Comments on: Final Review: Fulcrum Red Metal 29 XL Mountain Bike Wheels

By: dgaddis

dgaddis — Tue, 08 May 2012 10:38:38 +0000

rcraft – the Arch is a great rim. I have a set myself and built some for a friend over the weekend. He used the new Arch EX rim and DT Swiss 240 hubs – same exact weight as this wheelset but about $100 less for the parts (not including someone building them up, which is sometimes included depending on who you buy the parts from). His set doesn’t have any proprietary parts, so it’s easier to find replacements if needed, and the Arch rims work with standard and tubeless ready tires, but not UST. I do think the Fulcrums are a bit stiffer than my personal Arch wheels, but I haven’t ridden the newer Arch EX.

Jared – I think the milling is the only difference between the 2011 and 2012 model year version of these wheels, the 2012′s are 100g lighter for the set, so 50g per wheel, lost at the rim – where you’ll feel it most.

By: Jared13

Jared13 — Tue, 08 May 2012 00:55:29 +0000

I really like the milling they did between the spoke. I have no idea how much weight it saved, but it’s the attention to small details like that make me take notice. Not that I would buy these over another just because of the milling, but it does make me say “Huh, look at that.”

@Greg
+1 for the objective.

@dgaddis
Your reasoning is more than sufficient! LOL!

By: rcraft6826

rcraft6826 — Mon, 07 May 2012 21:53:23 +0000

Looks like a good set of wheel I wonder how they compare to the Stans arches in a head to head test.

By: maddslacker

maddslacker — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:39:04 +0000

I’m looking forward to finding out what I think of them. I have XC One’s on the Trance that my daughter rides now and those have given me no issues.

By: dgaddis

dgaddis — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:11:16 +0000

It will be interesting to hear what you think of the Eastons. They make some great products, but I’ve read about some reliability issues with some of their freehubs (on some of the expensive carbon hooped wheelsets to be exact), and the low spoke count (using traditional steel spokes) of the EA70 XCT’s is…interesting. Looking forward to hearing what you think about them.

By: maddslacker

maddslacker — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:58:52 +0000

Okay, I clicked over to the previous article to get the weight and price.

Rumor has it that I may someday get to test some Easton EA70 XCT wheels (long story) and they are 20 grams lighter and retail for $600 over at jensonUSA. I’ll be curious to see how they match up to your experience with these. (If you come out to Colorado, we can even swap for a day)

By: mtbgreg1

mtbgreg1 — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:51:21 +0000

Lol sorry I just had to give you a hard time

By: dgaddis

dgaddis — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:50:39 +0000

greg – all I can say is: I are a engineer.

By: mtbgreg1

mtbgreg1 — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:47:17 +0000

You mean you always try to be OBjective?

But in all seriousness, great review! Sounds like they are a serious pair of wheels! Also, I really like that last photo from the CX race–hardcore!

By: dgaddis

dgaddis — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:45:32 +0000

That’s exactly how it’s done. There’s a steel piece that threads into the new nipple, drop it into the valve hole, and use a magnet to move it in place. Remove the steel piece, and thread in the spoke. All of the parts/pieces needed to do it are included with the wheels, which is cool. I agree it has to be a PITA, especially once you remove the steel piece and need to hold the nipple in place while getting the new spoke started.

One more note on durability: this weekend I hit a sharp edge rock hard enough to bottom out the rim and pinch flat the TIRE, a Specialized Control casing tire. That’s my first time ever pinch flatting a TIRE. I hit really, really hard. I expected to find at least a small ding in the rim, but there isn’t one, the rim is fine.

By: trek7k

trek7k — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:38:45 +0000

+1 for removable valve cores – makes it way easier to add fresh sealant.

Since the rims are completely sealed I’m guessing that makes it a PITA to replace a spoke. After popping a spoke on my Black Flags during the Cohutta I took it to the shop and was bummed when I realized the mechanic needed to remove the Stan’s rim tape that came pre-installed.

Any idea what is involved in replacing a spoke with these wheels? I’ve heard some of the Mavics come with a special magnet for moving the spoke nipple into place after dropping it into the valve hole but even that sounds like a nightmare.