Carbon wheels for road and gravel

[Miles253]

Hi all,

Has anybody had any experience running road carbon wheels designed for road, i.e. Relatively lightweight, on gravel roads?

In the UK it isn't very gnarly gravel and my riding is probably 90-10 in favour of road. I'm about 75kg.

Thinking of a lightweight pair of Hunt wheels built for road and hence saving bags of weight. Or is it a false economy and better to buy a gravel wheel and ride it on the road, regardless of weight.

Go!

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[spdntrxi]

I'm using Enve 4.5AR and G27s on my Gravel Bike.. 90/10 and if it was not crazy rocks and whatnot I think you could ride just about any carbon rim

[jbucky1]

Like spdntrxi said, I think you could pretty much use any carbon rim given your conditions. I have ridden Zipp 303 on a lot of gravel and they are fine. It's when you start getting deeper on terrain and trail where rim and tyre could matter more.

[jfranci3]

You'd probably want to add a few more spokes because off road traction can be higher than on-road. You also get a bit more traction (on/off) shocks.
Look for max tubless pressures. You don't want something with a 40psi max for a 32c tire.

[Miles253]

You'd probably want to add a few more spokes because off road traction can be higher than on-road. You also get a bit more traction (on/off) shocks.
Look for max tubless pressures. You don't want something with a 40psi max for a 32c tire.

I hadn't thought about max tubeless pressure. I could potentially want to run as big as 38mm. Is that pressure defined but the shape of the rim? Or the material too?

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[jfranci3]

I’ve only seen a few companies quote it

[Mr.Gib]

You can use any rim. The story is about tire volume. You say you will use 38mm. Great, you can run that at 40 - 50 psi so tire pressure limits won't be an issue. The bigger factor is probably rim width. Wider is better, so if you have a wide road rim (20mm internal or greater), well, than what you really have is a good wheel for gravel. And in fact, if you go hookless, it is possible to have lighter gravel wheels then road wheels.

[Miles253]

You can use any rim. The story is about tire volume. You say you will use 38mm. Great, you can run that at 40 - 50 psi so tire pressure limits won't be an issue. The bigger factor is probably rim width. Wider is better, so if you have a wide road rim (20mm internal or greater), well, than what you really have is a good wheel for gravel. And in fact, if you go hookless, it is possible to have lighter gravel wheels then road wheels.

Are hookless rims only compatible with tubeless tyres?

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[wheelsONfire]

Tubeless ready, you should not use tires NOT made for tubeless applications on hookless rims.