The new Fulcrum Sharq wheels are a premium aero design for all-road use, with a waved rim profile that varies between 42mm and 47mm in depth. Fulcrum says that this provides aero benefits, but also leads to lower yaw forces in crosswinds, increasing the wheel’s directional stability.
The wheels have a 25mm internal width optimised for 30mm to 42mm wide tyres. They use the Fulcrum 2-Way Fit tubeless/tubed system, new aero bladed spokes and Cult ceramic bearings.
The Fulcrum Sharq wheelset’s claimed weight is 1,440g and price is €2,460.
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A new direction
Once, not so long ago, everyone rode shallow, narrow alloy rim brake wheels. Then along came disc brakes. And gravel wheels became a thing to better support the wider gravel bike tyres used off-road. At the same time, road bike wheels are getting ever wider and lighter and both road and gravel wheels are designed to be aero.
Now Fulcrum has launched the Sharq, which it bills as an all-road wheelset. According to Fulcrum, principal design features are handling, which it measures as the energy required for a change of direction, and reactivity, the energy lost to wheel deformation during a sprint.
That seems to make sense; if you’re aiming to take your bike off-road, a wheel that’s a bit easier to steer around obstacles is a useful addition to your all-road bike, while a more reactive wheelset is likely to be a benefit on tarmac.
While a beefy gravel bike tyre run at low pressure may give you the roll-over to head in a more-or-less straight line, a narrower tyre on a bike designed to give extra speed on road might not be as happy taking a direct line over a rock, so a wheel that helps you to steer around said rock a little more easily may be an advantage.
Wavy rims
The brand says that as it was looking to produce a wheelset suitable for all-road use, that meant going wide – the Sharqs use a 25mm internal width – to suit wide road tyres up to racier gravel options, but also not compromising on aerodynamic performance. With straight line speed relatively easy to achieve in modern rim shapes, Fulcrum says it concentrated on a less appreciated facet of going fast, ie, stable handling, which is what drove the development of the Sharq’s staggered profile.
After being whittled down from seven initial versions via computational fluid dynamics testing, the rim varies from 42-47mm deep, which is to a similar degree as its wavy rival models from Zipp and Princeton Carbonworks, but the actual shape of each fluctuation is unlike either competitors’ designs. Taking each nipple bed as the starting point of each wave and following the direction of rotation, the nose of the rim dips and pinches in sharply, before more gradually tapering up and back towards the next nipple bed.
This architecture has apparently been successful, as Fulcrum claims a 29% reduction in energy required to control the front wheel in wind angles from 10-20°. Naturally, when tested against unnamed (but easy to guess) ‘similar competitors’ Fulcrum suggests the Sharq wheel offers lower drag and more stable handling too, to marginal extents. All wheelsets were tested at 45kmh and with 30mm Pirelli P-Zero Race TLR tyres.
Fulcrum’s new A3RO spokes are also claimed to improve the wheels’ performance. Rather than a round anchor at the hub, they have a flanged one which meshes with hub drillings to keep the hub end of the spokes from rotating, which Fulcrum says maintains their long-term performance. They’re tightened with external alloy nipples.
The spoke lacing follows Fulcrum’s usual 2:1 pattern and the rim bed uses the undrilled, tapeless Fulcrum 2-Way Fit system with mini-hooks which can be run tubeless or with tubes.
The 25mm internal width rim is designed to work optimally with tyres from 30mm to 42mm wide, for use on tarmac and fast gravel, although Fulcrum claims compatibility with tyres from 29mm up to 71mm wide. The hubs run on Fulcrum USB ceramic bearings.
- For more information on the Fulcrum Sharq wheels, visit fulcrumwheels.com
Fulcrum Sharq wheel specs
- Wheelset weight, claimed: 1,440g
- Wheelset depth: 42/47mm
- Rim internal width: 25mm
- Tyre compatibility: 29mm to 71mm
- Spoking: 24 2:1 front and rear
- Freehub options: Shimano HG11, SRAM XDR, Shimano Micro Spline, Campagnolo N3W
- Price: €2,460
Looking for a bike to put your new Fulcrum Sharq wheels on? Check out our guide to the best all-road bikes.
