Higher end carbon gravel wheels

joeyhalloran
joeyhalloran Posts: 1,077
edited February 2023 in Road buying advice
I am spending more and more time on my gravel bike and have some long-distance events coming up this year, as well as a cyclescheme voucher burning a hole in my pocket. So I am looking to upgrade the stock wheelset on my gravel bike.



I've narrowed it down to 4 options:




Hunt Limtless are the aero wheels, though in their own marketing at 20 mph they'd only save 5 minutes of 200 miles over 'non-aero' wheels so I'm dubious they would make much difference to me, i'm not racing.

The Primes are obviously the cheapest and do look good, but I am hoping these wheels last a long time so I'm happy to pay a bit more for the right thing.

The Scribs and the Hunt 25s look very similar, trading a bit of weight for an extra 1mm of internal diameter, neither of which I'd likely be able to detect.


Any thoughts of advice on any of the above?

Obviously this being BR forum the Hunts will be dismissed straight away :P

Comments

  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,273
    Don't quite get the point of investing in super light wheels for a bike that weighs around 10 kg. I would only consider upgrading the wheels to get more reliable hubs or rims which can take different tyre sizes... all of the above use Taiwanese hubs... you really want the new Hope PRO5 hubs instead
    left the forum March 2023
  • daniel_b
    daniel_b Posts: 11,606
    I think if I ended up wanting to change mine it would be to go to stronger and more robust wheels.

    Don't forget with C2W, the more you spend, the more you save ;)

    You're welcome.
    Felt F70 05 (Turbo)
    Marin Palisades Trail 91 and 06
    Scott CR1 SL 12
    Cannondale Synapse Adventure 15 & 16 Di2
    Scott Foil 18
  • joeyhalloran
    joeyhalloran Posts: 1,077
    I'm well below the weight limit for both and they also come with very good lifetime guarantees so I'm not particularly worried about durability, other than bearing life.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,273
    joeyhalloran said:

    I'm well below the weight limit for both and they also come with very good lifetime guarantees so I'm not particularly worried about durability, other than bearing life.

    I still don't see the point in a 1300g wheelset which then will be dressed with tyres that weigh over a pound each
    left the forum March 2023
  • pippi_langsamer-2
    pippi_langsamer-2 Posts: 1,470
    I've had issues with a set of Scribes I bought for my "all-weather", bike. On my 3rd set now (not by choice). Admittedly, they're not one of their carbon models, but same failure twice, and I fully expect this 3rd set to fail in similar fashion at some point...
  • joeyhalloran
    joeyhalloran Posts: 1,077
    pippi_langsamer-2 said:

    I've had issues with a set of Scribes I bought for my "all-weather", bike. On my 3rd set now (not by choice). Admittedly, they're not one of their carbon models, but same failure twice, and I fully expect this 3rd set to fail in similar fashion at some point...

    Oh very interesting. What is the failure point?
  • pippi_langsamer-2
    pippi_langsamer-2 Posts: 1,470
    joeyhalloran said:

    pippi_langsamer-2 said:

    I've had issues with a set of Scribes I bought for my "all-weather", bike. On my 3rd set now (not by choice). Admittedly, they're not one of their carbon models, but same failure twice, and I fully expect this 3rd set to fail in similar fashion at some point...

    Oh very interesting. What is the failure point?
    Rear non-drive side spoke failure at nipple

    They've been very good in replacing them tbf, but I've not had a spoke break for >20-25 years (!) and countless wheels between then. The latest set they sent me were also obviously a completely different wheelset as the ratchet in the rear freehub was relatively quiet. The original hub and first replacement had the infamous "screaming reels" Big Game screamin' reels sound to them. Either that, or they took it upon themselves to re-pack the hub with different grease. Fork nose....
  • joeyhalloran
    joeyhalloran Posts: 1,077
    Interesting, I wonder if they fitted the floating disc (DT Swiss star ratchet system) in the latest one.

    Do you happen to know which spikes are used in the wheelset you have?

    I contacted them recently to discuss my potential purchase and they said they've recently moved away from Sapim due to QC issues. Which was a suprise to me as Sapim are generally very well regarded.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,273
    joeyhalloran said:

    Interesting, I wonder if they fitted the floating disc (DT Swiss star ratchet system) in the latest one.

    Do you happen to know which spikes are used in the wheelset you have?

    I contacted them recently to discuss my potential purchase and they said they've recently moved away from Sapim due to QC issues. Which was a suprise to me as Sapim are generally very well regarded.

    I have used thousands of Sapim spokes. Never had a single failure…
    left the forum March 2023
  • joeyhalloran
    joeyhalloran Posts: 1,077
    But you don't know at what point scribe are experiencing the failure, it may not be in the field by users.
  • pippi_langsamer-2
    pippi_langsamer-2 Posts: 1,470
    I bought their "Race-D" alu' wheelset. The original set I bought were spec'd with Sapim (CX-Ray I think). They failed at the RNDS nipple. I see they have now spec'd Pillar Wing in the Race-D's. Whether the 2nd pair they sent me had Sapim or Pillar, I don't know but they failed in similar RNDS manner. The set I have now I assume are Pillar, but can't be sure.

    I wasn't best pleased when I received this latest set to see one of the bladed spokes was obviously out of plane by 90 deg. Contacted them to enquire words along the lines of who TF is building these wheels, only to be told to not worry, crack-on riding and their wheels are built by "one of the best"...

    Re the hub, I've no idea. I couldn't be bothered to ask them why the hub ratchet was now so much quieter on my 3rd set. Some love the loud ratchet, others hate it. I didn't mind it if I was on my own, and it was quite handy to give pedestrians a heads-up on quieter country lanes (lol)...
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,273
    pippi_langsamer-2 said:

    I bought their "Race-D" alu' wheelset. The original set I bought were spec'd with Sapim (CX-Ray I think). They failed at the RNDS nipple. I see they have now spec'd Pillar Wing in the Race-D's. Whether the 2nd pair they sent me had Sapim or Pillar, I don't know but they failed in similar RNDS manner. The set I have now I assume are Pillar, but can't be sure.

    I wasn't best pleased when I received this latest set to see one of the bladed spokes was obviously out of plane by 90 deg. Contacted them to enquire words along the lines of who TF is building these wheels, only to be told to not worry, crack-on riding and their wheels are built by "one of the best"...

    Re the hub, I've no idea. I couldn't be bothered to ask them why the hub ratchet was now so much quieter on my 3rd set. Some love the loud ratchet, others hate it. I didn't mind it if I was on my own, and it was quite handy to give pedestrians a heads-up on quieter country lanes (lol)...

    Failure of a spoke at the rim can be a sign that the entry angle is incorrect, which can be due to drilling or the use of a hub which is not suitable to that rim.
    These brands mix and match existing components based on price point, rather than looking at which component is best suited to a particular rim. If you go for Zipp, Mavic or Fulcrum, they will have designed the entire wheel around components that fit.
    left the forum March 2023

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