Fulcrum Racing 3 DB Wheelset

This latest version of the Fulcrum Racing 3 DB is absolutely lovely to ride on thanks to a solid build and a smoothness I've rarely felt from an alloy rim. It isn't the lightest for the money, but as a wheelset that has been developed for a little bit of everything, reliability is a higher priority.

• Pros: Excellent ride quality, impressive durability
• Cons: Tyres are a tight fit to get on and off

Although they are light enough to race on, the Racing 3 DBs have been designed more as a high-end training wheelset or as a long-distance audax/touring companion. They are even tough enough for a bit of gravel use.

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The 3 DBs use a 6082 grade aluminium alloy rim which incorporates Fulcrum's '2 Way Fit' well – they will accept both tubeless tyres and clinchers with an inner-tube. I tried it in both formats using the Pirelli Cinturato tyres which can be run with or without a tube, and apart from a bit of a struggle to get them on the rim they worked perfectly.

I tried a couple of other sets of tyres on the 3 DBs and they were all a tight fit, something worth bearing in mind if you're worried about trying to fix a roadside puncture especially in the wet.

The 19mm internal rim width isn't as wide as some we've seen, but Fulcrum says that they work ideally with 25mm and 28mm tyres. The 28mm Pirellis had a nice rounded shape to them once fitted, and measured closer to 29mm in reality.

Other little details to the rim include being 'weighted' opposite the valve hole to give a balanced weight when a tubeless valve or inner tube has been installed. Having out-of-balance wheels is rarely an issue at normal riding speeds, but it can rear its head on high-speed descents and we have had carbon deep-section wheels with weights supplied to counteract it.

> Your complete guide to Fulcrum road wheels

Fulcrum has stuck with its 2:1 lacing pattern, which sees the spokes grouped in seven lots of three on both the front and rear rim. It's quite a low spoke count for this type of wheel, but Fulcrum places two of each trio on the side of the wheel that sees the most load – the braking side on the front and the drive side on the rear – with the opposing side getting a single spoke.

The 3 DBs feel incredibly stiff so it obviously works, and to make sure spoke tension remains at its original setting the Fulcrum engineers have redesigned the spokes and the hub housings so the spokes can't twist or move.

The hubs use cup and cone bearings which are easily adjustable to take out any side to side play and run very smoothly.

Out of the box the wheels are set up for 12mm thru-axles but you do get adaptors for quick release and 15mm thru-axle.

The rear freehub is quick to engage and it's good to see the aluminium body has been plasma treated for increased strength. Many brands have a stainless steel bite guard fitted to stop the cassette carrier from biting in, but this approach from Fulcrum works very well. I have some other Fulcrum wheels of my own which have done about 7,000 miles and there is barely a mark on the freehub.

Freehub options are available for all of the big brands.

All this adds up to a wheelset that feels quality when you ride. They belie their weight and thanks to excellent stiffness are eager to go, especially when accelerating or climbing. They feel solid but not in a chunky overbuilt fashion, almost like that nice smooth feeling you get from a steel or titanium frame. Stiffness without the harshness.

I've ridden these wheels a lot over the last couple of months on a range of bikes and they really are good all-rounders; the only thing you are really sacrificing is aerodynamics at high speed.

Value

At first glance I thought £559.99 for a 1,690g wheelset was a bit excessive, but after living with these for a fair few hundred miles they justify it.

Even as training wheels they look the business on your best bike, and you really haven't got to worry about battering them against the edge of a pothole – they'll just shrug it off.

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Against some of the competition they fare well too. I really liked the Mavic Ksyrium Pro UST wheelset. They are a similar sort of wheel to the 3 DBs and without the included tyres they weigh 1,650g, just 40g less than the Fulcrums. But the Mavics will set you back £899 for the privilege, although that does include tyres and sealant.

The Miche Syntium DX Disc wheels are also a similar weight and while they are about £120 cheaper they have a much narrower rim than the 3 DBs and don't have such a good ride quality.

Overall, the Fulcrum Racing 3 DB is a really top quality wheelset that isn't all about the stats on paper.

Verdict

A solid set of wheels that have a beautiful ride quality and respond well to any effort