With the advent of pro gravel racing the desire for the lightest wheels possible arises. Companies like Enve have attempted to answer the call with their new G23 gravel rims. They’re super light, weighing in at approximately 335 grams. A daring and bold move to produce a sub 400 gram rim that will stand up to the punishment of races like Dirty Kanza and similar events.
I’ve built several sets of wheels with these rims and I felt that they lacked a few things and could certainly be improved upon. So our house brand of rims Carbon Werx took up the challenge to make a better rim with a few key features that are definite improvements.
Simply put, our goal was an improved version of the G23. We started with the material composition of the rim itself and spared no expense to have it built with best quality Japanese Toray T700 and T800 carbon fibre. This aerospace grade material leaves nothing to be desired. It’s the best carbon fibre currently available and produces the absolute finest quality rims. No contest!
This gave us a finished weight of about 345 grams. Very close to the G23 and a weight that I thought was as low as I wanted to go. The combination of T700 & T800 carbon fibre provides a perfect blend of strength, light weight and necessary compliance. All attributes of a gravel wheel for the serious racer.
I felt that a 25mm deep rim was quite suitable so we stuck with that dimension. It’s worth mentioning that a 25mm deep carbon rim has been used successfully for years within the MTB community for sound reasons. That shallow depth builds up to a very compliant wheel which is necessary for traversing bumpy and difficult terrain.
We opted for a 23.5mm internal width and a 30mm external width. This enables the use of tires from 32mm all the way up to 45mm wide.
The next feature was a no brainer and that was a rim that had an asymmetric compensation. This design feature has been used by numerous rim designers and is nothing new but what a great idea! It shifts the spoke bed over by almost 3mm and helps to equalise none drive and drive side spoke tension. On a rear wheel it makes an enormous difference in improving the disparity in uneven spoke tension therefore strengthening the wheel. It does much the same thing on a front disc wheel as well.
Lastly was the spoke count. Enve only offers a 24 hole version which is quite limiting. It’s naive to think that only 24 holes is sufficient for riders above 160 pounds. Heavier riders will not have enough spokes to provide the proper support needed over rough terrain resulting in a potentially soft and unfocused feel on the road.
So we opted for a much more sensible 28 hole configuration. With the use of extremely light spokes like the Sapim CX Ray or CX Sprint a few additional spokes adds next to nothing to a wheels overall weight yet works to provide much needed additional lateral strength and stiffness. It’s very noticeable when riding a 28 spoke wheel over a tough gravel road as it provides a very lively and dynamic feel. I do a lot of gravel riding and have personally tested these things to arrive at the best possible set up.
A custom build with the Gravel Heads with a 3K exterior weave in glossy finish paired up with Hadley hubs from California.
So what if you weigh 150 pounds and you’d really like to push the envelope with a pair of 24 hole gravel wheels. No problem! All our rims are custom ordered so we’d be happy to build a pair of 24 hole wheels for you if you insist.
We can also offer different spoke counts that utilise a 28 hole rear wheel and a 24 hole front wheel. This is the value of having custom built wheels. There are numerous options! No need to put up with the limitations of off the rack generic builds. Go custom and get what you actually want.
I also recommend mixed spoke models. I often employ the use of Sapim’s CX Sprints for the rear wheel and Sapim CX Rays for the front wheel to fine tune both comfort and speed..
Both are forged Sandvik steel bladed spokes but they have very slightly different dimensions almost imperceivable to the naked eye. The CX Sprint is a bit more robust and therefore is suitable for the rear wheel, providing some improved stiffness and strength. The CX Ray is lighter and works perfectly up front.
This blend creates a very nice ride quality. Ample strength in the rear wheel which supports almost 70% of the riders weight and a tad more compliant up front to give your hands and upper body less of a beating after a long day in the saddle over tough gravel terrain.
The ultimate set of race day gravel wheels sporting Vittoria Terreno Dry tires for low rolling resistance and superb grip.
I also felt it was important to have a conventional external spoke nipple instead of an internal nipple. Why? An internal nipple does add a tiny aerodynamic benefit but this is outweighed by the problem of having to true a wheel or actually replace a spoke. Imagine if you took a tumble in a gravel event and you needed to true your wheel to keep going. If you had an external nipple it would be dead easy. If you had an internal nipple it would be a nightmare. You’d have to remove the tire, then take off the rim tape, true the wheel, retape the rim and remount the tire. This would take a long time even for a seasoned mechanic and if you had a tubeless set up you’d have tire sealant all over your hands. So for ease of a quick and painless repair an external nipple makes much more sense to me. Therefore our new Gravel Head rim sports external nipples.
In summary I feel that the new Carbon Werx gravel rim ticks all the boxes and gives gravel riders a better rim at a much more attractive price as well.
If you want a very light pair of gravel wheels for a competitive edge, just contact me and we’ll begin the process of a custom build suited to your weight and cycling style.
The new Gravel Head from Carbon Werx. An ultra light 345 gram asymmetric carbon rim made from finest Toray T700 & T800 carbon fibre.