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I cant find any recent debates on this.. so what are peoples thoughts.
Ive just got a new gravel bike and already leaning towards having 2 sets of wheels. One for gravel, one for road.
The Hunts look ok, what puts me off is the potential freehub noise, the plus is UK warranty. However reading other comments people say that they are not as spritely as other brands. ie my new bike has come with Miche 48mm wheels and they do not spin up or feel as tight, good as the Zipp 303 Firecrest rim wheels I had previously.
Is it best to stay safe and buy Hunt ? Currently looking at Light bicyle, and Hambini (YT) likes 9Velo.
Thoughts welcomed 🙂
My mate and I both ride with Hunt wheels on gravel bikes. I can't say the noise has ever bothered me - even when we're riding together.
I have a set of Hunt grave wheels the hubs are noisier than I am used too and were a little off putting for about 10 min but it is really not a big deal and would not stop me getting another set.
Also have a look at CES wheels I have a set of their road wheels and they have been very good.
Just Riding Along. Similar concept to Hunt, but just done better. The 3 sets I have are incredibly well built and have Just Worked (one set over a decade old now). The odd time I've needed spares, they've been quick and efficient (endcaps/axles mostly), unlike my single experience of Hunt customer service which was well meaning but utterly useless.
Hunt freehub means you don’t need a bell! I don’t mind the noise. They’re good for warranty issues as you allude too. Counter argument may be they have to be, as some of their products do seem a bit fragile.
If you can be bothered you can quieten them down with something like Dumonde Pro X hub grease but it needs redoing every few 100kms to stay quiet.
Otherwise may be talk to someone like Mark at Spokesman Wheels and get some wheels made up to your spec instead?
If you can be bothered you can quieten them down with something like Dumonde Pro X hub grease but it needs redoing every few 100kms to stay quiet.
Or just pedal more 😉
From friends experiences Hunts warranty is good but you'll probably need it. Buying from a Chinese OEM will get you a similar product for less money, with the ability to customise useful aspects of it, at the expense of delivery time and variable warranty. I've personally used Zen carbon and could specify the complete build including using brass nipples.
A slightly less fatuous answer than my last.....if I was to do it again with a bigger budget I'd make sure the hubs on my two sets of wheels were the same. I have two sets of wheels for my gravel and 3 for my fat bike. All bought 2nd hand with varying brand hubs. Every time I switch wheels I need to tweak the calipers ever so slightly to stop brake rub and on one bike I need to adjust the derailleur limit screws to allow a clean gear change and stop any chance of throwing the chain into the spokes.
Faff free biking = another reason not to bother removed so I'd personally prioritise that over everything else.
Every time I switch wheels I need to tweak the calipers ever so slightly to stop brake rub and on one bike I need to adjust the derailleur limit screws to allow a clean gear change and stop any chance of throwing the chain into the spokes.
To be fair that is a very good point! Having SRAM XDR it removes the cassette trimming issues (hopefully) but not the rotor alignment 🙁 .
Looking at light bicycle, once you add shipping they are not that cheap!
I may end up buying some more Miche Aero 48s that can be had for £850, these are the wheels already on my bike. However I will wait until my 35mm GP5000s arrive and see how much faster they are than the current gravel tyres. There is no point buying a second set of wheels if they dont give that much advantage on the road
I'm a fan of direct from China wheels, have 3 sets for my gravel bike (in ascending price order...):
Elitewheels SLR Gravel (from their AliExpress store) - under £500 delivered, have been great in around 3000 miles of use (mostly road). A bit on the heavy side (I think around 1550g for the 38mm version I have). 24mm internal so good for both road and gravel tyres. Freehub noise isn't obnoxiously loud. Currently using with 35mm GP5000 ASTRs
ICAN G25 SL (from their web-site) - $786 delivered (using code RIBBLE). Have only used them for around 500 miles (with Thunderburt 2.25's), no issues so far. Decent weight (1350g) for a 50mm gravel wheel (25mm internal so again good for road and gravel tyres). Freehub noise is pretty obnoxious but I packed with ratchet grease and it's made them much much quieter (although only done about 50 miles since, not sure how long it lasts?).
9velo GV45 SW (from their web-site) - $1000 delivered (using Hambini's code). Have used them for around 2000 miles (mostly off-road). No issues, decent weight (1350g) as they're 32mm internal (so only suitable for gravel width tyres, I run them with Caracal Race 45m which inflate to 48mm on them). Freehub noise is OK, a bit louder than I'd like but not obnoxious (quiet enough I haven't bothered to take it apart to pack with grease yet).
@FuzzWuzzy - did you pay import duties?
I have the Hunt 44 Aerodynamicist which I bought in a sale for just under £700, tubeless setup etc. was easy with Pirelli P Zero tyres and I've been happy with them. They are definitely quieter than the 50 Carbon Disc wheelset of the guy I mostly ride with, but in a "not quite as piercing" rather than a "gosh these are silent" sort of way! They do seem to have bumped the price and re-jigged the rim depths etc. recently though.
I thought I was imagining it but the Aerodynamicist does use a dual sided ratchet rather than a single so they are different:
H_Ratchet 36T SGL (30/40/50 Carbon range)
H_Ratchet 40T DBL (Aerodynamicist range)
I don't do millions of miles/ride super hard but I've been running Hunt XC MTB wheels and Aerodynamicist road wheels (the 34mm Alu and now 44mm Carbon) for a few years now with no issues at all. For me these are likely a one-time purchase so ease of UK supply/leadtime & warranty/spares availability outweighed some slight savings with a direct purchase from a Chinese source.
I noticed the Aerodynamicist now also ship with Enduro Bearings straight from Hunt so it may be they've already addressed the older complaints on bearing life, and I assume you could upgrade the others to the same if and when needed?
Just my personal experience, I'm sure some direct brands will offer more for less but I've been happy with my purchases.
I’ve got the 50mm Hunt Road wheels (not the super fancy ones - the normal ones) and the freehub is biblically noisy. I’ve had Hope pro4 and pro5 and they are quiet in comparison. No bell required to scatter pedestrians everywhere and I can hear them through sound cancelling headphones
I went 9velo on a recommendation of a mate in the bike trade. Tbh I don't love the decals/logos on the rims, but apart from that they are flawless for the money.
Not 50mm deep, but lighter, more comfortable and make a fantastic proposition for any bike being ridden on a mixture of roads and up and down big hills... I've got a brand new pair of these for sale for way less than half price (PM me if of any interest)... https://bicyclingaustralia.com.au/gear/tested-reynolds-ar25-db-carbon-wheelset/
Personally I don't think deep section works on bikes being ridden over rougher surfaces, the downsides outweigh the benefits. If it's road use only, then obviously a deeper wheel brings aero benefits, though on a Gravel bike those benefits aren't as great as on a dedicated road bike anyway.
@FuzzWuzzy - did you pay import duties?
No, they're all covered by the seller (e.g. the Elitewheels have an option where you pay £70 for postage & import and they pay it on your behalf, you can opt for normal delivery and pay the import yourself but it's more expensive. All the prices I've given include the import & delivery costs).
Personally I don't think deep section works on bikes being ridden over rougher surfaces
I get your point, but deep wheels look faster and that’s all that matters 😂
Those 9Velo are more affordable with the Hambini discount. However the fact you can get a Hambini discount IMO means his reviews probably are not quite as independent as he says
Personally I don't think deep section works on bikes being ridden over rougher surfaces, the downsides outweigh the benefits. If it's road use only, then obviously a deeper wheel brings aero benefits, though on a Gravel bike those benefits aren't as great as on a dedicated road bike anyway.
I mean it's mostly about looks for the majority of us. Apart from weighing slightly more and I guess having more surface area for rock strikes I don't think there's much of a downside. Unless you go for something with carbon spokes or maybe 60mm+ deep I don't think they're any less comfortable a ride
Those 9Velo are more affordable with the Hambini discount. However the fact you can get a Hambini discount IMO means his reviews probably are not quite as independent as he says
He does seem to have gone from a relatively impartial "this is rubbish, and here's why" to "This wheel/frame/fork is cheap and fantastic, and here's where you should buy it from so that I get a kickback".
Every time I switch wheels I need to tweak the calipers ever so slightly to stop brake rub
To be fair that is a very good point! Having SRAM XDR it removes the cassette trimming issues (hopefully) but not the rotor alignment
You can get disc rotor shims (assuming 6-bolt, not looked at centrelock) to adjust the position of the rotors so you don't need to tweak the caliper position. It doesn't help any derailleur alignment though.
I have used Syntace shims, but I think I saw some on the Superstar website last time I was looking.
Disc Spacer Set – Superstar Components
£10 for 8x 0.2mm shims
I get your point, but deep wheels look faster and that’s all that matters
I mean it's mostly about looks for the majority of us.
Cyclists in vain self realisation on internet forum shocker!!! 🤯
But does explain why I can't sell these REALLY effing good wheels, brand new in box, for way less than half price even...
Just bought a pair of Scope R4.As from Tredz, £725ish after Blue Light discount as well. They were up against similar Hunts, but tales of problems with Hunts, the Scopes having no weight limits (I'm a big lad), and the Scopes being rather pricier before reductions and so hopefully nicer overall swung the balance.
https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Scope-R4-A-Disc-Carbon-All-Road-Wheelset_276921.htm?sku=1031166
Although I have bought them partially because they're sold as able to deal with poor tarmac/light gravel well, which may swing them too far back to where the OP is starting to be appropriate. Also chose the all-road "A" version over the plain R4 as I like to use 32mm tyres, and the As are wider internally.
No idea what they're like to ride, haven't put them together yet, the bits only arrived today. The freehub is mentioned as quite loud, but spinning it up in my hands it seemed quieter than the Novatec hubs the bike came with, so it might all depend on what you're used to.
One of my bikes came with Scope R4.A's, nice wheels apart from the ridiculously loud freehub - it's a noticeable step up from any other wheel I've used. They're embarrassing to use on a group ride and just plain annoying on a solo ride (maybe I freewheel too much...), mine have languished in my garage for a few months as a result.
That said I was amazed at the difference packing my ICAN wheels with grease made (I'd mostly read it only makes a minor difference but they're near silent now) so need to try it on the Scopes (unfortunately as I hung them up part of the freehub internals fell out and went under a pile of crap I've not had the motivation to sort through to retrieve the parts yet...).
Don't know how loud the hub is yet - went to get them fitted up and on the bike this afternoon and discovered my tubes' valve stems are too short #facepalm
Spinning it by hand in the air, it sounds much the same as the Novatec one on the OE wheelsbut maybe a little "whizzier". I quite like a loud-ish freehb on shared-use paths, it often saves using the bell...
