Merlin have bundles of Fulcrum wheels/tyres with an extra 10% off, just received a set of Fulcrum Racing Quattros with GP4000s II tyres & tubes for £225.
Wheels seem pretty much bang on for the price, add a little bit of aero bling and come with QRs and 10sp spacer.
Tyres are the “made in Germany” versions and most importantly logos were precsely aligned with valves, only slight negative for some will be that the tyres are the distinctly “off trend” 23s.

Wouldn’t call £225 budget for road wheels, now the Shimano R501’s they have at £68 they have would be more budget, add some tubes & tires would push it to just under £100, and you could get some 25mm Conti Ultra Sport II from them for that.

I must say my Fulcrum wheels (budget versions) have really surprised me. Nice and stiff and seem to roll really well.

Wouldn’t think twice about buying again.

Jimc there’s a difference between budget and pov junk that might JUST put on a winter hack. Ultra Sports a completely different league (hint: lower) than S2s. And Racing Quattros are decent quality wheels, equivalent in Spec to Mavic Cosmic but substantially cheaper.

Although if you’re buying quattro’s have a look at the campag scirocco 35, basically same wheel but often cheaper.

HD said budget, which is what R501’s are, your pushing into mid range territory at the Fulcurn Quattro level, not suggesting in any way that they are bad wheels, far from it, just are a lot more than budget wheels.

Jimc there’s a difference between budget and pov junk that might JUST put on a winter hack. Ultra Sports a completely different league (hint: lower) than S2s. And Racing Quattros are decent quality wheels, equivalent in Spec to Mavic Cosmic but substantially cheaper.

My ‘best’ bike currently has RS-61 on it, they’re only just lighter than R-501’s. Between those and the 1250g ‘sunday best’ wheelset the difference is only just perceptible (compared to the gulf down to winter hack 32spoke wheels).

TBH the ultra sports aren’t that bad either.

I used to be a tyre snob, GP4000 or nothing. But budget tyres seem to have come on a bit in the last 10 years. Ultremo’s still feel nice, but £10 tyre’s are nowhere near as horrible as the plastic rubbish they used to be.

“roll well” LOL!

Rs21s are cheap too, worth the extra from 501s IMO.

I’ve got quattros they go round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round….they make a cool noise too

“roll well” LOL!

Listen here sunshine, I’ve been reading mags and bikeradar for as long as I can remember, you won’t get a more in-depth analysis than that from anywhere.

😀 *glee*

TBF that does seem a good price for 1710gm wheels.

I saw Raleigh are doing some 1600gm for £200 RRO.

Fulcrum Quattro …. mmmmmhhh, im off to Merlin 🙂

When Superstar have wheels at 1380g for £145 why would you?

Id prefer to rescue some kids 16 inch wheels from a bike in the skip than use superstars wheels….that is why.n

Have you actually used them or just popped in to be awkward?

Ive delt with the aftermath on other folks (who i trust) superstar wheels …. Enough to make me proclaim the above.

But you (as a stranger on the internet) obviously have the superior opinion to make me sway my mind as you own them……

Well I didn’t see any wheels on SS for less than about £185, and nothing against SS but I wanted to deal with a company that I could phone and get product advice.
Anyway, first proper ride done on the Fulcrums, noticed the extra stiffness but not the weight loss or aero properties – impressed with the GP4000s though, nice grippy tyre that seems to corner a bit better than the Schwalbe 1s I had on the old wheels, but could just be that “new bits” thing….

Is it possible to buy parts for the fulcrums, and if it is, are they a sane price? They might be better for road but they really took the mick for my mtb wheels, hard to find parts at all and when you could they were priced like they were goldplated and dusted with smack… Want a spoke? Buy 8 for £40 but wait 3 months til they’re in stock first. Want a 15mm adaptor? No.

hilldodger – Member
noticed the extra stiffness but not the weight loss or aero properties – impressed with the GP4000s though, nice grippy tyre that seems to corner a bit better than the Schwalbe 1s I had on the old wheels

How did you notice the grip and cornering?

How did you notice the grip and cornering?

Same as I noticed the free rolling 😉

Yes, it’s all pretty subjective I agree – new wheels/tyres vs old wheels/tyres, bound to feel better all round I guess.

Glad they roll well 😀

All spares avaible from iRide, 4 spokes with nipples £12.95

http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/elite-25-tubular-ultra-11speed-wheelset-2024.htm

They have gone up from the £145 I paid delivered a few months back.

Trail-rat – I was asking a genuine question. You made no reference to any experience either first hand or of friends just a derogatory comment.
Having the Elites and a set of their Pacenti set up tubeless for the mtb I’ve personally had no issues at all and been able to pick up the phone to ask any questions.
In fact they went as far as to suggest the Elites over a more expensive setup when they cod easily have just taken the money. (PX Carbon at under 8kgs with them fitted so not the need to go heavier/more rigid)

SS are up and down tbh but even when they’re down, the pricing usually means it’s competitive to pay for a full rebuild. I just think of them as a parts kit that happens to come in the shape of a wheel, and if they turn out OK then that’s a bonus.

Got a set of R501 on my road bike, I’m not a big road biker, just use it for when I only have an hour or so for a quick ride.

What the benefit of a set of something like these fulcrums over the r501, Is there likely to be a noticeable improvement?

Also – why the fulcrums and not say the shimano ultegra 6800’s. The shimano wheelset is a good deal lighter than the fulcrum

My go to cheap wheel would be the planet x model b- light, cheap and reasonably strong.

They did them for 99 a pair. I put them on the mrs dolan race bike as £for£ it was the best known reliable option for the weight.

But as far as noticable difference…..no…

Ive had all sorts of wheels but i maintain as long as their round and have good rubber on than outside of a crit or hill climb it makes very little odds to the enjoyability of the ride- with the exception of my 100mm carbon deeps…. They are paintful over 100miles- but that could be the tt bike they are fitted to also 🙂

They have gone up from the £145 I paid delivered a few months back

Hardly fair comparing tubs and clincher weights, and thats before you get to the longevity of the brake tracks, ive got some wheels wven lighter than those but they’re dry weather only, any rain/ grit would see them off in a mater of months (again though, not an issue on race day tubs).

Fulcrums bought and fitted! plumped for the GP4000 28mm for the comfier ride as I am Owd and knackered and need all the comfort I can get 😉

I’ve had a set of Quattros for a year now and they’re a very good wheel, done something like 2500km on them and they’re as straight, true and round as the day I got them. That includes cobbled Road rides, gravel tracks and the worst Cheshire, Wales, the peaks, Devon & Cornwall could throw at them.
Been on 3 bikes and to be fair I’m struggling to see a reason to change them.

Also – why the fulcrums and not say the shimano ultegra 6800’s. The shimano wheelset is a good deal lighter than the fulcrum

…because the Quattros are a 35mm semi-aero depth unlike the 24mm Ultegras, and you don’t get deeper wheels and light weight unless you go carbon/$$$.

What are the aero benefits of 35 over 24?

Less than the **** all of full aero (in the real world, for the vast majority of us).

True, but if they match your bike they’re a bargain.

Here’s mine on my KTM Revelator

Cynic, mock you want but Mavic, Campag, Fulcrum, 3T, Shimano etc all do semi aero 30-odd mm rims and differentiate them from regular. Like it or not its a Thing.

What are the aero benefits of 35 over 24?

11 aero’s

Cynic, mock you want but Mavic, Campag, Fulcrum, 3T, Shimano etc all do semi aero 30-odd mm rims and differentiate them from regular. Like it or not its a Thing.

A thing? I don’t doubt it. So what? Is there a benefit?

Fulcrum Racing 5’s and a pair of 4000s II’s for £178 delivered? Ta very much OP – top PSA 😀

Looking for advice, are the fulcrum wheels likely to be better than the Spesh Axis 2.0 wheels that came on my Roubaix?

Yes