Gravel bike conversion?

[AlanW]

I've had a good idea!

Instead of buying a new gravel bike, just buy a set of gravel wheels for my Kinesis GTD Ti bike.

According to the Kinesis spec, l can fit 34mm tyres (without mudgards) to the frame. So whilst it's not exactly what l was looking for, it's a big step in the right direction.

So far so good, till l started looking at wheel and tyre combinations.

I was looking at the Hunt 40mm carbon gravel wheels, but then l noticed that they are hookless rims. Not really a fan of hookless rims.

So trying to find a 34mm, hookless and tubeless ready pair of gravel tyres, isn't looking good right now.

Perhaps it will have to be a new bike after all

But at least l can say that l tried

 

[fossyant]

Why do you need carbon gravel wheels. You are making this way more complicated than you need to. Just get some wheels and fit knobblies in the flavour you want, tubeless or tubed. You'll probably have a bike a bit closer to a CX bike with more racy geometry.

I did the opposite, bought a CX bike and have spare wheels that turn it into a road bike that goes up vertical hills.

 

[AlanW]

It's an option l guess.

But l was thinking (probably to far ahead) that at some point l might get a gravel bike. Probably the Kinesis ATR and l'd use the wheels on that?

 

[T4tomo]

I think the point was you don't need carbon rims on any gravel bike.

I'd avoid Hunt, they are a triumph of marketing over function.

 

[AlanW]

I think the point was you don't need carbon rims on any gravel bike.

I'd avoid Hunt, they are a triumph of marketing over function.

Fair point, l agree.

As for Hunt wheels, l have a love/hate relationship. Some of the quality on occasions is very suspect, but then the customer service and from my own personal experience has always been very good.
But they have certainly jacked up the prices in recent years and l agree there are better wheels out there for only a fraction more.

 

[fossyant]

Provided you stick to the same standards, any wheels you get can be swapped over to something new, unless the blimmin standards change. PS I don't buy into the road/gravel wheelset, there is no need for specifics. Any wheelset will work. Do bear in mind that off road will cause more paint damage, chips and scratches, especially on wheels, and you may not want that punishment for the road bike. I took off a big chunk of paint off my CX bike's forks under the crown, dragging the bike through a few hundred metres of a bog - you might not want that on your sparkly road bike.

 

[AlanW]

I do take your point regarding stone chips etc, which is why Ti is a safer bet, no paint to chip off. That said, l am worried about dinking the frame if l fall off, which l will probably do!

Correct me if l'm wrong, but aren't gravel wheels much wider across the internal width than conventional road/cx wheels?

 

[T4tomo]

I do take your point regarding stone chips etc, which is why Ti is a safer bet, no paint to chip off. That said, l am worried about dinking the frame if l fall off, which l will probably do!

Correct me if l'm wrong, but aren't gravel wheels much wider across the internal width than conventional road/cx wheels?

Not so much now as "road" wheels are catering for 28-32mm tyres.

 

[AlanW]

Not so much now as "road" wheels are catering for 28-32mm tyres.

Interesting and certainly gives me more options to explore, thanks

 

[fossyant]

I do take your point regarding stone chips etc, which is why Ti is a safer bet, no paint to chip off. That said, l am worried about dinking the frame if l fall off, which l will probably do!

Correct me if l'm wrong, but aren't gravel wheels much wider across the internal width than conventional road/cx wheels?

Not necessarily, given the trend for wide road tyres. I'm running 38c gravel tyres on my 'old school' narrow internal width wheels. I won't also mention they are super low spoke count too (20)

 

[fossyant]

Interesting and certainly gives me more options to explore, thanks

Don't get hung up on it - just get a set of wheels you like. The best option is stick with the same or similar hub, because different hubs have a slightly different cassette offset - be it 0.5mm, you may need to re-index. I've got round this with sets of varying spacers.

 

[PaulSB]

@AlanW I have the ATR V3 which I run as my winter road bike and summer gravel bike. It's superbly equipped for both jobs.

Are you looking for a pair of wheels to swap in and out depending on the ride you have planned? This was my original idea but I eventually went with just the one set and swap tyres twice a year. I run winter road tyres November to March and gravel tyres the rest of the time.

I took this option as it seemed excessive to spend +/-£1200 on spare wheels. The other factor was the pre-ride time to swap over, check the set up etc.

I would definitely go with carbon. I discussed this with my LBS as i was considering cheaper wheels. Their opinion was "Can you afford not to?" The point being at nearly 71 I've invested heavily in a bike focused on comfort, distance, and endurance. The combination of titanium and carbon is a big part of this focus.

 

[AlanW]

I guess really the wider gravel tyres will only be used in the summer on dryer trails or tow path rides. When the winter comes and it gets muddy, the MTB will be used.
Swapping wheels is an easier option than swapping tyres given that l run tubeless on all my bike/wheel combinations.
That said, my Kinesis GTD which has 28mm tyres and mudguards does not get used for six months of the year, as l use my Ridley Noah in the summer. I have two sets of wheels for that bike. Hunt Four Season disc wheels for the winter and Hunt 40mm carbon wheels for the odd summer audax ride.
So maybe l could utilize the Hunt Four Season wheels and put some 33mm tyres on them, at least it saves me buying yet another set of wheels!
But the long term goal is to probably get a Kinesis ATR frame and build up a nice go anywhere gravel bike.

 

[oxoman]

I used some cero ar wheels on my TCX which I converted from CX to gravel with 40s on, wheels did various gravel events including dirty reiver x2 running tubeless with no problems. Wheels still in use. They weighed in less than a set of giant carbon wheels i had at the time. Worth a look at. Since upgraded to a newer bike more for bikepacking and running 45s ish from memory for comfort. Good luck with the upgrade. I agree with the above comments on hunts, see hambinis comments.

 

[biggs682]

Years ago when I was a mere grasshopper if you wanted to ride down a gravel track , canal path , halfway up a mountain, or across the world you went on your trusty ol' steel Dawes Galaxy and then on a Monday you rode it to work.... Oh those were the days