# Shimano Wh-6600 or Fulcrum Racing 4



## morgan1819 (Nov 22, 2005)

Looking at a bike deal, and will likely have a choice between these two wheelsets: Shimano wh-6600, and Fulcrum Racing 4. 

Leaning towards the Fulcrum 4's, but honestly can't find much information out there on them.

I know Shimano makes a solid wheel, but quality being equal, I would go for the lighter Fulcrums.

Anyone have road time on both wheelsets? I am 170 lbs, so durability shouldn't be much of an issue....


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## Italianrider76 (May 13, 2005)

Hey.....I've got the WH-6600s on my old bike (Giant TCR). I have to say that it is an excellent quality wheelset. I've done about 20,000kms on them and have never broken a spoke and only the front wheel looks like it may need some adjustment....it seems to be a little less true than when I got them. They also felx minimally My only complaint is with reference to the bearings. They're just not very smooth....they don't roll as fast as some other wheelsets. I'm using some DT Swiss R1800s on my new bike and they roll much better than the Ultegras but then again, it is a different class of wheelset.

Anyways, hope this helps.


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## jasjas (Dec 16, 2009)

Opposite veiw, i had these wheels as OEM on a Spesh bike and they were a nightmare, rear hub bearings would go really rough and mess up the bearings within a 1000miles, wheels replaced under warranty.... same happened again, i had used them in the rain but nothing crazy, i swpped the rear wheel for a set of RS20s and had nothing go wrong with them, all weathers, 1000s of training miles, they are easily as good.

Maybe i was unluckily with these 6600 wheels? i would try the fulcrums as i have been recommended thses as a good training/race wheel with a good braking surface... so you could review them for me first ???? Lol


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## SpokeBroke (Mar 15, 2011)

I have the Fulcrum Racing 4's on my Roubaix and so far they are great. Bearings are very quiet, smooth and roll fast, and they have stayed true. Would like to step up to Racing Zeros in the future, but I will keep the 4's for training.


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## valleycyclist (Nov 1, 2009)

I do not know much about the Fulcrum wheels but here is a recent story about a Shimano wheel that needed to be repaired and applies to wheels using proprietary parts.

I just worked on a Dura-Ace 7850-SL wheel, and it needed a new spoke. The price per spoke was over 4x the price of a CX-Ray spoke and had to be ordered in a minimum quantity of 5 from Shimano. For wheels that cost so much I would think that replacements for broken spokes should be free...

Just be careful using wheels with proprietary parts. If something gets damaged and needs to be replaced expect to wait for a new part to be ordered and hope the part is still in inventory after the wheel is not made anymore. Otherwise the wheel is useless and needs to be replaced. That is a good business model but bad for the customer.


When using standard parts you can always maintain the wheel and expect it to last basically forever. If the braking surface on the rims gets worn out it is easy to get a replacement rim and keep going vs having to throw out the wheel. Also it is no problem to get spoke replacements. At that point it is the customer's decision whether to get new wheels or continue with the old wheels.


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