Fulcrum Racing Quattro Wheels

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Fulcrum, based in north-east Italy, in Arcugnano not far from the Dolomite mountains, is an interesting company, though perhaps brand is better terminology for it is an offshoot of one of those large manufacturers, Campagnolo, itself based just down the road in nearby Vicenza.

Fulcrum was launched with the aim of capturing that segment of the enthusiast bicycle buying market that were loyal Shimano followers and would not want to mix the best of Japanese componentry with that of their Italian rival. Through this clever branding exercise, Campagnolo was able to sell its excellent wheels to these riders, so Fulcrum gradually became known to most as ‘just’ another racing wheel brand and thus managed to achieve market independence.

Of course the arrival of SRAM has made things a little less cut and dried but the aforementioned Shimano versus Campagnolo debate has rattled on for decades and it used to be that you were either one or the other. I myself am most certainly Shimano, though the privileges of this job have seen me use Campag on occasion, including once even racing a Record equipped bike to a 7th place – it sticks in my mind – certainly proving to me that it makes no odds, especially as our heroes, the pros, don’t seem to mind what they ride nor be affected by it.

Good looking Fulcrum Racing Quattro wheels employ deep rims to good effect

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Would I have put Campag wheels on one of my Dura Ace equipped bikes? Probably not, though equally to many other racing cyclists it was all very trivial and I had team-mates who ran Shimano Dura-Ace groupsets with the famous Campagnolo Shamal wheels without any apparent concern.

The mention of the Shamal is appropriate here as it was at the time of its launch a thing of note – a deep section, polished aluminium rim on a beautifully crafted Campagnolo hub. On the negative side

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