Fulcrum Red Wind XLR Dark Label Wheelset

The Specification

These wheels were also equipped with Fulcrum’s CULT bearings.  The CULT bearing includes ceramic balls and a race made from Cronitect steel, a particularly hard and corrosion resistant alloy.  This combination ensures that the bearing requires only a light oil rather than grease to maintain integrity. 

The result?  A system that Fulcrum claims saves 3.5 watts vs. traditional stainless steel cousins.  This may not sound vast, but a persistent energy saving over the duration of a 2-4 hour race can add up in the sprint to the finish. The bearings are housed in alloy hub bodies, laced with hammerhead spokes, and alloy spoke nipples.

The CULT ceramic bearings of the Fulcrum Racing Red Wind XLR Dark Label ensure super smooth running

The rims are a composite carbon body with aluminium brake surface.  The rims are quite wide at almost 21 millimeters, consistent with the trend of fattening rims to improve aerodynamics via a rounder tyre profile and better tyre to rim contact.  The rims are also tubeless-ready.  The spoke nipples are mounted in the carbon portion of the rim, allowing for a smooth inner-rim surface. 

We received a set of the Red Wind XLR ‘Dark Labels’ which feature a more subtle gray and black logo design than the Red Wind XLRs that include the brighter red and white logos.  The wheels are equipped with a pair of beefy, but very effective Fulcrum skewers.  At 123 grams on the scale, these are not the lightest fasteners on the market, but they offer a very positive connection and a very light action.

Fulcrum Racing Red Wind rim is aluminium and carbon mix to give the best of both worlds

The wheels are not as light as full carbon clinchers at 1,590 grams, but will the extra few grams be justified by the perfect braking surface?  Read on to find out.

Riding The Fulcrum Red Wind XLR Dark Wheelset

On our first ride we were struck by these wheel’s compliant ride.  For a deep dish carbon wheel, they absorbed road shock extremely well.  We’ve been riding deep dish carbon wheels since 1994 and no deep carbon clincher has come close to these wheels for ride quality.   Some tubular carbon wheelsets are similar, but for anyone who rides the same wheels for racing and training, or rides to many of their races, as we do, tubulars are not a logical option.

The Red Wind XLR Dark Label are good looking wheels that will grace any bike

This ride quality pays off in a number of ways.  The wheels don’t feel nervous or uncomfortable on broken roads, nor do they buck as impressively if the rider hits a bigger hole. We felt fresh at the end of long 200 km rides, with no soreness between my shoulder blades, aching in my forearms, or discomfort in the saddle. 

 
 
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