After Fulcrum's return to MTB, the brand focussed on the cross-country market, developing strong, lightweight hoops to last through the technical courses on the top-level XC scene. Today, the brand has moved into the trail space with its new Metal Carbon and Metal ALX wheelsets, built to provide performance and agility as well as reliability.

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The confusingly named Metal Carbon wheelset features carbon rims with an internal width of 32mm. That decision was made after loads of testing, with the brand finding that it's the best measurement to support 2.4- to 2.6in wide tyres.

2024 fulcrum metal carbon 2.jpg, by Liam Mercer

The Carbon rims also benefit from Fulcrum's Nip(ple) Force design that we first saw on the Red Zone Carbon XC wheels. It's said to balance lateral stiffness with vertical compliance through the brand's FF80 mix of fibre and resin. However, that design has come with an all-new lamination for trail riding.

The Metal ALX is an alloy-rimmed wheelset designed for reliability and performance. They're constructed of 6069 aluminium with a welded joint and feature a 30mm internal width. The rim is then passed through a CNC machine to shave off any excess weight while achieving a better look.

2024 fulcrum metal alx 2.jpg, by Liam Mercer

The hubs are built using a steel cup-and-cone bearing design chosen to keep the bearings in line with the forces applied through the spokes. Fulcrum claims that this reduces stress on the bearings and boosts smoothness and longevity. The hubs can then be fully serviced.

Both wheelsets run 24 spokes at the front and 28 at the rear but the carbon wheelset boasts 1.6 buttings, whereas the ALX gets 1.8. Fulcrum also suggests that the wheelsets can be run on lightweight e-MTBs that produce a maximum torque of 60Nm with a total system and rider weight of 125kg. It must be noted that only the wheels that run a steel freehub can be run on e-MTBs and they're available for OEM.

2024 fulcrum metal carbon 3.jpg, by Liam Mercer

The Metal Carbon wheelset with an XDR freehub is claimed to tip the scale at 1,550g whereas the Metal ALX is slated to weigh 1,860g. Prices start at £742 for the Metal ALX which is available with XDR, Microspline and HG freehubs whereas the Metal Carbon comes in at £1,525 and can be picked up with an XDR or Microspline freehub.

• www.fulcrumwheels.com

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