I received a Fulcrum Speed 40
in T (tubular) specification from a customer.
The Speed 40/55 is
the successor to the Racing Speed, which shared the same rim height as Campagnolo's Bora,
and with rim heights that were previously 35mm or 50mm,
by increasing each by 5mm respectively,
it's a model where Fulcrum began to assert its own distinctive direction.
The fact that the spoke on the non-drive side of both front and rear wheels
can no longer be shared with Campagnolo
is personally a negative point
The C (clincher) uses USB bearings,
while the T (tubular) only comes in CULT bearing
specification,
which is another difference from the Bora.
The customer reports no particular issues,
but requested an inspection.
Let me start with the front wheel.
Both wheels had the tubular tires
stretched tight.
I was planning to remove them if the tire adhesion seemed weak,
but I'll leave the tires as-is.
So I'll use Park Tool's WAG-4
centerline gauge, which can measure without removing the tires.
With CULT bearings,
as long as the rotation isn't rough,
even if the customer requests an overhaul,
there are times I don't disassemble the hub.
But if I work with that kind of assumption,
I might overlook something,
so I disassembled the hub.
According to the manufacturer, CULT bearings
require no lubrication,
but in that case, when the ball races deteriorate,
they make a rough grinding sound.
So I apply 1-2 drops of oil to the ball races.
With the WAG-4's measuring probe,
when I tighten the fixing bolt,
the probe moves away from the hub toward the outer edge of the wheel
and lifts away from the end,
so it's difficult to make the gap with the end zero.
In that case, I adjust so that "the gap between the probe and the end face
appears equal on both sides."
The preliminary centerline was spot-on,
and while there was slight lateral runout,
after truing, no center offset appeared.
Now for the rear wheel.
By the way, this is a photo after the work.
Whether from chain oil splatter or not,
the rim side had dirt that wasn't on the front wheel,
so I cleaned it.
Interestingly, it wasn't so much that the right side was
dirtier—both sides were equally dirty.
↑Not quite this loose,
but the reverse-threaded right end nut
was loose enough to unscrew by hand.
The freewheel body bearings showed no abnormalities,
and there was no rust on the section just below the hub axle bearing.
I disassembled the hub.
Even with CULT bearings,
it's unavoidable that some grease from around the freewheel body
seeps into the right bearing.
The freewheel body pawl return spring
showed no deformation.
I'm reassembling the cleaned parts,
but as not shown in the image above,
I'm also applying grease around the ratchet teeth.
With this centerline gauge,
photos are really difficult to take,
so I didn't photograph the preliminary centerline,
but the rim was slightly offset to the right
and had some lateral runout, which I corrected.
In the image of the non-drive side below,
I'm photographing the hex socket of the bearing cone adjustment nut
because I use whether this area is dirty or not
as a marker for whether I've cleaned the hub or not.
↑This is the before shot, by the way
in T (tubular) specification from a customer.
The Speed 40/55 is
the successor to the Racing Speed, which shared the same rim height as Campagnolo's Bora,
and with rim heights that were previously 35mm or 50mm,
by increasing each by 5mm respectively,
it's a model where Fulcrum began to assert its own distinctive direction.
can no longer be shared with Campagnolo
is personally a negative point
The C (clincher) uses USB bearings,
while the T (tubular) only comes in CULT bearing
specification,
which is another difference from the Bora.
The customer reports no particular issues,
but requested an inspection.
Let me start with the front wheel.
Both wheels had the tubular tires
stretched tight.
I was planning to remove them if the tire adhesion seemed weak,
but I'll leave the tires as-is.
So I'll use Park Tool's WAG-4
centerline gauge, which can measure without removing the tires.
With CULT bearings,
as long as the rotation isn't rough,
even if the customer requests an overhaul,
there are times I don't disassemble the hub.
But if I work with that kind of assumption,
I might overlook something,
so I disassembled the hub.
According to the manufacturer, CULT bearings
require no lubrication,
but in that case, when the ball races deteriorate,
they make a rough grinding sound.
So I apply 1-2 drops of oil to the ball races.
With the WAG-4's measuring probe,
when I tighten the fixing bolt,
the probe moves away from the hub toward the outer edge of the wheel
and lifts away from the end,
so it's difficult to make the gap with the end zero.
In that case, I adjust so that "the gap between the probe and the end face
appears equal on both sides."
The preliminary centerline was spot-on,
and while there was slight lateral runout,
after truing, no center offset appeared.
Now for the rear wheel.
By the way, this is a photo after the work.
Whether from chain oil splatter or not,
the rim side had dirt that wasn't on the front wheel,
so I cleaned it.
Interestingly, it wasn't so much that the right side was
dirtier—both sides were equally dirty.
↑Not quite this loose,
but the reverse-threaded right end nut
was loose enough to unscrew by hand.
The freewheel body bearings showed no abnormalities,
and there was no rust on the section just below the hub axle bearing.
I disassembled the hub.
Even with CULT bearings,
it's unavoidable that some grease from around the freewheel body
seeps into the right bearing.
The freewheel body pawl return spring
showed no deformation.
I'm reassembling the cleaned parts,
but as not shown in the image above,
I'm also applying grease around the ratchet teeth.
With this centerline gauge,
photos are really difficult to take,
so I didn't photograph the preliminary centerline,
but the rim was slightly offset to the right
and had some lateral runout, which I corrected.
In the image of the non-drive side below,
I'm photographing the hex socket of the bearing cone adjustment nut
because I use whether this area is dirty or not
as a marker for whether I've cleaned the hub or not.
↑This is the before shot, by the way