Fulcrum Wind 42 and 57 wheels are made for road and all-road riding
The updated wheels in 42 and 57 mm rim depths save 100 grams over their predecessors while adding all-road capability.
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New wheels alert!
Fulcrum has been busy rebuilding its wheel lineup. Earlier this year, they released the surprisingly good Speed 42 wheels. Now comes the Fulcrum Wind 42 and 57 wheels that the Italian company says are equally suited to road and light off-road riding.
We have a set for review on the way, but in the meantime, see the details of this latest Italian wheelset below.
Fulcrum’s new rims
Like the aforementioned Fulcrum Speed wheels, the Wind comes in two rim depths – 42 mm and 57 mm – that represent a 2 mm increase over the previous Wind wheels. Further, the internal rim width has expanded substantially from 19 mm to 23 mm for wider tires.
Just how wide? Fulcrum says, “The new Wind family allows for the broadest choice possible, from 25 mm right up to 45 mm. We recommend tires from 28 to 30 mm for exclusive road use and between 32 and 35 for mixed surface riding.”
Complete wheel weights are lighter despite the deeper and wider rims. Fulcrum Wind 42 wheels weigh in at a claimed 1510 grams, while the Wind 57 weighs in at 1585 grams. The Wind 42 weight represents a 100-gram increase over the fancier Speed 42 wheels, but a 100-gram savings over the previous Wind 40 wheels.
So where does that weight come from? Part of it is the carbon rim layup. The layup consists of an FF80 carbon mix.
Despite that, the rim shape is the same, with the same 9.5 mm diameter at the nose, which Fulcrum says improves aerodynamic efficiency and handling overall. The Wind wheels also use an undrilled rim bed with molded spoke holes allowing for uncompromised and uncut carbon fiber threads which should add quite a bit of stiffness to the rim compared to more traditionally-made carbon wheels. It also means that there’s no need for rim tape, regardless of whether you’re riding with tubes or tubeless.
The Fulcrum Wind wheels used a hooked bead for tubed and tubeless tire compatibility.
Adding to that is the use of Fulcrum Directional Rim-Spoke Coupling (DRSC), which uses plastic support sunk in between the carbon spoke nipples and the rim to further increase durability and avoid potential galvanic corrosion around the spoke nipples.
The wheels use a matte finish overall. Part of the graphics are applied directly by lasers and then finished with reflective stickers that increase visibility in poor lighting.
Max rider weight capacity for the Fulcrum Wind wheels is 120 kilograms (265 lb).
What’s hub got to do, got to do with it?
Fulcrum has always had a history of offering high-quality hubs with their wheels. The hubs themselves look similar in basic design to the Speed series wheels. That means there’s a 36-tooth freehub for 10 degrees of engagement and Fulcrum’s use of their oversized rotor lockring for larger bearings pushed out as far as possible.
The Wind 42 wheels use standard sealed cartridge bearings versus the cup and cone bearings used on their higher-end wheels.
Tying all of this together are 24 double-butted round spokes on each wheel. The wheel uses Fuclrum’s two-to-one system, which places twice as many spokes on the side of the wheel with greater stress: on the rotor side for the front wheel, and the drive side for the rear wheel. According to Fulcrum, doing so should ensure “that mechanical characteristics are not altered over time.”
Fulcrum Wind wheelset availability
The Fulcrum Wind wheelset is available now, while the Fulcrum Wind 57 wheels will be available starting October 2023. The wheels are priced starting at $1614 / €1415
£1249.99.
