WIDE WHEELS

Looking to upgrade your gravel hoops? We test a bunch from £890 to help you decide what to think about when choosing your next pair

- Russell Burton

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