what's the difference between Fulcrum Racing 5 and 7 wheelsets?

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Rob3rt

Man or Moose!
Location
Manchester
Weight is a fairly noticable difference

Upgrade from 7 to 5 gives you a saving of 80g front and 90g rear. Total saving 170g.

This is despite a higher spoke count on the 5's vs the 7's, more spokes hence a potentially stiffer wheel.


Note: The above is based on the sales patter on their website!
 
OP
OP
e-rider

e-rider

crappy member
Location
South West
I just looked on the web and they both have the same number of spokes - 20 front; 24 rear. The 5s are lighter than the 7s though, as you say.
 

Rob3rt

Man or Moose!
Location
Manchester
This is where I found the info on different spoke counts. Taken from Fulcrums site

Fulcrum Racing 7:
Twenty 2 mm spokes are radially laced on the front wheel to improve the bike's aerodynamics. The rear wheel, on the other hand, has 24 spokes laced according to Fulcrum's renowned 2:1 Two-to-One™ geometry to improve transmission of the athlete's power.
Fulcrum Racing 5:
24 in the front wheel and 27 in the rear wheel.
 
OP
OP
e-rider

e-rider

crappy member
Location
South West
Rob3rt said:
This is where I found the info on different spoke counts. Taken from Fulcrums site

Fulcrum Racing 7:
Fulcrum Racing 5:

I'm curious to know if they really have 27 spokes in the rear wheel. I've never seen wheels with an odd number of spokes before.
 

PpPete

Legendary Member
Location
Chandler's Ford
I have heard of 27 spoke before, and first thought WTF.... surely the number must be divisble by 4 - or at the very least even. But reading the blurb suggests these would have 18 drive side, 9 non-drive side.
I suppose it makes some kind of sense....but not for me.
 

stephec

Legendary Member
Location
Bolton
I had a pair of sevens a few years ago ,they felt heavy and dead. A pair of handbuilts with open pro rims felt a lot better, as did some Mavic Aksiums.
 
The Fulcrum Racing 5 was available uptil 2006, was replaced by the Racing 5 Evo in 2007.

The original Racing 5's had 24 spokes on the front wheel and 27 on the rear, round J-shape double-butted spokes, radial at the front, and with 18 2-cross on the drive side of the rear and 9 radial on the non-drive side.

The Racing 5 Evo's have totally different hubs and rims, aero profile flat spokes, now 20 spokes on the front again radial, now with 16 2-cross on the drive side of the rear and 8 radial on the non-drive side.

The Racing 7's came out later in 2007 and actually look very similar to the original 5's - 20 & 24 spokes front & rear, but round J-shape spokes and the hub design is the same.

Go into the tech docs section of the Fulcrum website and you'll find exploded views - the 7's are like the original 5's, the 5 Evo's are more like the 3's.
 
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