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Fulcrum Racing Zero Goes Carbon with new 30mm Tubular or Clincher Rim

Written by Zach Overholt
19 Comments
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Fulcrum’s flagship wheel is getting an upgrade. What can you do to improve a wheel that is already loved by so many? The obvious answer is carbon. Always more carbon. To bring the Racing Zeros to the next level, Fulcrum is introducing a new 30mm carbon rim to the current hub and spoke assembly. The result is a light weight set of tubular or clincher wheels with typical Fulcrum durability and precision.

Details after the jump…

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Offered in both clincher and tubular rims, the Racing Zero Carbons use a unidirectional carbon rim with 3k weave for the braking surface. According to Fulcrum the inside of the rim does not have any spoke holes, though it is not listed as tubeless compatible for the clincher model. To accomplish this, the aluminum nipples are placed inside the rim before the final carbon is applied in a construction process called MoMag. On the front wheel, 16 straight pull aero aluminum spokes are laced to the carbon/aluminum hub. Like previous Fulcrum wheels the hub shell is produced from carbon while the flanges are constructed from aluminum. Inside are Fulcrum’s USB ceramic bearings.

The rear sees a two-to-one lacing pattern with 14 drive straight pull aero aluminum spokes, and 7 non-drive. Rear wheels use the same carbon and aluminum hub construction and see a Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation treatment on the freehub body. Claimed weights for the sets are 1268g for tubular and 1358g for the clinchers.

 
Zach Overholt
5,726 articles

Zach Overholt is the Editor in Chief of Bikerumor. He has been writing about what’s new in the bicycle world for 12+ years. Prior to that, Zach spent many years in the back of a bicycle shop building and repairing nearly every type of bike, while figuring out how to (occasionally) ride them.

Based in Ohio, Zach is now slowly introducing a new generation to cycling and still trying to figure out how to fit the most rides into a busy schedule as a new dad.

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19 Comments
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racefacejas
racefacejas
10 years ago

so aluminum nipples that can’t be replaced?

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Collin S
Collin S
10 years ago

Great Idea, because I’ve never seen aluminum nipples break. :/

I guess you would have to drill out the hole to retrieve it. If your going to go that route, why not do it like mavic (I can’t believe I just said that) and screw the nipples in?

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kmmalek
kmmalek
10 years ago

I think this will be the same as with current Zonda/Eurus/Shamal wheels: you screw a piece of steel (provided) to the nipple (either the one being replaced, or the new one being introduced); you use a magnet (also provided) to walk the aluminum nipple + steel piece assembly around the rim to the valve hole, and voila. I don’t know what you would do if the old alu nipple is so damaged that you can’t screw the steel piece into it…

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Dr. Unk
Dr. Unk
10 years ago

I rebuilt one of the older alloy wheels a few years ago. Never again…the next one would go back to Campy. I feel bad for the factory folks that have to build these.

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F Almeida
F Almeida
10 years ago

If the nipple placing is more trouble, on the other hand the uninterrupted rim bed is sooo convenient! No messing about with rim tape…

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bikermark
bikermark
10 years ago

All nipples can break–aluminum or brass. The Fulcrum nipples are way overbuilt compared to regular aluminum nipples.

What’s interesting here is that this is a pairing of aluminum spokes with a carbon rim. Enve and Mavic both use stainless steel spokes for their carbon wheels and so too did Campy up to this point. This is ballsy because you need a very strong spoke bed to handle the high spoke tension required by aluminum spokes.

And to the question of broken/stripped nipples: cut the spoke, knock the nipple down into the rim and shake it until the busted nipple comes out the valve hole.

Don’t feel bad for the people putting these things together because Campy charges a premium for these wheels.

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Speshy
Speshy
10 years ago

I own a pair of alum zeros. All the proprietary parts means that you have to ship your wheel off to fulcrum for repair. Its costly takes a ton of time and I don’t really see any real advantages of this wheel to to other ‘handbuilts.’

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Collin S
Collin S
10 years ago

That’s the problem with all proprietary wheels. Wheels are a wear item. Things will break. I know multiple people with Mavic products that end up breaking a spoke, then they have to call up mavic, basically are told that there was a slight change to the spoke and they no longer make the old one so your stuck calling everyone in the nation. Eventually you’ll find someone who has them, however, mavic only sells them in packs of 10 at over $5 a spoke, so you spend $50 and half a summer looking for them. If you had a nice pair of hand built wheels, you can go to any bike shop, they’ll have them, put in a new one in less than an hour and your on your way.

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bikermark
bikermark
10 years ago

These are handbuilt; what they are not is custom.

@Collin S: the irony of your story is that Mavic wheels rarely change from one year to the next. Sure they may mill off some more aluminum from the rim, but the ERD of the Ksyrium rim and the FTS-L hub dimensions have barely changed since ’99.

I’m no fan of Mavic, but I have to defend them here: the reason you hear about their spokes breaking is a lot of people ride their wheels. Ksyriums are still OEM on a lot of bike.

The reason Campy didn’t go with screw in eyelets/nipples is that is the franchise for Mavic. They’re going to defend that patent to the death.

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hoser
hoser
10 years ago

Mavic actually has changed spoke lengths of the Ksyrium Zicral spokes over the years. They have done so just enough so that they are not cross-compatible.

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kmmalek
kmmalek
10 years ago

It is interesting how Fulcrum and Campagnolo have diverged on this part of their product line, with the Fulcrum Racing Zero going carbon while the (previously) equivalent Campy Shamal has stayed with aluminum, albeit adding a special treatment to the braking surface for 2015.

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Corky
Corky
10 years ago

^ not true ….. do a search on Fulcrum racing Zero Nite

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kmmalek
kmmalek
10 years ago

Thanks; I stand corrected. This makes more sense, that they would have parallel models.

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greg
greg
10 years ago

while mavic has changed spoke lengths slightly here n there, they still offer spokes for old wheels. like ’06 silver Ksyrium SL.
Similarly to Mavic but even more so, fulcrum wheels are very, very tough. if you broke a spoke or three, it was likely in a crash and it is likely that the rim is toast anyway. not always, but often.
aluminum spokes typically arent run at higher tension. they are often stiffer, making for a stiffer wheel (especially in ride), but that’s a different matter.

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Kyle
Kyle
10 years ago

Kind of shocked that these aren’t 2 way fit…if they were they’d have sold a pair to me.

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Speshy
Speshy
10 years ago

I would like to add that Fulcrum zeros are stiff, light, resilient, and roll incredibly well nut un-aerodynamic. So to see them get lighter with a 30mm profile is a nice upgrade.

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dislivello
dislivello
10 years ago

For change nippleas its easy .. mog mag is best dolution for tubeless and for have strong clincler channel in carbon fibre..holes can reduce resistence.have a continue channel is best solution. Mavic have too .but if u have damage the sookes tread need to change the rim..goog job fulcry

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jamal
jamal
10 years ago

Any guesses as to price on these? I would hope they are well less than a Hyperon Ultra. Less than $2k would be awesome.

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dimitris
dimitris
10 years ago

People, nipples are easy to replace by owner, no special tools, just a magnet (provided with wheelset)

I ll just paste what I copied from this url
http://www.campagnolo.com/WW/en/Technologies/momag

—————————–

What is MoMag?
A technology that offers several advantages to the structural integrity of the wheel as well as eliminating the need for rim tape. The name
derives from “Mounting Magnet” system, shortened to MoMag™.

How does it work?
The nipples, once inserted inside the rim via the valve hole, are “guided” to the point of connection with the spoke by means of the magnet.
This simple but ingenious system makes it possible to have a wheel without holes on the upper bridge, but with spokes tensioned by traditional nipples!

Advantages
No holes on the rim means that the rim is uniform at every point, free from stress points or zones of weakness and, for the clincher profiles no rim tape is required, to the benefi t of weight reduction.
The advantages are immediately clear: greater rim lifetime, greater resistance to fatigue, the possibility to give the spokes greater tension, and greater stiffness which, in terms of performance, mean greater reactivity and acceleration.
But that’s not all. The advantages also include extremely quick and simple maintenance and spoke replacement.
All to the benefi t of cyclists who choose Campagnolo®.

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