Light-ish wheelset for gravelbiking
 

I don’t think I’d want to spend the money on carbon wheels for gravel biking but maybe some light-ish alloy wheels. I really don’t have much of an idea what would be considered light. Any recommendations? I have friends who like boyd wheels And they have some they label as “lite”

Find a good shop and have it build some custom wheels. Start with good hubs (DT Swiss 240 or 350, depending on your budget, or Bitex if you want to spend less), good double-butted spokes, and decent rims such as H+Son's 'The Hydra.' As long as you use enough spokes, you'll have decently light wheels that will be plenty strong.

Its all relative and the obvious unknown in this equation is what your current wheels weigh. Once you know your wheel weights, look around and see what itll cost to drop grams.

In general, ill list these(at the risk of being told im wrong). For gravel wheels...
1400-1550g - light
1550g-1650g - medium light
1650-1800g - medium
1800g-1950g - medium heavy
1950-2100g - heavy
over 2100g - very heavy

Also in general, OEM wheelsets on gravel bikes under $2000 will be in the 1900g-2100g range.


To me, the base weight of a wheelset is just one consideration. I care about a mix of wheelset weight, spoke count(not low- so 28/32 is good, spoke type(butted and jbend), rim profile(mid-V), and properly tensioned.

I currently have a 2000g wheelset on my gravel bike because the hubs are Shimano 105, which while very nice quality and easily serviced, are not light. Also, the wheels are 36h butted, so they are very much overbuilt. Even still, they are slightly lighter than a lot of stock wheelsets.
My next wheelset will be almost identical, but 28/32 spokes and different hubs. Itll drop 300g.

Once wheels are up and spinning, the weight is really quite negligible. Its obviously there on climbing too though. But still, just look at the difference in grams vs cost because at some point it becomes a losing proposition for everyone. Some are willing to spend another $200 to save 50g. Some wouldnt spend another $10 to save 50g. Its quite individual and it all starts with what your current wheelset weighs.

I am using Bitex hubs, DT swiss 460 rims, and double butted spokes throughout. I’ve not managed to even knock them out of true. I am at about 1500 or 1550, I can’t remember.

Had I used Mavic Open Pro tubeless or Stans alpha 400 the wheel set would be 80ish grams lighter and probably just as strong.

My advice, buy your hubs first then your hoops. I could have gotten some sick closeouts on 28 or 36 hole hubs (both fine for gravel) but couldn’t because I was already sitting on a couple 32 hole rims.

I am not the worlds best wheelbuilder but I find it fun and meditative. It’s not hard to do if you aren’t dead set on a big ride the next day (start small, just in case something is wrong). It saves a bunch of money and it makes you feel like a craftsman. Plenty of online information exists.

I do need to weigh the wheels. I researched awhile back and thought they were 1900+g. My wheels came on my 2017 Raleigh Tamland 1. I like the bike but it's heavy and if I wasn't doing any climbing I wouldn't care. I don't need the lightest wheels but current are definitely heavy.

There is climbing in Tampa? I kid I kid- im sure its elsewhere and totally get the desire for lighter wheels.
As for your stock wheels- I could see those being in the 1900-2100g range. The Raleigh bikes over the last 4 years have been great deals(especially with the corp discount), but wheels seems to have been a consistent area of cost avoidance. And lower cost usually = higher weight.

A few of us here have gone with Mill City Cycles built wheels, and at least I'm pretty happy with mine. See here for more info. In that thread @JayNYC and @ericzamora were looking for 650b wheelsets, but for my Topstone I wanted a more road focused set of 700c wheels to replace the stock heavy offroad focused WTB wheels on my Topstone 105.

Ended up with Kinlin XR26T rims with Bitex hubs that weigh in around 1550g, for under $500. Brett at Mill City had a number of options in that range, slightly deeper, slightly wider, etc..., but the combination of lightness and affordability is what sold me on the Kinlins. The main benefit of talking with a builder like Brett is you can give him your criteria (light, still able to go offroad) and he'll iterate with you to find the right combination, and he has tested a lot of these wheels himself and can vouch for their pros and cons.

ha! I don't live in Tampa anymore and don't know if I can change my profile name. I'm now near Atlanta so plenty of climbing especially around north georgia. I got my tamland thru the corp discount for $800 2 years ago. I've never seen it that low again. I like the bike but it's heavy. wheels especially.

I was just lamenting my Tamland last night. Great bike for the money. When I had it I had American Classic MTB Race wheels on it (~1400g) and it did make the bike feel more spritely. The rear rim is now cracking around 7 spoke holes so I don't think I would recommend going too light for these bike and the terrain we ride them on. Hunt makes some really well reviewed, decently light wheels for the money. That's probably who I will go with for a new wheelset.

And don't forget that, while lighter wheels might be faster while spinning, they will slow you down if they fail.

In other words, don't go too light, unless you are prepared to spend big money to ensure that the wheels are still strong enough. (e.g., carbon fiber rims.)

Mine were just over 1,600g if i recall correctly. Someday I'll weigh the stock 700c wheels they replaced, but for now, the 650bs feel great, fun, and I've had no issues with the Kinlin rims and Bitex hubs over 500 miles.

eric/fresno, ca.

no. I don't want to go too light. I'm not a heavy rider but some of the gravel riding I've done I still would want to make sure to have strong wheels

I hadn't heard of Hunt wheels before. But looking on line seems like people like them.

You could email ProWheelBuilder.com and ask how much their signature wheels weigh.

https://www.prowheelbuilder.com/pwb-...t-package.html

Richard the owner is the only one I let touch my wheels.

I own their Terra i22c carbon/disk rims built with Industry 9 hubs.


-Tim-

Thanks for the links. Good price on those.

I was just going to link to PWB-- I have about 14,000 miles on my PWB Signature disc wheels, and do not have a single complaint. The set is ~1,600g in 24/24 spoke.

The Kinlin XR31 hoops are tough as hell, and the Bitex hubs are apparently better than every other Bitex hub out there, because mine still spin smooth after many wet days and dirty miles.

Worth every penny.

Are the graphics on the wheels decals? Can they be removed?

The graphics are apparently photoshop. There are no logos of any kind on the hoops. I have two sets, one rim and one disc, and neither have any logos.

The graphics on my PWB carbon wheels are "Ghosted" and barely visible.

I believe ghosted decals are the default.



-Tim-

Is 24 spoke count high enough for rough gravel?

the Pro WheelBuilder rims that are being linked are 700c, including the Kinlin XR31, all with an inner width of 19mm, correct?

eric/fresno, ca.

...probably? We don't have gravel here, we have sandy, washboarded fire roads. I ride the bike in a lot of places it has no real business being, and the wheels have never once complained. They're dinged and pitted and dented, but still true.

BTW, I'm usually 210-215lbs. I've put about 4,500 miles on a rim brake set of the same wheels, with 20/24 spokes.

Yes, the Kinlin XR31/XR31T are 19mm internal. Most 700x25 tires will mount to right around 27mm wide.

HPlusSon Hydra + DT350 + CX-Sprint 28h/28h comes to 1700g, super easy to built and pretty much bombproof

Not sure where in ATL you live but ProWheelBuilder is up 400 in Cumming, Forsyth County. I've been to Richard's shop several times. He is very approachable.

I can drive there. I didn’t realize they had a shop you can go into.