Looks, build quality, very stiff

pricey to repair

Love em. I bought my set of 3's with 2 seasons on them. They look great and roll even better. I did pop a spoke on my second ride but I don't blame the wheel maybe just the previous rider. They get up to speed very well and maintain speed nicely. I expected top speed to increase but that wasn't the case...just got to the top speed in a shorter amount of time.
Very stiff, cannont flex them to rub my brakes like previous wheels used. I can't recommend them enough.

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cole, xero

Looks, weight and hopefully more durable after the first month of use..!!

Poor reviews, spokes breaking and should possibly have a sign stating no fat riders (me included)and a max rider weight limit

I bought these wheels as an upgrade for some Campy Scirocco's which came with my Ribble. Whilst i'm not the lightest guy at 90+kg I do expect a certain degree of quality for my bucks. These have been raced on three times including a two day tour and three training rides and already they have had two visits to the bike shop. Within the first day I notice play on the rear freehub bearings. Took them back to be told the cassette was loose and that they'd tightened it up. To be honest it was still the same, so took it elsewhere to be told that the bearing was naff.
I guess my gripe wasn't so much that the wheels were defective out of the shop...but also the shops response.
Got back from a training ride 3.5 weeks after being sold them only to find one of the rear spokes and pulled and come loose making the rear wheel warped. To be fair to the shop they've just taken the rear to fix and have asked for the front to check too.
I'm all for keeping the local bike shop in business, but if they cannot check products before leaving the shop then I'd find it hard to pay the extra 200 bucks for the same product compared with the price online.
The wheels are an upgrade, they are good and lighter than my old wheels, they are a campy product labelled as Fulcrum, they are extremely fast and look the dogs when rolling.
I've scored them slightly low due to these teething probs, and will reassess aftera few more months of use.

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Mavic Asky's, Campag scirocco's

Look OK

Again, they are junk

These are absolute junk! First, the freehub failed. Now, two spokes on the rear have broken. Junk!

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Many racing wheels over the years.

I still think Campy/Fulcrum wheels are well built and they come out of the box very true and properly dished with good spoke tension every time. Great hubs, easy to service and adjust.

Not sure, breaking a spoke early in the life of a low-spoke count wheel is not so good. I have had Neutrons and Eurus, one pair of Eurus has ~20K km on them without any issues. Maybe the new Sapim steel spokes are too lightweight.

I actually have 2 pair of Fulcrum R3 wheels, the older original version with the thick bladed spokes and the newer version with lighter spokes, different rear lacing and different graphics.

I have had good luck with previous Campy (Fulcrum) wheelsets and my original R3s are on my winter bike. They have been ridden about 4000 km, lots of rain. They have been problem free.

The 2011 R3s came OEM on a bike. I had bad luck with front wheel when I overlapped a friend on a ride and broke a spoke on his rear skewer (my fault: 20 years of riding and racing and it is still possible to make a stupid mistake). I was still using the rear for training and sourcing out the correct replacement spoke kit, since there are two versions of these wheels. Then this weekend I broke a rear drive side spoke, close to home. Just came around a corner and bang! 2000 km on the wheel, good roads, 165 lb smooth rider.

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Name it.

High quality wheel, look sharp, feel smooth

Stay away if you are not a whippet (<90kg) - have now of course read this elsewhere.

Great set of wheels that are smooth under my undercarriage, handle well and are nice and light.
However as an upgrade from my basic Mavic Aksium Race's, I have been disappointed with the strength of the build on the rear wheel... obviously they're not intended to carry over 90kgs of heaving muscle (or me!). Truing my rear wheel has become an "every other day chore" plus mid-ride when doing a 100km stint. The front wheel is true as the day it was unboxed.
Time to move onto some bomb-proof Velocity Deep V's

Similar Products Used:

Mavic Aksium Race

Manufacturing, vertical compliance, stiffness, weight for price.

None

This is first new set of wheels since my Mavic Ksyrium ES's finally gave up. I have the Tubular Racing3 in black - on a Cervélo S2 2009.

Weight - skewers included with both wheel sets these Racing3's are exactly 100g heavier than my old Ksyrium's. This is remarkable considering they're not Fulcrum's top end wheel of this type and the ES's were über light when released.

Ride quality - Soooo much better!! The biggest difference I've noticed is how supple they are on the road. The bike feels fresh, 'quiet' on the road (which it actually is - they're so quiet!), they really dampen road feedback but remain responsive and stiff as. Thankfully, stiff doesn't in this case mean harsh. They're not. The ES's always felt harsh and would often cause fatigue on long rides (admittedly they were built specifically for mountain climbing, but they're so ubiquitous it's fair to compare). The Racing3's feel equally as light in almost every situation, they don't flex at all, don't require a thrashing to get them going and roll for ever. They lack only slightly in that uphill antigravity feeling you get from ES's, however they roll so freely, they only take a moment longer to accelerate then they cruise up just a nicely with less effort. Cornering is very direct and controlled, they hold their line and feel tight through corners and decent's. The accelerate like crazy on downhills and spin up really, really quickly.

Look - They're really bad boy (in black). The back wheel is just that little bit higher profile to look 'fat' and the black and white opposing rim stickers give them a nice look when underway.

Construction - just to look at them it's easy to see the rim has been milled with super high precision. They require very little maintenance or trueing, the spokes don't rotate a millimetre and the hubs are fully serviceable, so they'll always spin forever.

Price - great for what you get. They look like 'everyday' wheels for the price but they're not to ride. That said, my LBS recommended them as they're fine for everyday riding which is great. Next stop, as set of high end aero racing Fulcrum's.

Last word - you won't be disappointed!

P.S., don't listen to anyone that tells you they can't handle rough and tumble... who rates a wheel based on ramming it in to a road obstacle anyway?

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Ksyrium ES 2007

Very stiff and lightweight for a mid-range wheelset, silent freehub

Might be hard to replace a spoke with these new rims.

Upgraded from Fulcrum Racing 5 Evolution 2009 model to the new Racing 3 set (clincher only version). Feeling of the 3s is great: much stiffer than the 5s, and around 250 gram less weight, great when hitting it hard on steep uphills. The almost completely silent freehub is fantastic, makes it feel even more like gliding downhill with just the sound of air in the ears.

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Fulcrum 5 Evolution

Pretty light (1600 grams).

Low spoke count, lack of material strength.

2011 model. I had these for just two weeks. On the 2nd ride a slow speed ascent of a concrete median strip to miss a guy that fell in front of me meant the front wheel was toast. The braking surface folded in and the rim buckled between two spokes ... but the tyre didn't puncture.

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Ksyrium Elites lasted for 7 years before the braking surfaces wore out.

They look great,feel good and are reasonably light. I would havegiven them a 5 if I had had them longer

None have surfaced yet.

I know $3200 seems kind of high but they threw in a new Felt F3 with the wheels!
I've only got about 600 miles on the bike but I am pleased with the performance of both.

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Shimano WH660.

Stiffness, looks?, price, some high quality attributes at a lesser price. I would buy these again without reservation. I gave these a 3 rating, but that does not mean that I dislike them. Rather, I think they are solid, but there are better wheels and values relative to performance.

I've got about 500 miles on my 2010 Fulcrum 3's and they have not disappointed. They are way stiff and sound nice when spinning down the road. They are also aero. There are more aerodynamic choices, but for the price point they do the job.

The hubs are OK. I've got a set of Campy Neutrons, and the hub and other aspects of the wheels provide a feeling of better quality. The Fulcrums don't seem to lack quality, they just seem somewhat crude compared to the Neutrons.

I'm 250lbs., and the Fulcrums definitely pass the big boy test. these things offer no noticeable flex. In fact,they can even seem a little hard. I've learned over time that achieving the desired level of comfort on the Fulcrums requires paying attention to tire pressure. I typically ride with relatively high pressure (about 120 psi). These feel a lot better at about 100 - 110 psi.

When all is said and done, I like them. and feel that they provide a satisfactory level of performance. I've ridden better wheels, but these don't fall short in any meaningful way.

I also have a set of Fulcrum 5's, and there is a big jump in quality from the 5 to the 3. The 5's are OK for off-season riding, and they are stout, but they feel slow and heavy to me.

Similar Products Used:

Mavic Open pros, Campy Protons, Campy Neutrons, Fulcrum Racing 5s