Today, the Italian wheel brand Fulcrum has launched the first dedicated all-road wheel set named Sharq. As opposed to the dedicated Gravel wheel set (Rapid Red series) and the road set (Racing Zero, Speed and Wind series), it is a top-end carbon wheel set aimed at providing speed to riders in mixed terrain from tarmac to gravel.

Sharq draws on the brand's current wheel technology, but not too few new developments, at least a wavy rim profile; the first for the brand, brings it to a small cohort of wavy wheel offerings along with the likes of Zipp and Princeton Carbonworks.

Cyclingnews technology writer Will Jones is testing the sets before launch, so it makes sense to read his Fulcrum Sharq review

for a full story about how they work. That's the first thing you notice and where the biggest difference from other wheelsets of the brand exists. The rim profile, thanks to the waves, is between 42mm and 47mm in mid-depth, placing it squarely in the all-rounder category. 

The wavy rim profile is a blend of 2 wavy profiles, according to the fulcrum. The first, symmetrical wave is featured around the nipple, before blending into the asymmetric profile of the tub.

Fulcrum claims, the main result of this 2-wave profile, are a marked improvement in crosswind stability. From 0-10º of yaw - an angle you're likely to encounter if you're traveling at a higher speed - there's an improvement of 21%, jumping from 10-20º to 30%. 

The rim bed is also not perforated for spokes, so it is tubeless and ready out of the box without the need for tubeless rim tape. Interestingly, the rim bed - 25mm wide for reference - features what the fulcrum describes as a "mini hook". It is not hookless, but it is not even a seemingly complete hook.

Stringing the new rim to the hub is all the new spokes. These are 3mm deep and 0.8mm thick and are called "A3RO" for obvious reasons. The spokes never touch, in an effort to maintain spoke tension over wheel life, especially over rough ground. To reduce torsion during the lacing process the spoke has a flattened section on the hub interface so it can be twisted, and

Inside the hub itself, there is a brand USB (Ultra Smooth Bearing) ceramic bearing. These are cup and cone setups, not cartridge bearings. But this is not unheard of, as Shimano's top-flight Dura-Ace wheelset still runs through cups and cones. This technology has also been used for years now in plenty of campagnolo and fulcrum wheels.

A set of Sharq wheels will return €2,460/£2,289/ー2,807, weighing in at 120g with a maximum system weight of 1,440 kg.

For reference, the ZIPP45NSW with a depth of 353mm (the most likely competitor's wheelset, which is actually between 42.7-46.5mm for waves) weighs 1,308g and has a similar price depending on where you shop.