Lun grapids from winnspace have been on this for almost two years now with no issues whatsoever only upgrade i made was the bearings in which are all kogel
Just got back from five days of gravel riding in and around Flagstaff, Arizona (USA) and the Grand Canyon on a new set of Roval CL carbon rims with 42mm Pathfinder Pro tires. These wheels replaced the OEM alloy rims and 38mm tires. Performance in sand and over "chicken nugget" rocks was much improved, and the higher volume delivered a more plush ride. I was [pleasantly] surprised how much more snappy the handling was with the much lighter rims!
Running 650b mason x hunt with a schwalbe g-one all round 27.5 x 1.5. Don't need anything larger for the gravmac offering in South London. That and i'm literally pushing the very limit of what i can fit under a Caad13...
Good video! I’m now running Panaracer Gravelking SS tires on my Ridley X-fire. I mainly ride local trails with crushed limestone, dirt and gravel. These tires have been great but suffer when the trail gets rained on. The tires are downright slippery in those conditions. Any suggestions for another tire that would be a little better but not too aggressive for road riding?
Fulcrum Rapid Red 3 with Pirelli Cinturato H 40c. Wheels are rocksolid, look great and they’re wide. As Jeremy Powers would say, there’s nothing that you can’t do with 40mm tyres.
Yesterday I bought a new rear wheel (DT Swiss G1800). I hope it will last a bit longer than the ones before... (Fulcrum 7 db, Mavic Allroad, Shimano GRX RX-570)... My front wheel is still a Mavic Allroad... My tire choices are for the warmer period the Tufo Gravel Thundero TR and for the "winter" the Tufo Swampero TR. The Thundero rolls very fast, has very good grip in dry conditions. The Swampero is more for wet & muddy conditions like a typically german winter...
Firstly I'd like to congratulate Alex on finally passing the GCN initiation (gold plating a bike indeed). And secondly, I foresaw this, and have been running a set of wider 29er MTB wheels on my gravel bike for over a year now. Its about time manufacturers produced something we actually need, rather than gimmicks such as suspension forks, dropper posts etc.
I got Syncros Race 24 which I do not think is especially for Gravel considering the price of my bike which is a Scott Speedster Gravel 20 model 2021. On It I got 35 mm tires and it does not fit so much wider tyres then that I think 38 mm max. Well it works well for my type of riding which typically is a mixture of gravel roads and asphalt. If the surface is not to soft and without rocks it works quite well off road. Going where it is really muddy is something that works poorly. When going specific off road I use my sort of cross hybride bike (Trek Dual sport 4) which I recently upgraded with 42 mm tyres going from 38 mm. It will be intresting to see what the extra 4 mm will give me on that bike. Will it be better on gravel and in rough terrain and will it feel slower on the way to work when I only ride on asphalt?? Have no idea if the Bontrager wheels that are on it are made for gravel/off road but that bike is even cheaper then the gravel bike so I guess not. Thanks to Alex talking about tyre width and gravel riding and which tyre width is best to use in the diffrent types of terrain. It was a really good guideline.
3 ways you know you need gravel-specific wheels, (from my experience )1.your rides are way more on mountain open gravel roads. 2. you need and will benefit a lot putting more tyre with ergo check you tyre clearance and then for those over 40 c wheels you will need rims and inner rim space bigger than supported for a riad bike, and less than a MTB. 3. you want to risk less to puncture, thiner rims tned to make snake bite a lot and triple if you go gravelly a few times, and even if you are going tubeless you can have more puncture because tubeless on bigger tyres means less pressure on thin tyres your pressure has to be on a very specific limit to enjoy tarmac and gravel.
I just bought my dream frameset, a Marin Headlands. 650b/700c wheel compatible. 700c x 50mm max. My problem is thus, I want to fit mudguards... I've got a pair of 650b wheels fitted with WTB Horizon 47mm tyres. Looks like 55mm Mudguards will fit perfectly. Or do I buy 700c wheels and hope for the best? Sounds like an argument for 700c v 650b..
Would be really good if for each video GCN would tell us what tyres are being used. Afterall they are (usually!) our only points of contact with the ground.
What’s clamped to Alex’s seat post? I can see he’s moved his tools to a bottle-cage kit rather than a saddlebag. But what’s that tube of Muc-off on his seat post?
Talking Gravel Specific, do you mean MTB wheels as well? I had to shop for a new pair of Gravel wheels and it was easier to look for a compatible MTB wheel set. The MTB wheels I found was a few grams lighter than my stock gravel wheels and fitted 100% on my gravel bike and the gravel tires was no problem getting on.
I have fitted 700cx45 tires on 21mm inner width rims without problems, and have had many long gravel rides in them. I also happen to have some Strava top 10s in gravel segments in my area with that setup. Is there an actual benefit in going up to 25mm inner width?
O formed tyres (narrow rims) give more dampening for uneven terrain, but U profiled tyres (wider rims) give more stability in curvy trails and you can ride them with less pressure. If you ride a hard aluminium frame with alloy seatpost and handlebar, a narrow rims might give you the neccessary comfort. You don't need that with a good carbon frame and a carbon seatpost.
Roval Sl series rims, 45 mm Panaracer Gravel kings, Hunt all season gravel wheels.same tires 38mm and Stan's NomTubes on cross Alpha series. Gravel kings again. They've worked best for me. I do about 10 000 Gravel miles yearly. My. DIVERGE maxes at 32 mm it has gator Gravel kings also ones with no nubs
The push for tubeless is everywhere, why so? Some balance here now as an example, 12,000km last year on mixed road, gravel, dirt track etc, along with tarmac road racing of just short of 4000km, all set ups were inner tubes..... Grand total 1 puncture!! It was a metal shard, pentrated the sidewall, many people haven't got the annual mileage versus risk to run tubeless, it's got andvantages but many disadvantages!
i didn't do enough research and got rickrolled cause of the new 12 speed 1by grx which cassettes don't fit a 11 speed body unlike the road cassettes. Now my wheel choice is limited as there aren't many high profile microspline wheelsets (yet?)
i am not Alex, but let me tell you... if it wasnt for Gravel Riding i wouldnt be Riding anymore at all. Road cycling kinda became boring since i rode all these roads in my area atleast 500+ times and Mountainbiking wasnt my thing at all i actually even like riding mountainbikes but not really doing trails or going to bike parks. I still have a Roadbike but i for sure have more fun Offroad on my Gravel or XC Mountainbike... Especially when Reaching "Kinda" Remote Areas. ("kinda" because i life in germany and there isnt really a "real" big remote area)
Road is a bit like football while gravel is more like soccer. On road you plan your game and if there is a surprise, it's not a good one. On gravel, you see a promising option and go that way, leading you to new adventures.
Is* it* okay*? Only if you want to fit 70 mm tyres on your bike which would negate everything that gravel riding is all about (which among other reasons is being faster than an MTB).
I would love it if presenters stop using catch all words like “better performance” and “better quality” and use more detailed wording as to how it is better.
If you are riding hard on gravel choose alloy; weight is not much greater but durability is. Carbon just isn't up to the rigors of gravel. If you ride your gravel bike on paths only and need to compensate for low self esteem, choose carbon to please your roadie friends.
@ Unreliable Narrator 66 you do realise that Carbon is far stronger than aluminium don’t you? Also carbon doesn’t fatigue. The main drawback is the cost.
All of the above, carbon fragility is a myth really. The only exception is for MTB if you're riding really hard at extremely low pressures, when you risk to bottom out and take a hit directly on the rim. Carbon DO NOT like that and will probably break. Otherwise carbon is far stronger.
Interesting clip, but will be avoiding anything labelled Shimano, after they spat the dummy with Karoo! - it’s only punishing the Shimano users!!! Shame on Shimano.
@@_Zane__ or better yet, send them to GMBN. If it rolls on MTB wheels and tires, clips into MTB pedals, and sits on a dropper post, it's just a rigid MTB with drop bars.
You never mention the environment when choosing between carbon or alloy. Unless at the peak of your cycling profession alloy rims are far more environmentally friendly.
What wheels and tyres do you use for gravel riding?
Lun grapids from winnspace have been on this for almost two years now with no issues whatsoever only upgrade i made was the bearings in which are all kogel
Rene Herse Barlow Pass 38s. Slicks that rip through mud and rocks. Mostly flat here in Chicago though. Tread is rarely needed.
Bontrager aeolus with gravelking 43mm
Just bought an Devinci Hatchet and it came with Easton Aluminum set. Goal is set for the Zipp's 303 Firecrest!! Audios
WTB Riddler 29" x 45 mm... Good allround tyre, and my bike was born with them 😉
Round ones are my preference!
Always a good choice!
You got me. I tried to google them. Blessings:)
In the meantime, let's acknowledge Alex's bike handling skills
That was my main take away too
Stunning drone shots - kudos to the camera man and the editor! I give it a supernice.
Thanks Sunny!
I'm so glad gcn have taken charge on the gravel front. Gmbn is like watching paint dry and i think a dedicated channel wouldn't take off
Just got back from five days of gravel riding in and around Flagstaff, Arizona (USA) and the Grand Canyon on a new set of Roval CL carbon rims with 42mm Pathfinder Pro tires. These wheels replaced the OEM alloy rims and 38mm tires. Performance in sand and over "chicken nugget" rocks was much improved, and the higher volume delivered a more plush ride. I was [pleasantly] surprised how much more snappy the handling was with the much lighter rims!
Running 650b mason x hunt with a schwalbe g-one all round 27.5 x 1.5. Don't need anything larger for the gravmac offering in South London. That and i'm literally pushing the very limit of what i can fit under a Caad13...
Good video! I’m now running Panaracer Gravelking SS tires on my Ridley X-fire. I mainly ride local trails with crushed limestone, dirt and gravel. These tires have been great but suffer when the trail gets rained on. The tires are downright slippery in those conditions. Any suggestions for another tire that would be a little better but not too aggressive for road riding?
Fulcrum Rapid Red 3 with Pirelli Cinturato H 40c. Wheels are rocksolid, look great and they’re wide. As Jeremy Powers would say, there’s nothing that you can’t do with 40mm tyres.
Yesterday I bought a new rear wheel (DT Swiss G1800). I hope it will last a bit longer than the ones before... (Fulcrum 7 db, Mavic Allroad, Shimano GRX RX-570)... My front wheel is still a Mavic Allroad... My tire choices are for the warmer period the Tufo Gravel Thundero TR and for the "winter" the Tufo Swampero TR. The Thundero rolls very fast, has very good grip in dry conditions. The Swampero is more for wet & muddy conditions like a typically german winter...
Why you didn’t covered wheel sizes, 650b vs 700c ?
Why didn't* you* cover* ...
The cinematics are just getting better and better!
Hunt 35 Carbon gravel wheels for me. 👌👌😎 They make a swish woo woo noise.
Alex, great presenter. I don't even turn on closed captioning for him in Texas 🇺🇲
ICAN Cycling G25 650B carbon wheel set with Schwalbe G-One Bite on my Trek Boone. Same 30mm profile and 25mm internal width.
Firstly I'd like to congratulate Alex on finally passing the GCN initiation (gold plating a bike indeed).
And secondly, I foresaw this, and have been running a set of wider 29er MTB wheels on my gravel bike for over a year now. Its about time manufacturers produced something we actually need, rather than gimmicks such as suspension forks, dropper posts etc.
I love my road bike, but for me the big down side is the inability to fit proper full length mudguards.
I never heard of anyone regretting going wider or knobbly-er. I know lots of people who regret going too narrow or slick
They do make riding more comfortable
I got Syncros Race 24 which I do not think is especially for Gravel considering the price of my bike which is a Scott Speedster Gravel 20 model 2021. On It I got 35 mm tires and it does not fit so much wider tyres then that I think 38 mm max. Well it works well for my type of riding which typically is a mixture of gravel roads and asphalt. If the surface is not to soft and without rocks it works quite well off road. Going where it is really muddy is something that works poorly. When going specific off road I use my sort of cross hybride bike (Trek Dual sport 4) which I recently upgraded with 42 mm tyres going from 38 mm. It will be intresting to see what the extra 4 mm will give me on that bike. Will it be better on gravel and in rough terrain and will it feel slower on the way to work when I only ride on asphalt?? Have no idea if the Bontrager wheels that are on it are made for gravel/off road but that bike is even cheaper then the gravel bike so I guess not. Thanks to Alex talking about tyre width and gravel riding and which tyre width is best to use in the diffrent types of terrain. It was a really good guideline.
3 ways you know you need gravel-specific wheels, (from my experience )1.your rides are way more on mountain open gravel roads. 2. you need and will benefit a lot putting more tyre with ergo check you tyre clearance and then for those over 40 c wheels you will need rims and inner rim space bigger than supported for a riad bike, and less than a MTB. 3. you want to risk less to puncture, thiner rims tned to make snake bite a lot and triple if you go gravelly a few times, and even if you are going tubeless you can have more puncture because tubeless on bigger tyres means less pressure on thin tyres your pressure has to be on a very specific limit to enjoy tarmac and gravel.
i almost had a heart attack reading this
I just bought my dream frameset, a Marin Headlands.
650b/700c wheel compatible.
700c x 50mm max.
My problem is thus, I want to fit mudguards...
I've got a pair of 650b wheels fitted with WTB Horizon 47mm tyres. Looks like 55mm Mudguards will fit perfectly.
Or do I buy 700c wheels and hope for the best?
Sounds like an argument for 700c v 650b..
Would be really good if for each video GCN would tell us what tyres are being used. Afterall they are (usually!) our only points of contact with the ground.
What’s clamped to Alex’s seat post? I can see he’s moved his tools to a bottle-cage kit rather than a saddlebag. But what’s that tube of Muc-off on his seat post?
It's a canister of emergency tubeless sealant
Talking Gravel Specific, do you mean MTB wheels as well?
I had to shop for a new pair of Gravel wheels and it was easier to look for a compatible MTB wheel set.
The MTB wheels I found was a few grams lighter than my stock gravel wheels and fitted 100% on my gravel bike and the gravel tires was no problem getting on.
I have Hint aero light and gravel king tubeless 38s
Alex, what size frame are you riding in this video?
Alex, what is that can that is attached to the back of your seatpost?
Tire sealant.
I have fitted 700cx45 tires on 21mm inner width rims without problems, and have had many long gravel rides in them. I also happen to have some Strava top 10s in gravel segments in my area with that setup. Is there an actual benefit in going up to 25mm inner width?
O formed tyres (narrow rims) give more dampening for uneven terrain, but U profiled tyres (wider rims) give more stability in curvy trails and you can ride them with less pressure. If you ride a hard aluminium frame with alloy seatpost and handlebar, a narrow rims might give you the neccessary comfort. You don't need that with a good carbon frame and a carbon seatpost.
What about wheel size?
Handy video, a diagram to show the dimensions referred to would have been useful.
Roval Sl series rims, 45 mm Panaracer Gravel kings, Hunt all season gravel wheels.same tires 38mm and Stan's NomTubes on cross Alpha series. Gravel kings again. They've worked best for me. I do about 10 000 Gravel miles yearly. My. DIVERGE maxes at 32 mm it has gator Gravel kings also ones with no nubs
#AskGCNTech is it ok to use a Cross Country bike Wheelset with narrow rims for my Gravel Bike.
Kind of missed 650b in this video. Was that for a reason?
It's a bullshit wheelsize for gravel bikes. 650 is for MTBs with small frame sizes.
The push for tubeless is everywhere, why so? Some balance here now as an example, 12,000km last year on mixed road, gravel, dirt track etc, along with tarmac road racing of just short of 4000km, all set ups were inner tubes..... Grand total 1 puncture!! It was a metal shard, pentrated the sidewall, many people haven't got the annual mileage versus risk to run tubeless, it's got andvantages but many disadvantages!
Nice work by the camera crew w/ the transition of shots at the same scene.
Whatever wheels you choose you’ll struggle to find anything in stock in the UK at the moment
i didn't do enough research and got rickrolled cause of the new 12 speed 1by grx which cassettes don't fit a 11 speed body unlike the road cassettes. Now my wheel choice is limited as there aren't many high profile microspline wheelsets (yet?)
Alex, what are your thoughts or feelings about gravel cycling? More fun than just road?
i am not Alex, but let me tell you... if it wasnt for Gravel Riding i wouldnt be Riding anymore at all. Road cycling kinda became boring since i rode all these roads in my area atleast 500+ times and Mountainbiking wasnt my thing at all i actually even like riding mountainbikes but not really doing trails or going to bike parks. I still have a Roadbike but i for sure have more fun Offroad on my Gravel or XC Mountainbike... Especially when Reaching "Kinda" Remote Areas. ("kinda" because i life in germany and there isnt really a "real" big remote area)
Road is a bit like football while gravel is more like soccer. On road you plan your game and if there is a surprise, it's not a good one. On gravel, you see a promising option and go that way, leading you to new adventures.
GGCN: Global Gravel Cycling Network?
What if we use 40mm rims?, its okey?
Is* it* okay*? Only if you want to fit 70 mm tyres on your bike which would negate everything that gravel riding is all about (which among other reasons is being faster than an MTB).
What are your thoughts then on 700c vs 650b?
One is a bit smaller
Other one is a bit larger
We did a GCN Tech video on this quite a while ago (maybe it's time for an update!) 👉 th-cam.com/video/aYY7fGpnecE/w-d-xo.html
Nothing about 650b vs 700?
what's the cannister on the back of the bike?
It’s for tubeless wheels
Spray cheese
@@svenfischer9933 but why?
@@andrei0525 it’s a liquid you put into the tubeless tyre so when it punctures, it will (hopefully) seal the puncture.
@@schuerfrau I know what it is and what it does…just why carry a full bottle around? There should be plenty of sealant in the tire already…
I would love it if presenters stop using catch all words like “better performance” and “better quality” and use more detailed wording as to how it is better.
did he say "cup and cone"!!!! surely he meant sealed bearings for the hubs?
Alloy less cost less stress, don’t have to worry carbon life spend and rock hit
Alloy,* less cost,* less stress.* Don't* have to worry ...
Carbon rims on gravel ohhh bougie
And remember, if you run in front of a bike for too long, you'll get tyred.
650b is key....
Durex wheels 🤔
If you are riding hard on gravel choose alloy; weight is not much greater but durability is. Carbon just isn't up to the rigors of gravel. If you ride your gravel bike on paths only and need to compensate for low self esteem, choose carbon to please your roadie friends.
@D. W. carbon also doesnt go out of true like aluminium does.
Have a look at the "Danny MacAskill tests carbon wheels" video
@ Unreliable Narrator 66 you do realise that Carbon is far stronger than aluminium don’t you? Also carbon doesn’t fatigue. The main drawback is the cost.
All of the above, carbon fragility is a myth really. The only exception is for MTB if you're riding really hard at extremely low pressures, when you risk to bottom out and take a hit directly on the rim. Carbon DO NOT like that and will probably break. Otherwise carbon is far stronger.
Pirelli has better tires
First comment 🥶
Tire liners. C’mon man
Interesting clip, but will be avoiding anything labelled Shimano, after they spat the dummy with Karoo! - it’s only punishing the Shimano users!!!
Shame on Shimano.
just call it Gravel Cycling Network at this point and split off another channel for the roadies.
@@_Zane__ or better yet, send them to GMBN. If it rolls on MTB wheels and tires, clips into MTB pedals, and sits on a dropper post, it's just a rigid MTB with drop bars.
You never mention the environment when choosing between carbon or alloy. Unless at the peak of your cycling profession alloy rims are far more environmentally friendly.
: )
That was drawn-out and dull !!!