Fulcrum Speed 42 wheels

Light, fast and good in crosswinds, says Jack Elton-Walters

£1,999.99|1,420g

According to Fulcrum, its Speed 42 wheels are "an evolution without A compromises the new rims - higher, wider, lighter and more aerodynamic - the new hubs and the new spokes come together in a perfect wheel system." Now I'm not sure anything is perfect, but I was intrigued to find out just how close they were to this claim.

First impressions were that the wheels have a refined look that would suit almost any bike. The low weight of the Fulcrum Speed 42s is obvious from the moment the wheels are extracted from their box: they are featherlight. This was confirmed by some hanging scales, with the front coming in at 650g and the rear weighing 770g (with rim tape, but without cassette and disc rotors) - just 10g heavier than the listed figure. Once fully assembled and in the bike, the low weight remained obvious when lifting the bike out of the workstand and even more so when riding uphill.

The rims are constructed with resins and fibres "made to Fulcrum specifications". This means that Fulcrum has used a new composite mix of FF100 high-modulus unidirectional carbon-fibres for the Speed 42. With regards to the measurements, the 42mm rim depth is paired with an internal width of 23mm, a significant increase from the outgoing model that measured 19mm.