Noctilux.95

I'm helping a friend build an entry level road bike. He currently has a 2016 Giant Defy carbon disk frameset and plans on building it with Shimano 105 hydraulic groupset. What disk wheels in the $200-$250 range do you guys recommend?

WhyFi

You can often find Fulcrums in that price range on PBK. There should be 2 or 3 options of differing weight/depth. I've been thinking about picking some up as a trainer/spares.

Noctilux.95

Ended up ordering Fulcrum Racing 4 DB wheelset through Chainreaction for $311. They are 1690 grams, tubeless ready, 35mm deep, and 17mm internally. Should be fine with 25mm tires. Not bad for the price.

Elvo

https://www.merlincycles.com/fulcrum...et-120069.html

Noctilux.95

Are these the previous generation of the Racing 4 DB's?

WhyFi

My understanding is that the Racing 400 is an OEM of the Racing 4. All the same technical specs, though.

Noctilux.95

The 400's don't seem to have the ability to take QR's unlike the 4 DB's. Am I wrong?

WhyFi

The "Racing 400 DB" custom model has the same technical features as the "Racing 4 DB" model described her

Quote:

The "Racing 400 DB" custom model has the same technical features as the "Racing 4 DB" model described here

My guess would be that, if they were OEM, they probably didn't come with the swappable end caps because they were destined for a TA bike.

jfranci3

DTSwiss E1800 https://www.merlincycles.com/en-us/d...0c-125710.html . More aeroer, higher quality, and stronger than the other options at this price point. Wider than the Fulcrum 4 mentioned, so it won't be as sketchy in the gusty wind and will be more aero with a 25c tire. The deeper wheel will look cooler than the less deep ones.

robertorolfo

Oh dear...

• "More aeroer" (32mm rim depth vs 35 on the Fulcrums, so...)
• "higher quality" (Ha, what? Based on what?)
• "and stronger than the other options at this price point." (See above)
• "Wider than the Fulcrum 4 mentioned, so it won't be as sketchy in the gusty wind and will be more aero with a 25c tire." (25c is basically the minimum for the Fulcrums, and you can go much wider from there, even if you wouldn't want to on a road bike)
• "The deeper wheel will look cooler than the less deep ones." (Again, see point one. The Fulcrums are actually deeper)

And the icing on the cake: the Fulcrums are 120g lighter! (Plus, $35 cheaper on Merlin). It's an easy choice...

jfranci3

;-)
Let me defend myself here -
Aero - The Fulcrum 4 (400) are one of the few wheels on the market that might be close. Yeah 35 v 32mm is going to be a toss up based on that metric. The DT swiss are wider and shallower, so they are not going to have an aggressive V shape, which is one of the causes the wind twitchiness. Being wider, the wind will also transition from the tire to the rim better. $35 is money well spent on that tiny bit of extra width IMO.

Quality - You're going to tell me DT swiss isn't one of the highest quality brands out there? Fulcum/Campy tend to use these funky spokes (pillar made?), which are not great on the lower end models in my experience, especially when you need to replace them. This wheel looks like it uses basic round spokes - not sure the quality. The DT swiss wheels above use some pretty nice Aero Comp spokes.

Stronger - Again the Fulcrum is pretty good. Fulcrum states these are good for 109kg vs Swiss 130kg - both are rated for 6in jumps. It's also a wider, heavier rim (assuming they're made out of the same stuff, the same way, with the same limitations), it'll be stronger at least laterally. Weight doesn't' matter that much, but 120gr is a lot.

robertorolfo

I'd say quality wise it's about a wash. Both options are on the lower end for these reputable brands, so both are going to have some corners cut to keep the price down.

They say a little extra width helps with the aero stuff, but at these depths I doubt there would be much difference in either efficiency or cross-wind stability. I'd say the 120g difference is a bigger factor. Both are really solid options though, especially for the price.