Campagnolo Ekar: Fulcrum Rapid Red 300 Wheelset

The original intention was to use the existing wheelset from the Polygon Bend R5 gravel bike, but I realized that the Campagnolo Ekar 13 speed cassette requires the new N3W freehub body. There are very few wheelsets that has the N3W freehub body, as this Campagnolo Ekar gravel groupset is still new.

Therefore, the only way to make this work is to get a new wheelset with a N3W freehub body. This is available from Fulcrum, which is a sub-brand of Campagnolo.

This is the Fulcrum Rapid Red 300 wheelset, for 700C tires.

Rapid Red 300 wheelset with aluminium rims.

Reinforced spoke hole areas for better strength. I like the sandblasted finish.

Rim height is about 25 mm, which is shallow but no problem for gravel riding.

Internal rim width is about 23.6 mm, which is ideal for wider gravel tires. For reference, the Dura-Ace road wheelset has an internal rim width of 21 mm.

External rim width is about 29.4 mm, which doesn't really matter if you pair with wide 40 mm tires.

Rear wheel is 974 grams, relatively heavy as it is an aluminium wheelset.

Front wheel weight is 838 grams, which is pretty much a standard weight for an aluminium front wheel.

Total wheelset weight is 1812 grams, which is moderately heavy. Considering that this is a mid range aluminium gravel wheelset, it is acceptable. Not ideal if you are planning to go fast, due to the high weight and low rim profile. However, if you are looking for a durable and affordable aluminium wheelset for non-competitive gravel riding, this would do the job.

Compare this to the DT Swiss G 1800 gravel wheelset that I previously had on the Canyon Endurace, which weighed even more at 1869 grams, with similar specifications.

After looking at the rims, let's take a closer look at the spokes and hubs.

The 2:1 spoke pattern is rather unusual, as there is a large gap between the spokes where my whole hand can fit into.

8 sided hub flange pattern, for straight pull spokes.

There is a little clamp around the axle, which you can loosen in order to adjust the hub pre-load.

Also note the flange design with 8 spokes on one side and 16 on the other.

Unique Centerlock design with external threads for the lock ring.

As part of the Campagnolo family, the Fulcrum wheelset also has something different. The hubs use an externally threaded Centerlock design, which I came across before on the Fulcrum Racing 5 wheelset. That wheelset was used on the Fabike C3 all-weather commuting bike.

According to Fulcrum, with this externally threaded design, the hub bearings can be placed further outboard for improved stability, strength and durability.

Due to the special Centrelock hub design, the lock ring and shim is included with the wheelset, instead of with the rotors.

When the rotor is placed on the Centrelock splines, the external threads on the hub will be exposed.

The special lock ring (essentially a large nut) then screws onto the hub, fixing the rotor in place.

The lock ring is tightened using the external bottom bracket tool.

Finally, we come to the most unique part of this wheelset, which is the N3W freehub body. It is a new design that makes it backward compatible to older cassettes as well.

N3W freehub body, which has deep splines like other Campagnolo freehub bodies, but is shorter to cater for the small 10T and 9T sprockets.

As you can see, it is shorter than a usual freehub body to make space for small 10T and 9T sprockets.

The splines are taller than those found on Shimano HG splines.

From left to right: Shimano HG spline, Campagnolo N3W, Shimano Microspline. Check out the detailed comparison here!

Side by side with the Shimano HG spline. The splines on the N3W is much taller.

Side by side with the Shimano Microspline, which is used for Shimano MTB cassettes.

Rear hub also has a clamp that can be loosened, to allow bearing pre-load adjustment.

Since each spline is tall, less splines are needed for strength. As seen in the Ekar cassette post, there are only 4 splines that engage with the N3W freehub body.

The N3W freehub body is currently only used for the Campagnolo Ekar 13 speed cassette. As Ekar becomes more popular, the N3W freehub body will become available on other brands of hubs as well.