Disc Gravel Wheelset < 1500g

[campbellrae]

I'm looking to get a nicer set of wheels for my gravel bike for next year. At them moment I just use my winter/training wheels, Hope Pro 2 Evos laced to H Plus Son Archetype's, 36 spoke. They are good reliable wheels, but really heavy. I think the weight is around 1900-2000g!

I would like something under 1500g if possible, and stiffness is important as I'm a big guy, 1.95m & 90kg. Budget wise I'd like to stay below £1000 if possible, but can spend more if it's worth it. I'd like to use clincher rims for these wheels, I use tubs on all my road wheels, but because of how this bike gets used I'd prefer clinchers. It would be good if the hubs could easily be converted between axle standards, at the moment I have QR's front and rear but would like to be able to switch to through axles at a later date. I'd also like wide rims, >18mm internal at least. I'll be using them with some 35mm or wider tyres, so prefer a wider rim to support that.

So far I think the front runners are American Classic Race 29ers. I had been considering getting a set of Light Bicycle rims, but have heard mixed reports recently, namely from a thread on this forum.

Any others I should be looking into? Any owner feedback on the alternatives or the options I have would be great.

[Asymptotic]

As you want wide rims, Stans Ironcross wheel-set or the crest mtb rim would suit your requirements quite well. Roughly on par with the American Classics, and their hubs use DT internals so would be more reliable then AC who use quite small bearings across their range. No experience personally with Light Bicycle rims.

[ross]

Kysrium Pro Disc Allroad ticks your boxes asides from being under 1500g

These are reported to not hit manufacturer claimed weights but not far off http://www.dtswiss.com/Wheels/Road-Whee ... ne-C-db-en for 28mm and http://www.dtswiss.com/Wheels/Road-Whee ... ne-C-db-en for 38mm

[bm0p700f]

It is possible
24F/24R Pacenti SL25 rims, sapim CX-ray spokes and alloy nipples DT Swiss 240 hubs weight will be around 1470g and they will be stiff and reliable. You could up the spoke count to 28F/28R and add only 40g.

Carbon rims are you other option but the weight saving will be small maybe 50g. Rims will be stiffer though.

[campbellrae]

Thanks for the replies so far.

I hadn't looked at the DT wheels, but the rims look to be too narrow. According to a review on Bikeradar, they are only 21mm external, is that correct?

The Iron Cross rims are tempting, but they are only rated to 45psi, which is too low. I'd like to be able to run 28mm road tyres if I fancy a change on this bike, so I need to be able to run them at 90psi.

In terms of a custom build, do you think that 28/28 DT 240s to carbon rims would be overkill? I tend to push my stuff pretty hard off road, been a mountain biker all my life so am a bit more aggressive on the descents than some. Do the DT disc hubs have the same flange spacing 'problem' as their road hubs?

Cheers,

Campbell.

[bm0p700f]

Over kill no. 28F/28R with DT 240 hubs on a carbon rim would be great but there is only one after market disc brake only carbon rim and that the one BDOP have. In fact that might be 24H only.

DT disc brake hubs are some of the best disc brake hubs for geometry available. In fact they are almost perfect (the flanges would be larger to make them perfect). Rear hub has 54mm flange spacing centre to centre and that better than the road hub. Go figure hey.

28mm tyres at 90psi! If you use tubeless tyres you could use much lower pressures. On my 30mm tyres I use 65 psi rear (I have a rack, panniers and weight 83kg this morning).

[campbellrae]

Cheers for the info on the DT hubs, that's good to hear. I like their reliability, so they could be a front runner for a custom build. If the carbon rims are stiff than alloy, then I would have thought a 24/24 build would be more than sufficient, just wanted to check about the 28h!

I plan to run these wheels tubeless if possible, but at the moment I'm just running normal tubes. Haven't experimented with tubeless for anything other than MTB in the past, so it's something I'll need to look into over the winter.

It looks like I'll struggle to get much below 400g per rim for carbon clinchers, at least Light Bicycle all seem to be >400g, same for BDOP and the ones they do in 28h. So unless they add a lot of stiffness, something like the Pacenti SL25 could be ideal.

[the_marsbar]

You haven't looked close enough: http://www.light-bicycle.com/bead-hook- ... fu2od-qpBc (365 +/- 15 g)

[eurperg]

^ I have RM29C06 rims built 32h with DT hubs on my full sus MTB. Nothing but good to say about the rims! The increase in lateral stiffness over my previous ZTR Crest wheelset was incredible. They make a rock-hard wheelset perfect full-sus for MTB's where you have g-outs and rock gardens.

I would not use them for a gravel bike, a classic box-section alloy tubular wheelset with quality tubulars and low pressure will give a much smoother ride on gravel.

[ergott]

First of all, don't try to chase a number. Get the right components for the job and if it weighs what you want, then that's a bonus. No sense in handicapping your wheel choice by insisting on a specific weight, especially if you weigh 90kg. After all, what's 100g when you and the bike are over 100,000 grams!

Here's a great you should check out.

DT 240 hubs (centerlock)
Nox Composites A36D disc rims (tubeless compatible)
Sapim or DT light gauge spokes. (I would consider a heaver gauge spoke for the rear wheel)
alloy nipples
28/28 spoke count.

Guess what? That's about 1530g. It's a strong wheelset that will suit everything you are looking for. Yes you can insist on getting 24 spoke count, but honestly there's no point. Spokes are 5g each so the gain is 20g per wheel. Don't forget that's 20g out of over 100,000g. If you think that makes a difference you are kidding yourself.

Great thing about that rim is it was designed for road use and has a typical road pressure limit unlike most mountain bike rims. You can run 25mm tubeless no problem if you desire.

[rmerka]

If the carbon rims are stiff than alloy, then I would have thought a 24/24 build would be more than sufficient, just wanted to check about the 28h!

Ergott is spot on. I didn't see it mentioned in this thread but from the above quote I wasn't really sure if you realize it's not about the rims being stiff enough here. With the spokes doing all the work of stopping your 90kg considering this is a disc build, 28 of them will definitely NOT be overkill.

[campbellrae]

Yeah, the spoke count is one of they things that drew me to the American Classics. I like the idea of a really light build that was also 32 spoke because of the braking forces involved. I had seen quite a few builds of 24/24 that weighed a bit more, so it was interesting to see such a low weight with such a high spoke count.

I had discounted the Light Bicycle super light 29er rim because it had a tyre pressure limit of 70psi. I was looking at their road rims.

Those NOX composite rims look idea, but would be too expensive by the time I have to pay for shipping and import duty, £600 the pair would probably end up around £800 after those.

I think a set of Pacenti SL25's on DT 240's 28/28 are the front runners if I go for a custom build. More than light enough at ~1550g with a reasonably high spoke count.

Has anyone used the American Classics? I have found a couple of reviews online, all seem pretty positive. But I'd like to hear some owner feedback as well.

[bm0p700f]

That light bicycle rim is a 29er rim. It is 27mm wide which is a bit wide for road bikes but maybe not for a gravel machine. The low pressure limit is a problem for some too.

Given DT swiss make the 350 hub, Miche make the Syntium and Novatec do the rather good for the price D771/D772 which a distributor has told me yesterday they now have (no more need for expensive bulk orders) the american classic offering would have to be stellar to sway me.

[campbellrae]

The bike is a Niner RLT9. So it's got loads of clearance for wider rims. Not sure if it's worth going as wide as that for ~35mm tyres though.

[bm0p700f]

Challange Strada Binachi could be a good gravel tyre. It is 30mm and I use mine with latex tubes at 60psi fornt 65 psi rear. So those 29er LB rims would be perfect.

I think we have worked out you perfect build now if you want to spend on carbon rims that is.