Testing wheels in isolation can be tricky. It's possible to comment on the ride quality, which may be good - but without the benchmark of near neighbours it's impossible to score them very accurately. That's why we've run this group test with seven pairs of similarly specified wheels ridden headto-head over the same terrain for the same amount of time and distance.
In order to make the comparisons as direct as possible, all wheels on test have 24mm or wider internal- width with carbon rims. The same tyres were used throughout: Pirelli 40mm Cinturato Gravel RC, which were run at 25psi on the front and 29psi on the rear.
Terrain was mixed, with some road and road-climb work, fire roads and rough tracks with some more technical sections thrown in. Total distance for each was 500-600km with additional break outs for some finessed head-to-head before arriving at a final decision.
On gravel, comfort is a defining feature and so I considered three levels of trail feedback and how the wheels dealt with each. 'Buzz' is regular surface 'noise' that's minimal and consistent in feel; 'chatter' refers to rougher, more uneven surfaces; and judder describes irregular trail features that are large enough to put you off your pedal stroke or deflect a wheel from its straight-line action.
It's no surprise that deeper rims tended to be stiffer while shallower types were more comfortable. Interestingly, though, light weight wasn't the be all and end all...
Your tester
Russell Burton
● Experienced cycle photographer and keen gravel and MTB rider Russell is also a regular bike-kit tester for Cycling Plus and our sister website BikeRadar.com.
Tyres used
Pirelli 40mm Cinturato Gravel
RC £64
This story is from the June 2023 edition of Cycling Plus UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 2023 edition of Cycling Plus UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Objectives of desire
Ned ponders his affection for cycling on a ride from London to Minehead
ONE OF A KIND
Project One combines premium-quality customised bikes with an endless palette of colours and designs from the creative experts at Trek. It's a winning formula. Here's why...
Trek Checkpoint ALR 5 Driftless
£2,700 Aluminium bike-packing-friendly gravel bike
Gower Peninsula, Wales
A rider powers up the Cefn Bryn ridge on south Wales' Gower Peninsula.
Slow commotion
Downing Street targeting 20mph zones is attacking popular policy
Black Series Multistrada
£5,629 British designed, all-road speedster
Helmetcam militia
Hey, bad drivers! Want to be in the movies? Then smile as you close-pass us while on the phone
Rolling horizons
2018 Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas tells us about the joy of discovering new routes
ENTER THE DRAGON
It's one of the toughest sportives in the UK, but did climb-loving cycling author Simon Warren have the legs to slay the beast of a sportive route in 2023?
LOFTY GOALS
Higher, harder, longer... the road-sportive calendar gets ever more extreme. Here are 10 of the toughest single day rides to enter for 2024