Christmas gift for the man who doesn’t treat himself: new gravel bike wheels

If you google the most popular Christmas gift ideas for men, you usually find socks, tobacco, beer and other types of alcohol. I mean come on. Surely they’d like something else for Christmas other than drinking and smoking with warm feet. I have another idea.

Swiss wheel manufacturer DT Swiss gave me their new carbon model for gravel bikes for to test out. The wheels come with 30 and 50 mm rim heights. The former are suitable for longer adventures, while the aerodynamically optimised 50 mm rim is designed with sports in mind.

DT Swiss explains that all road wheels with hooked-bead rims are now equipped with wheelsets for gravelly areas. According to the manufacturer, wind tunnel tests show an aerodynamic advantage over rims without hooks.

Wheels

DT Swiss GRC1400 Dicut

Rear wheel, 28"

Wheels

DT Swiss GRC1400 Dicut

Front wheel, 28"

DT Swiss’s GRC 1400 and Schwalbe’s G-One RS

I’ve been using my new wheels for a few weeks now with the tubeless G-One RS tyres from Schwalbe on my Rondo Mylc CF1 gravel bike. As standard, this bike is equipped with Hunt aluminium rims and Vittoria’s Terreno Mix tyres.

Bike tyres

Schwalbe G-One RS

28 x 1.70, 45-622

6

Bike tyres

Schwalbe G-One RS

28 x 1.70, 45-622

6

Immense agile handling comes from a combination of lightweight DT-Swiss wheels designed for speed (rear wheel 880 g, front wheel 650 g) and what Schwalbe dubs its fastest gravel tyres. But bear in mind that in windy conditions, as is often the case in autumn, high 50 mm rims are quite difficult to ride.

There’s a tangible difference in terms of air resistance compared to Hunt’s 25 mm rims. I noticed this on my first ride with the new wheels at the end of September. Gusts of wind hitting you head on can be really dangerous.

Aero+ technology

When developing the new wheels, DT Swiss focused on higher speed, amongst other things. This encompasses translational resistance, sail effect, rotational air resistance, steering torque and rolling resistance. The manufacturer’s umbrella term for this is Aero+.

New carbon mould technology

In conventional manufacturing, the individual components in a carbon rim are produced separately. But DT Swiss points out that this can lead to irregularities during assembly. Thanks to a new method, the Biel-based company is able to produce a more resilient rim.

The outer layer fibres aren’t cut, meaning rims have continuous fibres in areas that take a lot of the stress. This should result in a consistent structure with fewer irregularities.

DT Swiss spokes

DT Swiss originally made a name for itself by producing quality spokes. This was after the company’s founders took over spoke production from the former United Wire Works – Vereinigte Drahtwerke Biel (site in German) in 1994. There are a number of different stages in the manufacturing process of DT Swiss spokes – from choosing the steel alloy to blackening the spokes.

Time to treat him

Quality comes at a price. The new DT Swiss GRC 1400 involve both quality and price. A wheelset for the cost of a complete bike is pretty intense. But so is the calibre of the wheels. When wind isn’t whistling around corners like a hurricane, riding on these gravel wheels is great fun.

Of course, I understand if you can’t or don’t want to fork out 1,700 francs on two new wheels for your husband, boyfriend, brother or dad this Christmas. On the other hand, looking at the current rates for something like the new iPhones puts the price tag of these wheels into perspective. Either way. If you do want to spend that much on your loved ones, I’d imagine bike enthusiasts would rather this than cigarettes, beer or socks. I certainly would anyway.

You see, they’re not just for husbands, boyfriends, brothers and dads; they’re equally suited to bike-fanatic wives, girlfriends, sisters and mums. They’ll enjoy the benefits of these wheels more than beauty products or wellness weekends, which is what usually pops up if you google the most popular gifts for women.

Side note for my family: I have to return these wheels after this review. Just saying. But I’ll take the socks as a back-up gift.