Fulcrum has released a new flagship wheelset, the Red Zone Carbon+. Fulcrum says that by revising the carbon layup of the rim the wheelset has been made lighter, stiffer, and more reactive.
The new wheels will be Fulcrum's best mountain bike wheelset for cross-country and marathon riding. The brand says it experimented with the mix of resins and FF100 unidirectional high-modulus fibers and called upon the riders of the Buff-Megamo team for real-world and race testing. With the finalized layup, Fulcrum was able to knock 60g from the wheelset while claiming to enhance the handling and reactivity too.
The rim features a 26mm rim height with an internal 28mm rim diameter that is aimed to perform best with 2.2in to 2.4in mountain bike tires.
Just like Fulcrum's Red Zone Carbon and Red Zone 3, the Red Zone Carbon+ uses an in-house Carbon NIP(PLE) Force asymmetric rim design which offsets the spokes in order to balance torsional forces from the brakes and freewheel to achieve a more uniform spoke tension across the wheel. The wheels also feature MoMag solid rim bed and DSRC (Directional Rim-Spoke Coupling) technologies which structurally support the nipples.
Contributing to the wheelset's weight loss is the reduced number of rear wheel spokes, Fulcrum has dropped the rear spoke count down to 24 spokes front and rear.
The hubs have also been refined and now spine on cup and cone USB (Ceramic Ultra Smooth Bearings) ceramic bearings. The hubs are available with either XD or Microspline freehubs with 36t ratchet engagement.
The wheels also feature some new graphics which feature a DIMF (Direct Inmold Matt Finish) matt finish from the mold, with additional graphics being laser printed on the rim.
Fulcrum says that the Red Zone Carbon+ will be available from December 2023, although they haven't provided a specific date yet. The wheels will retail at $2,483 / £1,969,99 / €2,177 for the XD driver wheelset and $2,499 / £1,999,99 / €2,190 with a Microspline freehub. For more details, head to Fulcrumwheels.com.
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