Which are better wheels for Racing? Fulcrum Zero 0r Mavic Cosmic Carbone

jdt101

Fulcrum Zero 1435 gr Ceramic Hubs

Mavic Cosmic Carbone SL 1740 gr 52mm Carbon

Any opinions welcome.

Tks.

jdt

blorg

It depends on the race but for most Irish racing outside of pure hillclimbs, I imagine the deep section wheels. I had the Mavic Cosmic Carbone and they do "feel" faster than non-deep section wheels but how much of this is psychological I don't know; I imagine the actual margin is pretty small. I also had Zipp 404 tubs which do feel lighter on the hills (they are around 500g lighter in total.) But all of this will be of less value than training and even working on your position on the bike.

100Suns

I suspect blorg is right on the psychological element. I've always felt that the deep rims were particularly beneficial when sitting in at 40+kph. Holding that sort of speed in a TT also seems to take less effort. And they look nice.

fat bloke

With regard to the specific wheels mentioned, if it was me I'd buy the fulcrums. They're a top of the line non-aero wheel, whereas the cosmic carbone (presume you're referring to the SL) are almost an entry level "carbon" aero wheel.

I suppose what I'm saying is, if I wanted a non aero wheel then the likes of the zero would be top of my list, but if i wanted a carbon deep section aero wheel, the carbone SL would not be, or would be towards the bottom of it...

And 300g isn't exactly insignificant when you're talking about rotational mass

Sacred_git

i just got the zero's, havent been able to test them only on the road, bike is more nippy and the back wheels makes a lovely sound pristine ticking look the business too. on-one have a sale on, you can get em for 543 euro

however from what i read most of the pro riders are avoiding them due to the weight of them, so.....theres a reason somewhere!

jdt101

thank you for the replies. Just to clarify this is not a which to buy, as I already own both. I used the Mavic's for a handful of races last season and found them very good. I'm yet to use the Fulcrums.

p.s. i think this is a weight v aero benefit question !!!

fat bloke

Sacred_git wrote: »

i just got the zero's, havent been able to test them only on the road, bike is more nippy and the back wheels makes a lovely sound pristine ticking look the business too. on-one have a sale on, you can get em for 543 euro

however from what i read most of the pro riders are avoiding them due to the weight of them, so.....theres a reason somewhere!

Well the pro's will have uber expensive tub's and the like

That's a great price for the zero's, I thought they were around the 900 quid mark normally??

Sacred_git

yeah i jumped at it, if you look around they could be picked up for 750 euro cheapest so hence the jumping!:)

jdt101

2009 e599
http://www.bike-palast.com/en/Racebike/Wheelsets/Fulcrum-Racing-Zero-schwarz-rot.html?force_sid=gpen0tcc9n29qmt4ft11n6d0j2

2011 e699
http://www.bike-palast.com/en/Racebike/Wheelsets/Fulcrum-Racing-Zero-black-white.html

fat bloke

Nice one. Cyclesuperstore have two variants listed - a clincher set and a 2-way set clincher or tubular (however that works) with nifty looking red spokes. Which one did you get?

Lumen

fat bloke wrote: »

Nice one. Cyclesuperstore have two variants listed - a clincher set and a 2-way set clincher or tubular (however that works) with nifty looking red spokes.

2-way are clincher and tubeless, not clincher and tubular.

jdt101

just to really confuse everyone... zero tubs are an option also;
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/fulcrum-racing-zero-tubular-wheelset/

fat bloke

Lumen wrote: »

2-way are clincher and tubeless, not clincher and tubular.

Aha.

I see. Bit of an odd one. Never heard of tubeless road tires. Had them on a mountain bike - a hooked rim that I found imPOSSible to get tires off or on to. Nothing better to make you feel like quite the retard bringing a wheel to a bike shop to get a tire off....

Re bike-palast offers - that's savage value on those 2009 wheels!

dermur

jdt101 wrote: »

just to really confuse everyone... zero tubs are an option also;
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/fulcrum-racing-zero-tubular-wheelset/

Not sure if Wiggle made a mistake - the wheels in those pictures look like clinchers to me!

crashoveroid

jdt101 wrote: »

Fulcrum Zero 1435 gr Ceramic Hubs

Mavic Cosmic Carbone SL 1740 gr 52mm Carbon

Any opinions welcome.

Tks.

jdt

Well i think you could use both all depending on the race i have two set of race wheels Mavic Reflex rim built up on Tune hubs which are a great all round wheel as well i have a pair of FSA Carbon rims which are great as long as the surface is half decent. I see no difference the main reason being i don't want to break my carbon rims on crappy roads.

blorg

I think the Cosmics then, in most races. I also have R-SYS which are very nice light and very stiff and lighter than the zeros but would go for the Cosmics every time in a race. I used the R-SYS in the Marmotte where they were very good indeed.

Are we nearly there yet....

I am running a pair of 2 way fit Zeros with tubeless tyres. Hutchinson Atom tubeless tyres are superb on these wheels. You have the benefits of tubulars but without the hassle. Punctures are far fewer with tubelsss as there is no tube to pinch. If you do puncture you can still fit a tube to these tyres.

Wheels run very smooth and feel light when sprinting or climbing. For flat TTs the aeros are probabaly better but for most regulars you are probabaly doing a smaller number of TTs than races so on balance unless you can afford 2 sets of wheels I would go for the Fulcrums. Mine have also taken a couple of heavy knocks on potholes and have stood up well without buckling

manwithaplan

I am sorely tempted by the 2009 Zeroes from Bikepalast.com . Has anyone bought from them before? Their prices seem very low (as well as the cheap Zeroes, the Conti GP 4000S tyres are only €28) and I just want to be sure they are reputable. They seem to be a proper bricks and mortar chain of shops but you can't be too careful.

jdt101

manwithaplan wrote: »

I am sorely tempted by the 2009 Zeroes from Bikepalast.com . Has anyone bought from them before? Their prices seem very low (as well as the cheap Zeroes, the Conti GP 4000S tyres are only €28) and I just want to be sure they are reputable. They seem to be a proper bricks and mortar chain of shops but you can't be too careful.

I have bought tyres from them before. No problems, very efficient service. PayPal payment, DHL delivery. Good communication.