Ignoring the blame/broken one, even at their sale price, that’s still way too much to spend on a cx bike. Can’t fathom spending $7k on a bike that’s designed to have the shit kicked outa it!
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… I don’t CX, but I (perhaps mistakenly) look at it as involving bikes that aren’t designed to have the snot beat out of them, but do get that treatment anyway. And then you replace parts. I just don’t see how open drivetrains and pure mud are a good match.
I can never seem to find clear answers on why carbon wheelsets for gravel are more beneficial than a good set of alloy wheels, at least for the mid range/entry level carbon wheels. The weight difference is usually minimal. Are they more comfortable? Better at picking up speed quickly?
I’ve been looking at mid-range carbon gravel wheels, but not alloy. Do good alloy gravel wheels have 25mm internals? Wider internals permits lower efficient TP. Also, the location of the extra weight really matters, if the rim itself is lighter, the spin-up is going to be noticeable improved. I don’t see how allow can carry a similar weight to carbon at the rim itself.
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I’ve honestly never even considered using alloy rims, so I’ve got no feedback there. As for comfort, I honestly believe that’s almost all in the tire pressure, bars, and seatpost.
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These have 25mm internal width
I’m trying to think if spin up is worth much for me doing longer gravel rides.
If “spin up” isn’t much of a factor in crits, it is probably even less of a factor in gravel…
That said, it is hard to ignore the perception of a bike “feeling” faster with a lighter set of wheels…even if the actual performance difference is close to nothing.
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Thanks for sharing that. Those do look attractive. Although I would add that today you can get a set of Elite or Winspace carbon wheels for around the same money. I consider those to be mid-range and widely ridden/tested.
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There’s a reason FDA requires placebo-controlled trials.
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Boyd make pretty good wheels. And at least 2 times a year they do a trade in option to get 20% off. I guess they take trade in wheels and donate them to junior cycling programs
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Carbon rims can act as another form of suspension on the bike, if the rim is designed to do that. This is not possible to do with aluminum because it’s too stiff.
It’s real, although hard to quantify. And it’s questionable how much you would notice if you’re riding big tires at low pressures. But maybe they could let you up the pressure (and reduce rolling resistance) at the same comfort level.
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For mountain biking, I find carbon wheels much more durable than alloy ones. I’ve ridden ENVE wheels for years and find it funny when people complain about the hidden nipples and them being inaccessible when you need to touch them up…well, I RARELY need to touch my wheels up. Maybe every other season do a slight adjustment to a couple spokes, but carbon for me has been set and forget.
Contrast that to alloy-rimmed wheels that are all out of shape in no time. I will trash a set of alloy rims in just a few weeks. When I was doing more competitive enduro racing I’d sometimes go through 2 rims in a weekend.
Gravel is a different application obviously, but durability is still tested. I don’t think a <1,500 g alloy wheelset would last long. Plus alloy rim beads tend to be sharper than modern current ones – more prone to sidewall snake bites.
With carbon wheels coming down so much in price, I don’t see any reason to go alloy.
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For sure. I wouldn’t go searching for a lightweight alloy wheel set. If I was looking for wheels and was considering alloy I would just think less heavy not lightweight. Like 1600g or something. My lauf bikes came with alloy wheels and they’ve been fine. But definitely in the future if I feel the need to upgrade it would be to carbon assuming the price is reasonable
Did you try it yet?
HED Emporia (EMPORIA GA PERFORMANCE – HED Cycling Products) are another alloy rim with a 25 mm internal width rim
I’ve got a pair of them from when they were previously called the HED Eroica which a wheelbuilder laced up to DT Swiss 350. Nice wheelset, I enjoy riding them. I think they weighed 1577 grams
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I love my GR1600s. Think the internal width is 24mm. Not sure there’s a better ‘value’ wheel out there.
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Not yet, it was supposed to arrive Wednesday but just got the update that it is out for delivery today. I’ll let you know when I do.
Everyone has a different definition of ‘mid-range’. I have a set of HUNT 4 Season Gravel wheels - I haven’t had them very long but they seem solid and a great deal. Very happy so far. HUNT 4 Season Gravel X-Wide Wheelset – Hunt Bike Wheels US
~$550 out the door
Haha you’ve pretty much nailed cx! The brands that get it make servicing easy, ie trek boone. Then you look at canyon with the inflite that has internal cable routing, which tells you everything you need to know… they know headset bearings are absolutely punished, but instead of making it a 15 minute job once a season, it’s a 3 hour job
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