After a Flanders roll out under team Lampre-Merida, Fulcrum’s 35mm deep Racing Speed wheels are getting official. With a conspicuous lack of a mid-depth wheel in their line up, Racing Speeds went from low pro to 50mm, with nothing in between. Now, the 35mm full carbon rim completes the range of wheels offering an excellent do-it-all depth for Fulcrum’s line.
Rather than simply shrinking the 50mm XLR down to 35mm and changing the spokes, Fulcrum engineered an entirely new rim dedicated to the size. Fulcrum claims the new rim is lighter weight, but with stiffness that will rival deeper models in the line up thanks to a new carbon layup.
The 35mm tubular XLR wheels are SRAM/Shimano compatible and weigh a claimed 1,230g (530g ft/700g rr). With that weight, maybe these are an excellent one size fits all wheel. Braking performance claims to be improved as well with a new 3Diamant surface treatment which results in better finish thanks to special diamond tipped tooling, and should allows the special brake pads to better engage the rim. With the new treatment there is no break-in period, and says to improve braking in both wet and dry conditions.
The Racing Speed 35s will be available both in an XLR version with CULT ceramic bearing for $3,279, as well as a standard 35 version that will lose the carbon hub shell and ceramic bearings but will retail for $2,399.
