Gravel bike road wheels and tyres?

Timely. GCN just did a video on swapping between gravel and road wheels & tyres

Tyres alone will make a noticeable difference. It's all a balance of durability vs weight vs application. A minimally treaded, 32mm road tyre run at 50-60 psi will feel quick and be fine for light "away from tarmac" use. Just avoid anything ultra-light or "race spec".

Firstly, would it make any tangible distance,

GCN did a moderately scientific test, (using a power meter) a few days ago comparing gravel and road bikes then the gravel bike with the road wheels on it. Road bike was 3km per 100km faster than full gravel and 1.5km per 100km gravel/road wheel combo. This was the average over 150, 300 and 400(!) watt tests so less effect at normal human speeds.

TLDR - your improvement upto 1.5km per 100km travelled, mainly if you're really cracking on.

It might feel faster but in actuality not a massive difference. 

edit - yeah, I was talking about exactly that GCN video up there. 🙂

I regularly switch between gravel bike with chunky tyres, gravel bike with fast gravel tyres, gravel bike with road tyres and pure road bike with pure road race tyres. I could dig through Strava but, from my recorded notes around average speed, the gravel bike with road tyres becomes much closer to the pure road bike than the gravel bike with fast gravel tyres. And miles faster than with chunky gravel tyres. Hope that makes sense!

I'm thinking of getting a power meter for the gravel bike, so could do some proper experiments then 🙂

Edit... crank length and position is the same on both bikes, although gravel bike has slightly wider handlebars. Gearing is also similar (gravel a bit lower overall). And I wear the same kit on both.

Chuck a wider road tyre on the rear for comfort, but on the front, use a road tyre that nicely transitions from the wheel rim to the sidewall for the aero benefits.

They aren't suitable for my VEL 50RL wheels (which have seen so little use since finally fitting them in June after buying them in Nov '22), but on my old Fulcrum/Hunt setup, I used to use a 23mm GP5000 up front and 32mm on the rear of my very upright Cube Attain GTC Disc. Because the weight was more heavily biased towards the rear despite a -30 Deda stem due to the 610mm stack, the narrow front tyre wasn't uncomfortable, probably in part due to the Primavera carbon bars (which I've never wrapped in tape because it is so comfy).

I actually watched the GCN video last night, and i figure there is some real world benefit, at the bare minimum it prevents me from buying a new bike 😛

Something with DT 350 hubs like your 1600's.

Then your discs are less likely to rub when you switch them over and you'll be able to just switch your cassette over by pulling the free hub off and transferring it.

Give me convenience or give me death!

thats a good shout, same hubs will make alignment morel likely. i havent had issues with mtb wheels..... but not a bad idea regardless. and ill be running a different cassette anyway

Same hub internals also means you can cannibalise one set to keep the other set going if you need to in a pinch.

I run 2 sets of wheels on my gravel bike. A 650 gravel tyre setup and a 700 road tyre. Different hubs and I have to change the limit screws and indexing when I swap. My next purchase is a 650 set of wheels on the same hubs to eliminate this as it's a pain in the arse

I had spare wheels on my plug. Quick wheels and tyres feel quicker, so it’s worth it. It also
Means your gravel tyres can be more gravelly.
I went back to GPS5000 and latex from cheaper tyres and tubes and the difference was massive. Get good tyres.

Hunt 40mm carbon with 30mm pro one/gp5000 tubeless works for me. 11-34 cassette on the back same as the gravel set. I've found no need to adjust. 

Road wheels are on more often than gravel as I commute with them. Fixed a rare puncture yesterday in the office with a plug.

Makes a big difference to feel and perceived effort compared to fastish Cadex AR40s on the OE Revolt CXR2 wheels, which are a similarish weight.

Noisy freehub mind..

I run 2 sets of wheels on my gravel bike. A 650 gravel tyre setup and a 700 road tyre. Different hubs and I have to change the limit screws and indexing when I swap. My next purchase is a 650 set of wheels on the same hubs to eliminate this as it’s a pain in the arse

You can tune cassette position with shims. 35 mm ID centerlock shims IIRC.

I've done this successfully before.

I used to have 2 sets of wheels for my gravel bike with different hubs and it was such a PITA I now have a gravel bike and a winter road bike. I know changing the indexing and caliper aren’t big jobs but if you don’t get them right each time it can make the ride less fun.

I really agree with his comments about bike feel, agility and responsiveness are really important to me. I had a Tarmac then switched to a Defy which is considered to be a fast endurance bike but I found it dull for out of the saddle blasts. The Defy was similar to the Tarmac in all other aspects. I've now switched the Defy frame with a TCR frame and I'm happy again. I really like that snappy feeling and it's the same with XC and 'fast' gravel bikes.

You can also tune rotor position with shims to prevent rub. I have three sets of wheels for my bike - Roval c38 carbon road winter with 350 hubs, DT Swiss HEC 1400 carbon road summer with 240 hubs and DT Swiss GR 1600 gravel with 350 hubs. I have shims on two sets of them,  rotor rub is eliminated and indexing is fine also.

I ride the gravel with 40mm Challenge Getaway tyres on and they feel slower on the tarmac, they are heavier and not at all aero though. They are certainly very comfy.