Our 25mm Gravel Head rim was a real revelation. Its incredibly light and has an amazing ride quality with the perfect amount of compliance on rough surfaces. I love it but I also wanted to offer a slightly deeper version.
This gave birth to the Gravel Guru which retains all of the notable features of the Gravel Head but with an additional 10mm of depth.
The Gravel Guru from Carbon Werx. Perfect for your gravel adventures and light enough to put you on the podium if racing is your thing.
So why bother with another gravel rim that in many ways is identical to the Gravel Head?
In two words it would be lateral stiffness. A deeper rim will create an increase in lateral stiffness which some riders may prefer and even need.
This will also suit riders who are a bit heavier. One can further fine tune the ride quality of a wheel built with this rim by hub choice, especially related to the size of the hub flange. Hubs like the White Industries XMR and Hadley have very large flanges and will provide a laterally stiffer wheel. Precious watts are not waisted in an overly flexible wheel when a large flange hub like those are used.
The lacing pattern will also influence the degree of lateral stiffness in a wheel. For instance a cross 3 lacing pattern will provide more lateral stiffness than say a cross 2 pattern.
This is all part of the process of a proper and optimised wheel design. I can alter all these parameters to suit the riders weight, cycling style, frame material, and geometry.
Rim depth plays a significant role in this area. So this is the reason for a similarly designed but deeper rim option.
The Gravel Guru is built with aerospace grade Toray T700 & T800 carbon fibre with an asymmetrically compensated spoke bed that shifts the spokes over by 2.5mm. Asymmetric rims are a clever idea that helps balance out the drive side and non drive side spoke tension. An essential move on light carbon disc wheels.
The external rim dimensions are 29mm and the internal width is 22.5mm. Ideally suited for typical gravel tires.
The weight is 415 grams for the rear rim, which is ideal, and the option of a lighter front rim at 355 grams. Available in several spoke counts, though I would highly recommend a 28 spoke wheel for the strength and support needed for worry free gravel riding or racing.
I have built the Gravel Guru with Sapim CX Sprint bladed spokes to great effect. They are plenty light and plenty strong with a small aerodynamic advantage as well.
The Gravel Guru in a 3K external weave and glossy finish. Paired with some DT Swiss 350 hubs for an ideal set of gravel wheels.
So now you have your choice of either a 25mm or a 35mm Carbon Werx gravel rim made of the finest Toray carbon fibre and with several aesthetic options such as a choice of external carbon weaves and a matte or glossy finish, in the spoke count of your choice.
Both rims are priced identically at $579.00 and have an approximate manufacturing time of 4 weeks.
For a complete custom wheel build there are numerous hub options from such esteemed USA makers as Chris King, Hadley, Project 321, Onyx, White Industries and Industry 9.
Give me a call if a custom set of gravel wheels are on your bucket list of must haves. I’d be happy to work out a wheel design that suits you. Our Carbon Werx rims will easily go head to head with virtually any other gravel rim on the market today. In my honest opinion I think we have the best gravel rim to be had, anywhere.