Any recommendations up to £500? Hunt Race are on sale and light, but super loud freehub (I know from experience) and maybe too light for some moderately loaded touring.
Mavic Allroad S look decent, but maybe weighty.
Hope RX24 look nice but pricy and heavy.
Any bright ideas?
DT Swiss Gravel LN with 50% discount on Merlin?
https://www.merlincycles.com/dt-swiss-gravel-ln-disc-wheelset-700c-333656.html
Been very happy with my Just Riding Along Monitors, +8,000 miles and not even needed a spoke key.
Those cheap DTs are hugely heavy. I did wonder about the Eastons but know nout about them. Will look at JRA. A loud freehub isn't a no per se, but I'd prefer quiet.
If you're after 650b you could do a lot worse than these, they come with XDR and Shimano freehubs
700c with Shimano HG. 3Ts are nice though.
I'm about the pull the trigger on a pair of these https://www.stradawheels.co.uk/product/strada-all-road-plus-disc/
Thinking about upgrading the hubs to hopes but otherwise decent weight and the builder has a fantastic reputation.
My gravel bike came with fulcrum rapid red 500’s, been pretty excellent so far.
You can get a great pair of handbuilt DT Swiss MTB wheels for about £500, so is the same not true for gravel?
XM421 rims look like they would be a good bet with 25mm internal and sturdy enough for aggressive trail riding.
What tyre size and pressure are you looking to run? Fat tyres and low pressures mean you can get away with MTB rims which counter intuitively are often lighter.
Over 40 psi and you're looking at road type rims.
Pick a well respected builder. Pick your rim, pick your spokes and then whatever hubs fit the budget
Tempted by finding a builder, but honestly I think those Hunts have swayed me, even if they are noisy. £420 for 1400g. That seems hard to beat, and a decent rim width too.
That's certainly very light. Perhaps worryingly light for an alu-rimmed gravel wheelset?
Perhaps worryingly light for an alu-rimmed gravel wheelset?
Yes, that has also been weighing* on my mind. Instead I've gone for Hunt Gravel 4-seasons. Under £400 right now, decent weight, 25mm int rim, standard J-bend spokes.
*Ah, my sides are splitting
I do wonder how they hit some of these weights. Hope hubs, 305g carbon rims, cx ray spokes and brass nipples, a smidge over 1500g genuine weight.
I know hope hubs are not the lightest but they are also not that heavy.