Campagnolo Scirocco 35 vs Fulcrum Racing Quattro

[Portableaj]

I was planning to buy the racing quattros because of the great review towards it however i saw the Scirocco by campagnolo which were cheaper and one reviewer saw that fulcrum is owned by campagnolo and the sciroccos are basically the racing quattros but rebranded what is the difference between them except the color of the spoke nipples and what would be better ?
campagnolo scirocco 35 http://www.wiggle.co.uk/campagnolo-scirocco-35-clincher-wheelset/
fulcrum racing quattro http://www.wiggle.co.uk/fulcrum-racing-quattro-clincher-wheelset/

 

[User6179]

I was planning to buy the racing quattros because of the great review towards it however i saw the Scirocco by campagnolo which were cheaper and one reviewer saw that fulcrum is owned by campagnolo and the sciroccos are basically the racing quattros but rebranded what is the difference between them except the color of the spoke nipples and what would be better ?
campagnolo scirocco 35 http://www.wiggle.co.uk/campagnolo-scirocco-35-clincher-wheelset/
fulcrum racing quattro http://www.wiggle.co.uk/fulcrum-racing-quattro-clincher-wheelset/

The spoke pattern is different, i looked at both of these wheelsets before buying a pair of mavic cosmic elites for £240 basically because the spokes are harder to find for the campy/fulcrum wheels if you need a spoke .

Saying that I will go back to fulcrum when i can order spare spokes with the the wheelset as they are good value.

 

[BarrieP]

I'm looking at these too ( also looking at the Campag Zonda... ).

Anyway... spokes, that's the first time I've seen this mentioned... how hard are they to get? Are we talking rare as chicken teeth, or just a few days or a few weeks delivery time? ( which I can live with, but obviously some can't/wouldn't want to ).

Thanks!

 

[accountantpete]

Campagnolo spokes are usually available only in kit form - 2 fronts/4 rear - and cost around £20.

Fulcrum should be the same but they don't seem to be as easy to get so you may need to order and wait longer.

As regards the wheelsets it is usually weight/hub quality and the quality of the rim to support high spoke tension that determines how good a wheel is. With the major players you may find that they are roughly the same for each price band,

 

[User6179]

I'm looking at these too ( also looking at the Campag Zonda... ).

Anyway... spokes, that's the first time I've seen this mentioned... how hard are they to get? Are we talking rare as chicken teeth, or just a few days or a few weeks delivery time? ( which I can live with, but obviously some can't/wouldn't want to ).

Thanks!

On the fulcrum 5s either side of the valve they have round spokes which i broke,could not find a spare one anywhere, not in the spoke kit .

 

[BarrieP]

Hmmm thanks...

 

[Zakalwe]

The main factor in choosing between Campy and Fulcrum is what groupset you have on the bike already - Fulcrum were launched to expand the market for Campy to Shimano riders who didn't want to commit the mortal sin of mixing the 2 brands.

The round spoke on Fulcrum 5's is just to balance the weight distribution, it wouldn't be the end of the world if you put a bladed spoke in its place while you sourced a round one. Your lbs should be able to get you one, they're standard Sapims as far as I know anyway.

 

[BarrieP]

I've got a SRAM groupset anyway
Any thoughts on why the Fulcrum wheels seem to cost quite a lot more than the Campag equivalent?
i.e. Quattro > Scirocco 35, and R3 > Zonda, while I suspect the wheels have an awful lot in common.

Looking at the Campy tech info I see that Zondas have better bearings ( cup and cone ) than the Scirocco 35s, I presume the same would hold true for the R3s vs Quatttros but the tech sheets on Fulcrum's website are a few years out of date :S

Back to the original question... interestingly, they claim different SHARC characteristics for Scirocco 35 vs Quattro ( but the same for ZOnda vs R3 ). I've no idea how to quantify and compare these magic numbers anyway.

Scircco 35 :-

Which I make to be something close to :0
S.H.A.R.C.smoothness:7.5 handling:9 aerodynamics:8.5 reactivity:7.5 comfort:9

Quattro
S.H.A.R.C.smoothness:8.5 handling:8.5 aerodynamics:9.0 reactivity:8.0 comfort:8.5


Zonda

Which I make to be :-
S.H.A.R.C.smoothness:8 handling:9 aerodynamics:8.5 reactivity:8 comfort:8.5

R3
S.H.A.R.C.smoothness:8 handling:9 aerodynamics:8.5 reactivity:8 comfort:8.5

Yup... I'm none the wiser for that effort

Tempted to try to justify the extra £s for the Zonda as I wanted to trim some weight generally...

 

[Zakalwe]

Any thoughts on why the Fulcrum wheels seem to cost quite a lot more than the Campag equivalent?

Possibly because they assume someone buying Zondas will have already invested in a Campagnolo groupset while Fulcrum buyers may not have, possibly because the market for Fulcrum is a lot wider so they charge what they think they can get away with.

Last time I went wheel shopping I bought a set of Zondas for two reasons - the frame I was building was Italian and had a Campagnolo groupset waiting to be fitted, and they were also cheaper tha Racing 3's at the time.

Zonda/R3 wheels don't suffer the same issue as R5's do with regards to sourcing thicker rounded spokes to balance weight distribution by the way.

 

[Griffalo]

All I can say is that I have a set of Scirocco 35s and have been delighted with them. I bought them with the Shimano option and run them with 105 group set. The fancy transfers started to peel and I complained to both Wiggle and Campagnolo but they wanted me to return them for inspection. Too much hassle so I stripped of all the transfers to leave them plain black. They look much better now!

 

[the_mikey]

I removed the decals from my 2011 fulcrum R5's as the red and white clashed with the colour of the frame.

 

[HLaB]

I looked at the same wheel sets and ended up with the Fulcrums because they were in stock on the ribble site (generally cheaper but less well stocked than wiggle). Cant fault the Fulcrums but I haven't had them long enough yet.

 

[Leodis]

Are they not the same wheels generally? I run the Zonda 2-way and they are cracking, I am sure will be really good. I looked at both when building on Ribble over and over again, day after day on the bike builder.

 

[Henry Porter]

I've got a SRAM groupset anyway
Any thoughts on why the Fulcrum wheels seem to cost quite a lot more than the Campag equivalent?
i.e. Quattro > Scirocco 35, and R3 > Zonda, while I suspect the wheels have an awful lot in common.

Looking at the Campy tech info I see that Zondas have better bearings ( cup and cone ) than the Scirocco 35s, I presume the same would hold true for the R3s vs Quatttros but the tech sheets on Fulcrum's website are a few years out of date :S

Back to the original question... interestingly, they claim different SHARC characteristics for Scirocco 35 vs Quattro ( but the same for ZOnda vs R3 ). I've no idea how to quantify and compare these magic numbers anyway.

Scircco 35 :-

Which I make to be something close to :0
S.H.A.R.C.smoothness:7.5 handling:9 aerodynamics:8.5 reactivity:7.5 comfort:9

Quattro
S.H.A.R.C.smoothness:8.5 handling:8.5 aerodynamics:9.0 reactivity:8.0 comfort:8.5


Zonda

Which I make to be :-
S.H.A.R.C.smoothness:8 handling:9 aerodynamics:8.5 reactivity:8 comfort:8.5

R3
S.H.A.R.C.smoothness:8 handling:9 aerodynamics:8.5 reactivity:8 comfort:8.5

Yup... I'm none the wiser for that effort

Tempted to try to justify the extra £s for the Zonda as I wanted to trim some weight generally...

 

[Henry Porter]

I have three bikes on Fulcrum 5s (one of them EVO), one on Scirocco, two on Zondas, and one on Khamsins. I like the the Fulcrum 5s but the Scirrocos feel more responsive and the Zondas are definitely a step up. The big surprise were the Khamsins which I picked up very cheaply and tried with some trepidation. They seem as good as any of the sealed bearing wheelsets (Fulcrum 5 to 7, Campy Khamsin, Vento, Scirocco) and if anything feel stiffer and more responsive than the Fulcrums. The relative strenghths and weaknesses vary from year to year but, in my experience, go for the Zonda/Fulcrum 3 option if the budget stretches that far but for anything less than high performance or longer distance rides any of the others are fine. I'd lean towards the Campy options but at this price point I'd rather have Fulcrums than any option other than Campy. Like most things Campy the parts can be more expensive than others but they are generally built to last and should give you kms of enjoyable riding.