Gravel is getting faster, they say - and they're not wrong, as I found out the hard way on the recent Graean Cymru race in September.
When it comes to riding faster there's no substitute for training; but it is also possible to buy a little extra speed, and one of the best upgrades can be found in a set of lightweight, aero wheels.
I've been trying out just such a set of wheels over the past six weeks. The Drive G45 CS wheelset from Elitewheels is designed to help you go very fast over rough surfaces, sporting an aero 45mm profile with a gravel-tyre friendly 24mm internal width.
High-end upgrades including ceramic bearings and carbon spokes mean that despite their deep profile, these wheels tip the scales at a little over 1300g - a tempting proposition for any aspiring gravel racer.
Based in the coastal city of Xiamen, Elitewheels have years of carbon wheel design under their belt and a quick browse of their catalogue suggests they're pitching their wheels very much at the premium end of the market.
The Drive G45 are available in two builds, the SS with steel spokes and the CS which sheds some weight and adds stiffness thanks to the use of carbon spokes. The spec includes ceramic bearings and an eye-catching claimed weight, for the carbon spoke version, of 1300g. That's light for any wheelset, but especially impressive for a 45mm deep set with an on-trend wide internal rim.
A set of the Drive G45 CS arrived in the post in early October. I've been steadily testing them ever since, and with a little over 1200km completed it's time for a few thoughts.
First impressions of the wheels are excellent: they look every inch a premium product, with a rich glossy sheen to the carbon weave on the rims and a satisfying musical ping to the carbon spokes when you run a fingernail across them.
The wheels come with a choice of freehub - Sram, Shimano or Campagnolo - which you can select at purchase. I'm running Campagnolo Ekar on my gravel bike and the wheels came fitted with Campagnolo's N3W freehub body in a fantastic purple colour which matches my Hope RX4+ brakes (shame it's not visible once the cassette is fitted!).
The wheels came pre-taped for tubeless setup, complete with lightweight tubeless valves (just 6g apiece), rotor lockrings, spare spokes, and adaptors to allow 6-bolt discs to be used as well as the centre-lock default. The valve caps have built-in slots for removing valve cores which is a neat touch.
I took the chance to weigh the wheels before fitting tyres. Including a couple of wraps of tubeless rim tape they came in at 639g front and 739 rear, a total of 1378g - a little over the advertised 1300g, but still highly impressive.
I'm generally on board with the trend towards wider tyres, after trying 650b 2.1" MTB tyres over the last winter and watching the likes of Lachlan Morton blitz the field at Unbound on similarly chunky rubber. But for these wheels, I decided on a slightly narrower set of Continental Terra Speed 700x40 tyres.
Tubeless installation was no hassle, and the wider rim bed immediately formed an improved tyre profile compared with the narrower, 21mm internal rims I'd been using previously.
I took the wheels for a shakedown spin up a gravel trail I ride regularly; part of the Mourne Way, it climbs gradually for several km with a couple of steep, loose inclines.
As expected, the low weight of the wheels was immediately noticeable with a lively, snappy feel: they spin up fast, and feel eager to accelerate, especially when paired with a light and fast tyre like the Terra Speed. At the end of the trail, I turned the bike around and bombed back down the way I'd come scattering loose grit in all directions - well, they're gravel wheels right?
Apart from the smack of the occasional small rock off the rims and the whirring of the freehub, there wasn't a sound from the wheels: I take this as a good sign, no pinging of under-tensioned spokes settling in suggests a well built wheel.
As far as assessing build quality, I've not had the wheels in a truing stand but I've spun them in the dropouts and checked alignment using the ghetto mechanic technique of post-it notes stuck to the forks. There's no discernible runout; even after 1000km of less than gentle treatment they are perfectly true.
There is one small scratch to the glossy clearcoat on one of the rims, only to be expected on a gravel wheel: apart from that they look like new.
I'll admit that despite the wheels being rated for riders up to 130kg, I was initially a bit hesitant to subject them to some of the rougher sections of trail I'd occasionally frequent. This is my first experience of carbon spokes, but I soon threw caution to the wind: after all, carbon spokes are used on XC mountain bike wheels these days so I figured there's no need to baby them.
I've tried four different tyre sizes on these wheels now, going as big as a 2.1" (53mm) Vittoria Terreno Dry tyre on the front. That's slightly outside the recommended range of 30-50mm, but in reality the only concern I had was the very tight clearance in my fork.
Even here, the wheels had my back: the lateral stiffness of the carbon spokes meant that even under load the wheels didn't flex; if they had, I'd have soon known about it given the wafer thin clearances on my fork and chainstays.
More recently, as I attempt to chase down my annual mileage target with an increasing proprtion of road rides, I've set the wheels up with some Continental GP5000S TR tyres in 32mm size. If I thought these wheels were fast before, well now they absolutely fly - the tyre casing forms an almost perfectly flush profile with the 31mm external rim, and the slick tread and light weight means the wheels spin up to speed and roll faster than ever.
Most impressively, despite the 45mm rim depth these wheels exhibit immense stability in windy conditions. We get plenty of breeze here on the east coast of Ireland, and I'm always wary of being caught out by gusts especially on mountain descents - but the Drive wheels have been virtually immune, for which credit must go to the U shape of the rims.
For my riding, which is a mix of road and gravel typically on the same ride, the Elitewheels Drive G45 tick all the boxes. I may have had early doubts about the durability of carbon spokes, but these have proven unfounded: the wheels have taken everything I could throw at them and are a pleasure to ride on the mix of broken roads, steep climbs, towpaths and forest trails that make up the bulk of my cycling diet.
I've seen one or two other reviewers note that the stiffness of the wheels can lend them a harsh ride feel over rough surfaces; this isn't something I've particularly noticed. A 45mm deep carbon rim is always going to be pretty stiff compared to a shallower rim, but the wider rim width means you can compensate for this by running a bigger tyre at a lower pressure, giving not just extra comfort but better traction too.
I'm more than satisfied with the quality of these wheels, the question is how do they stack up in terms of value to the competition?
Retailing at $1269 (£985 at current exchange rates) these are obviously not bargain basement wheels, but if you look at what you're getting for your money I feel they compare well to similar wheels from the big name brands.
You'll spot a few sponsored riders on Zipp's new 303 XPLR SW wheels, which are both wider at 32mm internal and sport a deeper profile than the G45; but with an RRP of £1600 they're almost twice the price too.
A better comparison might be with Campagnolo's Levante gravel wheelset, a wheel I've ridden and rate highly. These are, again, more expensive than the Elitewheels Drive G45, and despite their shallower, presumably less aero 30mm depth there's a weight penalty of approx 100g. You don't get aero bladed spokes or ceramic bearings either.
Looking closer to home, Hunt's Limitless Aero Gravel wheelset offer a similar package including carbon spokes, but will set you back £1849.
The choice may come down to your own riding style and requirements and, ultimately, budget - but based on my own experience with the Elitewheels Drive G45 wheels, you will struggle to find a comparable wheelset at this price - and especially when you factor in the 18% discount for Sportive.com readers (see below).
The Drive G45 CS are an excellent bit of kit that will instantly and noticeably upgrade your ride.
Perhaps their strongest aspect is their versatility: a lightweight, aero wheelset for road racing and sportives on the one hand, that transforms with a quick swap of tyres into a light, fast and tough wheelset for gravel or even trail riding.
You're almost getting two sets of wheels in one here: an impressive trick, from one very slick set of wheels indeed.
Elitewheels Drive G45 CS Wheelset, £985 from www.elite-wheels.com
Elitewheels are offering an 18% discount to readers of Sportive.com. Use the code SPORTIVE18 at checkout to save $228 / £180.
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