Fit wheel perfectly stable even at high speeds."

2010 Fulcrum Racing 3 2-Way Fit - technical specs