The Search for Perfection Continued: Gravel!

Information : 185cm, 78kg. Race and gravel bike, in the winter some mountain biking. Shifting more and more to graveling in the Eifel region. (8,000~10,000 kms per year). Flat roads around my home, but in the hills and mountains as much as possible (100,000 and 130,000 meters of altitude per year).

Specifications

Bike

Frame : Niner BSB 9 RDO 58 cm (red/black & yellow/green)

Groupset : GRX Di2 11s shifters, 48/31 GRX crankset, Shimano Ultegra 6870 Di2 11s, RX rear derailleur

Gadgets : Garmin 1030

Wheels-1

Rims : Light Bicycle WR38 Disc Hookless 700C

Hubs : DT Swiss 350 Classic J-Bend 15/100mm & 12/142mm 28H/32H

Spokes : Sapim CX Ray aero

Nipples : Sapim brass black

Tires : 40mm Conti Terra Speed Protection TLR; Conti Terra Trail (winter); 40mm Pirelli Cinturato Gravel Hard Terrain. All tubeless.

Wheels-2

Rims : Light Bicycle WR50 Disc (internal nipples, angled holes) Hooked 700C

Hubs : DT Swiss 240 Classic J-Bend 15/100mm & 12/142mm 24H/32H Centerlock Shimano 11S Slik Graphics stealth decals

Spokes : Sapim CX Ray aero

Nipples : Sapim brass black

Tires : Schwalbe Pro One 28 and 30 mm tubeless

The WR50 aero set triggered the desire for the next search: perfect carbon gravel wheels.

The first (and long!) search for the perfect road wheels ended with purchasing a very nice WR50 aero set, very suitable for the windy flats around my home and perhaps some light gravel. The set triggered the desire for the next search: perfect carbon gravel wheels. This time, however, the search was very short: WR38 rims were the basis. Hans van Leeuwen, my local wheelbuilder, from http://www.maatwielen.nl, suggested a nice set of DT Swiss 350 hubs. Since the WR38s are intended for (heavy) gravel use with wider tires and even lower pressure than the WR50s, I chose hookless rims.

And yes, this set did not let me down either. Setting up tubeless was as easy as it gets and the 40mm wide Conti Terra Speed Protection TLR (or recently the 40mm wide Pirelli Cinturato Gravel Hard Terrain) popped in the hookless rims with just a few puffs from the floor pump. Adding sealant was only needed for leak protection. All was very similar to my earlier WR50 experience, so no surprises there. The rims have the perfect internal width of 25mm and accommodate 40mm gravel tires nicely. I estimate that they would work well for a range of 30-50mm wide gravel tires or, if you want, work well as an aero road set (or a wheelset with a WR38 in the front and a WR50 in the rear) with smaller tires as well (please note that I would then switch to hooked rims as narrower/road tires may need higher pressures).

I’m very pleased with my perfect setup of the WR50 for the road and the WR38 for gravel.

The wheels are light and accelerate easily in climbs. During descents, they are bombproof as if on rails. Even in crosswinds and on connecting pieces of tarmac they are a bit more aero compared to my previous aluminum low-profiled rim sets.

Ever since I received them (mid-2021), I did not spare the wheels and they did not let me down in Italy (summer 2021), during numerous weekend Eifel adventures (2021, 2022), and during spring break-2022 while graveling on the beautiful island of Gran Canaria.

Their maiden voyage was in our 2021 summer holiday in Italy where we rode on MTB trails and other unpaved tracks to several desolate mountain cols, usually starting and finishing on normal roads. The wheels took it all in stride. On the way back from Italy, we stopped for a few days in German Black Forest where there is excellent and easy-going gravel (wide jeep tracks).

The terrain in the Eifel (where we had our caravan from early April till late October) can be unforgiving. The trails vary widely from perfect silky-smooth gravel via intermediate jeep trails all the way to almost rocky single tracks that should be ridden on an MTB instead of a gravel bike without suspension. In 2021, I did a dozen or so of Greifel rides, as I call them on Strava in 2021 and no less than 25 Greifel rides in the 2022 season on the bombproof WR38s. What a joy to ride in this terrain on these wheels. There are so many roads to choose from and at every ride I managed to ride a few new tracks. This seems to be unique as I have ridden a few other areas in Germany but nowhere else are there so many roads to choose from. With so many options, it is never crowded and other hikers or bikers I encounter are always relaxed and friendly.

Gravelling Gran Canaria has been on my list for a long time. Since we now have our Buxumboxes for flying our bikes safely, we could finally complete several roads and trails that we have been eyeballing from in previous road-only trips. The terrain was even more challenging than the Eifel. Several tracks were unsuitable for the gravel bike and we had to drag, push and shove the bikes a few times. Having a light frame and light wheels makes that easier too! Other rides were magnificent with breathtaking views over the island or even to neighboring Tenerife.

Altogether I’m very pleased with my perfect setup of the WR50 for the road and the WR38 for gravel.