gravelschlub

Hey y'all- Say you were in the market for a new set of gravel wheels to replace the stock very smooth-and-solid-but-HEAVY Visions that came with your new Lynskey GR300. Carbon just isn't in the cards, so alloy it is. Given the price ($369 USD), is there any reason at all to consider other wheelsets than Hunt 4Seasons (at around 1600g)? I'm finding other perfectly fine wheels at a higher price, and similarly priced heavier wheels, but nothing similar at this price.

What other wheelsets should I consider at around this price?

shoota 

At that price point you're looking at used sets online, too.

katsup

You can get a set with DT 350 hubs from Colorado Cyclist for the price of Hunt + tariffs = https://www.coloradocyclist.com/cust...ross-wheelsets

Your mileage may vary on whether you get hit with tariffs on a wheelset from Hunt.
https://www.bikeforums.net/cyclocros...ices-fall.html

dwmckee

We sell Hunt, FSA, Reynolds and Shimano GRX wheels in our all gravel shop. Hunt has a cult following and they are nice for the price, but if you can spend a wee bit more I'd say the Shimano GRX wheelset is better quality and as a plus they have cup and cone bearings... Weights are similar. We weighed our GRX wheelset a the shop last week and I think it came in at 1650 grams but to have Shimano reliability is really nice. Also on our last order of Hunt wheels we got hit with a big fat tariff bill a month later that about knocked the wind out of us. The GRX wheelset is really well built. Shimano is not cult enough for some, but if you judge just on the merits of the wheels I would buy GRX.
The GRX wheelset runs $418 I believe and they will be the same price everywhere now so may as well buy them at a local shop for the same price.

D-Fuzz

I just bought a set of Easton EA70 AX wheels. Well made and lots of good reviews on the web for them.

dwmckee

This is another great choice!

jfranci3

Those are very narrow for Gravel and even road tires now.

DT Swiss GR1600 https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/...heelset-883036
Fulcrum - https://www.bike-components.de/en/Fu...eelset-p71186/

Lightbicycle or another 2nd tier will take another 1lb off the weight for another $350

Russ Roth

Look for a discount code to get them to 450.00
https://www.randombikeparts.com/collections/wheelsets/products/vision-metron-40-carbon-700c-tubular-road-cx-bike-disc-wheelset-15-12-ta-new

Koyote

Go custom from a LBS: DT Swiss 350 hubs, double-butted spokes (28h or 32h, depending on your weight and planned use), and for rims use Velocity Aileron or H+ Son Hydra. You'll spend about $800, but you won't have problems with those wheels...And you'll get to support a small business.

gravelschlub

An excellent point - been so long since I ordered from overseas that I'd forgotten about duty/tariffs. Great reason for this USian to look elsewhere.

You're speaking my language - that price is right, and I had overlooked the GRX wheels. I mean, I'm not a dentist, but I am a mildly-overweight, more-than-mildly balding middle aged family man who hasn't been cool since those 15 minutes in the eighth grade, so uncult wheels are entirely fine with me. That said, in spite of shimano wheelset's reputation for reliability, the one axle I've managed to bend was in a 5700 hub. Not sure how I managed that.

I do have an LBS worth supporting, but there is a good reason I'm looking at $400 wheelsets, not $800.

Thanks all - ordering the GRXs through my LBS might be what I do.

Marcus_Ti

I'd get the Shimanos. Hunt wheels, I believe, are still using Bitex hubs which...well...my, now secondary, cheaper set of wheels were built with them--engagement isn't very good/reliable and the FH body in spite of being "anti-bite" still notches.

Oso Polar

Guys, any feedback about the noise level from the freehubs used in the wheelsets from this thread (Hunt, GRX, DT, Fulcrum, Easton)? I'm looking for the similar thing as OP (all road centerlock disc tubeless wheelset with a reasonable weight and price - my current stock wheels weight about 2.1 kg) and even though weight information is widely available, quality is also discussed quite often, there is, unfortunately, very little info about noise level. Some of the hubs are obnoxiously loud. Formula hub in my current rear wheel is not quiet - it is dead silent. And I'd very much prefer to not change this too much for the worse.

Marcus_Ti

Of the lot just mentioned...the Shimano are probably the quietest of the lot. None are dead silent, of course your Formulas probably aren't either unless the ratchet is loaded with bearing grease. There are very few properly silent freehubs on market, Onyx Racing Products hubs are among that select few...but you will not find them on wheels below $800USD.

katsup

Hope RS4 hubs are quieter than DT Swiss 350 and 370, mainly cause they are 2 pawl. Shimano GRX may be quieter, but I haven't seen one in person. My early 90's Shimano hubs are very quiet.

unterhausen

Does hope have different cassette bodies? On really long rides, I have been known to pedal rather than listen to my hope hubs ratcheting away. Never really noticed any issue with my DT hub

jfranci3

DT 350 and 370 use different freehub systems. The 350 with the 18t is quiet. The 370 uses a traditional 3-pawl.

350
https://www.dtswiss.com/en/technolog...em-technology/

370
https://www.dtswiss.com/en/technolog...wl-technology/

katsup

I'm aware, my friend has a 350 in his bike and my Hope RS4 was quieter. I don't know if he upgraded the star ratchet in his 350. I had a wheelset with the DT Swiss 370 system.

katsup

The Hope RS4 have a different cassette body than their mountain bike range. As far as I know, they are not interchangeable, aside from the steel Pro4 body being able to fit on a RS4 hub.

mstateglfr 

2.2x the cost.

Smitty2k1

My Shimano R7000 105 disc hubs are very quiet. I was able to find the front+rear hub online for under $100 shipped if you want to build your own.

Those Shimano RX 570 wheels look like a great deal for $418.

dwmckee

Great choice to use your LBS as they will appreciate it and you will not pay any more that way. The GRX and the Easton EA70 AX wheelsets are both top quality for your price range... Hunt is okay. FSA are good but heavier than the GRX and Eastons. GRX is only available as 12MM TA front and rear I believe. I do wish GRS was 2 mm wider ,but they are reasonable.. The FSAs come with 12 & 15 TA axle ends and QR I believe if that matters. The GRX and Eastons seem to be overlooked a lot by the market for some reason but they are really great in that price range. Everyone thinks Hunt are cool and want to buy them because they are new and a boutique brand...

Koyote

Yeah, I acknowledged that they cost more.

For what it's worth, I've often regretted going cheap, but I've never regretted spending more up front.

But for the OP, I would take dwmckee's advice. He sells a lot of gravel bikes and eqpt and knows what he is talking about.

mstateglfr 

the Shimano grx wheels already mentioned, hope wheels bought from merlin(there are 2 options, both cost about $425 last i saw), and handbuilt wheels from prowheelbuilder.com.

The Shimano and Hope wheels are continually praised every time I see them mentioned. The Hope wheelsets are 1800g give or take, based on online retailers and reported weights when received.

Prowheelbuilder.com is a popular hand-built site. I have 2 sets of wheels from them, one for my main road bike and one for my gravel bike. both were $430sh plus shipping, so about $460 delivered.
There are hundreds(thousands?) of possible combinations, but some bitex ra12 model hubs plus sapim double butted spokes, brass nipples, and your choice of a few different rims(h+ son hydra for example) will all come out to cost about $450ish in total. The site has sales(one right now) so that assumes a typical discount of 5%, if I remember correctly.
They also have gravel wheelsets where you are more limited in choices and they cost a few bucks less, like $410. They are hand-built using quality components. The rim they mention and use is one that a few other online builders also use for 'house' builds. https://www.prowheelbuilder.com/pwb-...t-package.html

Regarding bitex hubs- everyone has different standards, biases, and preferences. I have loved mine and wish they were on more of my bikes. They are relatively light, quick to engage(not really the most important for road and gravel, but still nice), and have existed without issue or thought by me for thousands of miles now(as they should). I have removed cassettes off both of them multiple times without issue, so if that is an issue for others, I'm thankful it hasn't happened to me.
They are not boutique hubs. They are a good mix of weight, price, and reliability.

jfranci3

A DT 350 with the std 18t ratchet and grease is silent. The 36t makes noise. The 370 makes normal noises. The grease is the big X factor - well that and telling a 370 and 350 apart. Using the wrong grease or wrong amount will make things noisy. You can make a 370 or Hope quite for a while with grease, but it doesn't last.

Once I bought a 350 hub, I went right on the internet to buy the tools and parts to convert my 370 to 350. Silence is amazing.

This is terrible advice. Order an equally light and reliable off the shelf 24/24 wheelset from the place with the lowest price, and just hand your LBS the extra $400. They probably won't just take the money, so sit through a 'fitting' with their 'expert'.

Never a bad way to go.

loheiman

Colorado Cyclist with DT350 hubs and DT500 rims is a great way to go for $467. That's what I did and I have a set of 700c and 650b from them.