I have a set of Hunt 35 Carbon Gravel X-Wide and really like them. 31mm ext width, 25mm int width, 35mm deep, 1465g, and a lot less expensive. I know some people aren’t a fan of the hubs but I can’t tell the difference from higher end wheels. They have a sale right now, too, so these would be 20% off list price.
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I only buy ENVE. High quality. Customer service is impeccable. I have the G23s and they are amazing, great vibration control and lightweight, snappy
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Thanks I’ll look into those wheelsets!
Here’s another one to look into if the specs work, they sell Rim only too for custom builds @ $350 ea. Hand Laid in Canada, Lifetime Warranty.
I have them on my XC bike with DT 180’s and Berd Spokes. These will be in the mix for me when I do a Gravel Wheel build, probably later this year. Maybe do them up with Onyx Vesper Hook Flange Hubs (although supposedly heavy) and Berd Spokes again… (Edit - DT 180’s are real light, Onyx probably too heavy in comparison)
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I also went with the We are one wheels for a new gravel bike. Everyone I know who has their MTB wheels absolutely loves them. Cool that they’re made in BC as well.
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What do they weigh and what is the external width of the rims? Seems like they don’t put those specs out there.
External width 31mm by my calipers
We are One Revive Rims, Berd Spokes, DT Swiss 180 (MTB Hubs - XDR)
Front - 518 g
Rear - 610 g
I have them mounted up with Vittoria Airliner Light Inserts and Conti Race King 2.2’s for my lightweight / distance / climbing wheelset for my XC bike. I don’t hammer on them, but they’ve held up to multiple descents of Leadville’s Powerline, Columbine, and Sugarloaf, albeit on a 100/100 FS XC Bike.
I have been using the Enve AG25 with enve hubs for a few months and have absolutely no complains about it… I talked to ENVE since I was willing to pay for a SES wheelset they actually recommended the AG25 since I’m not racing so they said I’d see no benefit of using 3.4 or 4.5.
We Are One is running a sale - 20% off. Even if you’re not going to end up buying from them, do them a solid and subscribe to their email list and give 'em a follow. This may kick me in the direction of buying another set of rims for a gravel build.
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I’m also looking to pick up some new gravel race wheels for the season. My quandaries:
-Thoughts on aerodynamic rims for gravel? Many of my events include some pavement and often some wind, so I’m in favor of improved aerodynamics in principle. But do current “aero gravel” rims (~40mm deep, 25 internal/30) really make much difference if you’re running a ~40mm tire? I know it’s been debated, curious where others have come down.
-Related, with 23mm internal width rims and 28-30mm tires increasingly common for road use, should we be looking at even wider rims for gravel? Something like these Nextie rims (30 internal/40 external) seem kind of compelling. The Hunt Limitless wheels (25 internal but 36 external) are a less extreme version of this.
-Hunt Carbon 40 Carbon Gravel Race seems an excellent all-round, pretty light, somewhat aero option.
Don’t bother worrying about it….once you go above 40mm in tire width, finding a rim that provides any aero benefit is near impossible.
Enve had confirmed that in their testing. If you want some aero in your wheels, look for bladed spokes, but don’t worry about rim depth.
Did ENVE test 40mm±wide rims, or is the finding that current narrower rims are not good with 40mm+ tires?
I don’t really buy that there’s no way to improve aerodynamics of a 40mm round-section tire; the very non-aero nature of that object would suggest that any way to improve its aerodynamics would be really beneficial, like how improving the rider CdA is more impactful than narrower bike tubes. If farings behind shins and arms help, I’d have to think an appropriate rim would improve aerodynamics of even a quite wide tire.
No, hence the reason I said “near impossible”. There are few choices in a rim width where you may get an aero benefit.
Here is an old comparison between round and bladed spokes.
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Having researched this a bit more, thought I’d share a couple links.
@Power13 is correct that 35+mm gravel tires are not very aero on 30mm external-width wheels like the 303 or other “normal” road wheels, because the tire is too much wider than the rim. A while back, 3T addressed this with the Discus wheel which is 29mm wide internal, 40mm wide external and 45mm deep.
Is it actually faster? 3T says it is of course. But there’s also this really interesting interview with Josh Poertner, formerly a wheel designer at Zipp and now owner of Silca, about rim vs. tire width and ETERO standards. It’s all pretty interesting, but here’s a key passage:
“Case in point, the setup that has most excited me in the last few years is a 32mm Continental GP5000TR on the 3T Discus 45/40 rim. This is a 32mm tire on 29mm hooked bead with 40mm outer rim width, totally in violation of ETRTO, but exceeds the blowoff pressure of the same tire on an ETRTO approved 25mm hookless bead. In this setup the tire measures 35.5mm wide and produces a near seamless toroidal rim/tire shape which tests lower drag than most any traditional road racing wheel with 25 or 28mm tire while also showing some of the most neutral aero steering torque values of any setup I’ve ever seen.”
TL;DR 25 internal/30 external rims are great up to ~28mm wide tires, but if you want an aerodynamic wheel for “all road” or gravel tire sizes, go wider (and make sure you have a hooked rim).
Both Nextie and Light Bicycle have versions of a Discus-dimensioned rim that’s lighter and cheaper; big ol thread on these over on Weight Weenies. I plan to pick up some LB WG44s on DT240 hubs, which should come in around 1450g and cost ~$1200. Putting a ~34mm gravel tire on these should make for a light, pretty aero and plenty voluminous setup.
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Low priority.
Science aside, you’re much better off planning your race strategy so that you’re sheltered in a group during high speed sections.
Right since riding with a fast group you’re never on the front, there are never crosswinds and aerodynamics is irrelevant when drafting. Might as well ignore aerodynamics entirely and just sit on wheels at all times. Great advice.
Nah, I’m just not as fast as you!
Passive aggression: 10/10.
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I ended up buying the Roval Terra CL.
These are the boxes it checked off for me;
within my budget of less than $2k
Great hubs
Lifetime warranty
The rims have a good track record
The rim is not too deep and not shallow I think 33mm
The internal width is 25mm
Under 1500gs per pair
Can fit up to 47mm tire (looking for up to 45mm)
I haven’t ridden them yet but will soon. Have a busy week of work but they look great!
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When will we see 70mm deep and 40mm wide?
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