Speed 40

road– EUR

Origin

Tubular only, for WorldTour professional riders Top of Fulcrum range. 'Speed is synonymous with competition' — Fulcrum official description. Tubular → clincher (C) → disc brake clincher (DB) → disc tubular (T DB) → CMPTZN (minimalist) → succeeded in disc by Speed 42 (2024) Bahrain-Merida team used Speed 40T tubular. Speed family developed specifically to meet WorldTour demands then made accessible to consumers. Campagnolo Bora Ultra (parent brand equivalent), Zipp 303 NSW / 353 NSW, Hunt 44 Aerodynamicist

Specifications

Weight: kg

The verdict

+Strengths

1,420 g (40C) verified actual — lighter than several rivals incl. Zipp 303 NSW clinchers; spins up fast for accelerations
AC3 braking surface: powerful, consistent wet-weather braking that matches aluminium — rare for a carbon rim
USB / CULT ceramic cup-and-cone bearings: buttery smooth, adjustable preload, fully serviceable, shared with Campagnolo Bora Ultra
Italian hand-build with F.I.C. certification — perfect spoke tension out of the box, MoMag no-drill rim bed (no tape, no stress points)
40 mm 'Goldilocks' depth + V-profile: real aero gain yet stable in crosswinds and friendly on climbs

−Weaknesses

17 mm internal width (40C) is narrow by modern standards (20 mm+ now common) — creates a 'lightbulb' shape with 28 mm+ tyres
Speed 40C is NOT tubeless despite an undrilled rim bed — 2-Way Fit certification absent ('missed opportunity')
Premium price (~£2,000 for 40C clincher) buys full carbon disc wheels from competitors
Disc variants' actual weight (~1,560 g measured) overshoots the ~1,460-1,470 g claim by ~100 g
Now outclassed by its own 2024 successor Speed 42 (23 mm internal, 1,410 g, ratchet freehub) and not the fastest at equal depth vs Hunt 44 / Zipp 353 NSW

Did you know

01Speed 40 was described by Fulcrum as bringing 'the performance benefits of a tubular wheelset without the hassle' — clincher version explicitly developed as tubular alternative
02The undrilled rim bed on Speed 40C (rim brake) was criticised by BikeRadar as a 'missed opportunity' for tubeless — structurally ready but not 2-Way Fit certified
03Speed 40C claimed 1,420g actual is lighter than Zipp 303 NSW clinchers (1,425g per BikeRadar review context)
04CULT bearings on tubular variants claimed to save 3.5W per pedal stroke vs standard bearings — significant for time-sensitive racing
05CMPTZN (Campionissimo) naming: highest Italian cycling honor given to a rider who wins all five monuments — applied to the minimal no-decal speed variant
06Speed 42 (2024 successor to Speed 40 disc) uses FF100 unidirectional fibre — same material as Red Zone Carbon+ MTB wheelset — marks shift from twill to UD carbon across Fulcrum premium range
07The Speed family is the most direct Fulcrum equivalent to Campagnolo Bora (parent brand) — shared engineering origin, different aesthetics and brand positioning

Who it’s for

competitive road racercriterium racer (40mm all-round depth)gran fondo / sportive rider wanting premium aero wheelsroad cyclist upgrading to carbon from alloyrider under 120kg