Carbon gravel wheels for a heavy rider

[JoninSweden]

Hi all,

New member here. I ride a lot of gravel here in SE Sweden and I'm starting to become competitive. I'm hoping to qualify for the UCI Gravel World Championships next year.

I'm a big guy - 203cm, 101kg, 410-415w FTP (but still going up reasonably quickly as I only returned to cycling 2.5 years ago after racing as a kid), 40 years old.

I would really appreciate any advice offered on budget friendly carbon (or high end aluminium) wheels that I can race on next year. Lightweight would be useful, but not for the usual reasons.

I climb very well, and especially for my size. My issue is that I don't corner so well, so in order to keep up with groups, I often have to sprint out of corners. So acceleration is important. I need to work on my confidence cornering, for sure.

I see a plethora of Chinese carbon wheels on the market and it's hard to know what to consider. The Elite Wheels Marvel G35 looks like a decent bet and I'm just waiting for them to go on special offer again. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance, and here is a photo I took yesterday from my gravel ride:



Jonathan

[pdlpsher1]

Welcome to WW. Given your weight and power output, you need to prioritize durability over weight. The most important component in a wheel is the hub. A durable, maintenance free hub is key to a happy wheel ownership experience. I'd recommend DT Swiss 350 hubs. The 350 uses larger bearings and a dual floating ratchet design. Don't try to save weight by going with the DT Swiss 240 or 180. At your power output it's not worth it. I'd also stick to traditional steel spokes over carbon spokes. Reserve wheels only uses DT Swiss hubs and steel spokes. Their wheels have no rider weight limit. Below is just an sample of what they offer. They have three gravel models to choose from. Another alternative is a custom build from LightBicycle. You could choose 28 hole DT Swiss hubs and a reinforced carbon layup at no extra charge. If you do choose the custom option I would also opt for no rim bed holes (it eliminates rim tapes which can be a failure point in a tubeless setup). Good luck.

https://reservewheels.com/products/40-44-gr

[stanvr]

Check out Bontrager. They have a 2 year 'no questions asked' replacement policy with dealers everywhere around the world. I think this policy is a nice to have for a piece of mind, and it also speaks high confidence in their wheels by them I think.

[Agent041]

Farsports from Wheelsfar is always top choice. You have multiple options to choose from. With hubs from DTSwiss they should be more than OK for your weight.

[satanas]

For heavier riders *all* the parts of the wheel are important - including the tyres!

Definitely get decent hubs. DT has the advantage of ubiquity, as well as reliability, so servicing shouldn't be an issue; they're not the only game in town though.

Deeper rims are stiffer, so can get away with fewer spokes and be a bit more aero than shallower rims, but OTOH a few extra spokes don't weigh much and you can then get away with a lighter, shallower rim.

If the spokes - and wheel build! - are of decent quality and the spokes are numerous enough, they shouldn't cause any problems.

Lastly, I wouldn't try to save weight by going with narrower tyres if I was you. Larger, more poweful riders are best served IME by slightly wider tyres, deeper rims, and a few more spokes, which make the wheels both stiffer and more damage resistant.

[jeanjacques]

Mavic wheels, several of them have a 120kg weight limit and everything is designed to form a whole, not an aggregation of individual parts. Look at the Mavic spoke, the section is 1x3mm.
As for the DT240 hubs, they are certainly solid but the flanges aren't high enough for stifness at this weight.

[jayjay]

As mentioned:
DT Swiss 350 hubs
28 steel spokes (I prefer j-bend over straightpull)
Brass nipples
Carbon rims from LightBicycle, Nextie or Farsports

Since BlackFriday is around the corner, you should get some good deals from all these 3

[JoninSweden]

Thanks for the detailed advice folks!

I fear that my budget might not stretch as far as the suggestions proffered. I seem to be in that uncomfortable zone between higher end alloy and low end carbon.

My fastest wheelset that I currently have is a pair of DT Swiss GR1800s that came with my Canyon Grail. They ride well and feel quicker than some of the other wheels I have (a pair of Sonder 650bs, Bontrager Paradigm Comp 25s and a pair of Mavic alloy wheels I was given and haven't ridden yet).

I wonder whether it would be a more reliable choice to step up to a pair of GR1600s?

As you all correctly allude to, I do put a lot of stress on wheels. A friendly mechanic in our village has said he's never met anyone that rips through spokes like I do. The curse of being over 100kg, I think.

[BenCousins]

Hey! From Stockholm. I don't think you should go with chinese carbon rims. Go with well known western manufacturer where you can be sure the wheels and design have been tested properly.

Also, bear in min the Gravel Worlds '25 is in Nice over a very hilly course.

[BenCousins]

I climb very well, and especially for my size.

The reason for this is your watts/kilo are good enough to win age categories in gran fondos and gravel races. Don't worry about your size, if there are watts to be gained and some weight to be lost you'll be highly ccompetative.

[jayjay]

I fear that my budget might not stretch as far as the suggestions proffered.

What is your budget?

[JoninSweden]

The reason for this is your watts/kilo are good enough to win age categories in gran fondos and gravel races. Don't worry about your size, if there are watts to be gained and some weight to be lost you'll be highly ccompetative.

Thanks Ben. A hillier course certainly suits me better than a flat one like Belgium this year. I can push enough watts to keep pace with a lot of lighter riders, but I descend a lot quicker (if it's not too technical) and on the flat, if I can gap them, I have enough watts to stay clear. I'm also working on upping my sustained, race length power. I did 3.5hrs of reasonably hilly gravel this week at about 90% effort at 350w normalised.

On 3-5 minute efforts, I'm usually between 500-550w whilst climbing. I'm a terrible sprinter though, so I'm trying to work on my sub three minute efforts.

I am starting to lean towards higher end alloy. I think that if I was a normal sized human being, the Elite Wheels Marvel G35 or similar would be fine, but I don't really have any weight to lose. Even to get to 98kg or so, I'd be stripping upper body muscle away (I do some weight training for general health reasons, and I've restarted indoor rowing recently).

Jayjay - my budget would be around 500 euros or so. Maybe a little more.

[BenCousins]

The reason for this is your watts/kilo are good enough to win age categories in gran fondos and gravel races. Don't worry about your size, if there are watts to be gained and some weight to be lost you'll be highly ccompetative.

Thanks Ben. A hillier course certainly suits me better than a flat one like Belgium this year. I can push enough watts to keep pace with a lot of lighter riders, but I descend a lot quicker (if it's not too technical) and on the flat, if I can gap them, I have enough watts to stay clear. I'm also working on upping my sustained, race length power. I did 3.5hrs of reasonably hilly gravel this week at about 90% effort at 350w normalised.

On 3-5 minute efforts, I'm usually between 500-550w whilst climbing. I'm a terrible sprinter though, so I'm trying to work on my sub three minute efforts.

I am starting to lean towards higher end alloy. I think that if I was a normal sized human being, the Elite Wheels Marvel G35 or similar would be fine, but I don't really have any weight to lose. Even to get to 98kg or so, I'd be stripping upper body muscle away (I do some weight training for general health reasons, and I've restarted indoor rowing recently).

Jayjay - my budget would be around 500 euros or so. Maybe a little more.

I'm going to recon the Nice course in a month or so - I'll try to remember to get you some feedback.

[JoninSweden]

I'm going to recon the Nice course in a month or so - I'll try to remember to get you some feedback.

That's very cool - have fun!

Open invite, if you're ever down near Vetlanda/Vimmerby. I know the gravel like the back of my hand down here and we have a stuga in the garden. It's always nice to ride with other keen cyclists

[London9921]

Tjenare!

Awesome work and fun goals you've set for yourself.

To be honest I'm not sure what carbon specifically will do for you, if you already ride a comfy frame. Since you live in Sweden check out Cykelcity in stockholm - they are quite elitist and not welcoming but they sell hope wheels with hope hubs. There used to be a carbon wheel set as well from hope but im unsure whether it's still sold by them or not (might be possible to order still).

I bought the Hope 20five wheelset from them with pro 4 hubs. They are literally bombproof and give awesome engagement whenever the riding becomes a bit technical. They sound sweet too. They're not sub 1400g but also not super heavy. Happy with my purchase. The carbon version would be lighter for sure and still use their awesome hubs.