Hi, I'm pretty new to the cycling community and i've bought myself a cube gravel bike which i'm very happy of.
Lately i've been using it on road sessions and i found it a bit heavy/bulky. I felt like it could be more comfortable with road tires (which I have on my commuting 50yo bike that i wouldn't use for long sessions because it's on the verge of death).
So I wanted to know if it was a good idea to buy new wheels to change it into a roadbike for the times I'm not going on adventures?
If it is do you have recommendations? Or even advices on what to look before buying them?
Is it better to buy a """""cheap""""" road carbon bike? (Around 1500€)
by SeluniteClercGhaik
20 Comments
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No clue but that is a very nice setup!
first, determine your current wheelset weight. i’m sure it’ll be available somewhere if it’s OEM equipment.
from there i’d suggest going to a brand like Hunt and then look for wheels 200-300g lighter than your stock wheels.
run something like a 32mm road tire. you’ll probably save 100g or more per tire compared to your gravel tires.
so realistically with that setup you potentially shed 500g or more.
I recently moved to Hunt wheels on all my bikes and love them. My road bike was running ENVE ARs and I wanted something wider and deeper. Was so impressed with the 65mm wheels i purchased from them that I began equipping my other bikes with their wheels whenever they had awesome sales and promos.
Btw – THEY ALWAYS HAVE AWESOME SALES.
i’ve spent no more than $900 fully shipped on any of the three wheelsets i’ve purchased from them.
Hope this helps!
Any used or cheaper set of wheels you can find with the right hubs that fit your bike.
I found a pair of DT Swiss G540 wheels for $100 to use as my road set. I stalled some 30c Continental GP5000 S tires and now my gravel bike is a super fast and nimble road bike.
You could go with a nice wheel set if you want but I don’t see the sense in justifying the price for a wheel set that will only see occasional use. If you go on more road rides than gravel then maybe it’s worth getting a set of mid range wheels. Any reputable brand will be good. Try to get an internal rim width of 23 to 25mm.
I have two sets of wheels with identical cassettes, one with road tires and one with gravel tires, it’s like a brand new bike with road tires on
If you don’t mind changing wheels (3-5 minutes) then having a set of road wheels w/ the same brake discs and cassette mounted is a terrific option. If changing wheels sounds like a pain in the ass to you, a second bike is lovely.
You can find used wheels on FB Marketplace or your second hand sites. You need to match the hub specs (your gravel bike is almost certainly 100×12 front Thru Axle with center lock discs and 142×12 rear Thru Axle with center lock discs, but confirm this. You should be able to find new wheels someone took off a road bike because they were upgrading to carbon wheels easily. About 200€ will get you good wheels from DT Swiss, Fulcrum, Mavic or the like. Then a pair of 28-30-32mm GP5000’s and a pair of TPU inner tubes and you’ll be like 80% of the way to a road bike for about 300-350€ investment. If you then love it but don’t like changing wheels, you can shop for a dedicated road bike and easily resell the cheap wheels.
Check out Light Bicycle.
If you are feeling good on your bike I would get a second wheelset. Either you go for a cheap-ish new bike takeoff in the range of DT Swiss P1850 or GR1800 or you treat yourself to something lighter and more aero.
Once you are used to a wheel change it is a 5-7 minute job at most.
I have a gravel bike and had been sitting for a few years on a similar thought. Last year, I got a pair of Panaracer Gravel King SS and I’m kinda changing that though as they have been better than expected on-road, and solid enough on the gravel bits around me.
Had been doing the WTB ByWays for several years and been mostly fine with those. The weight of those with the wheels had me considering just a second wheel set. But these other tires… yea, I’m happy (and ridding nice and supple too).
A road bike
[GR300 Setups](https://imgur.com/a/vgRxcpW)
I like having just one bike and different wheel sets. Generally, road/gravel geometries are very similar (or at least I like them to be the same).
As far as where to get a wheelset, I’ve had good luck with [Bike Closet](https://bikecloset.com/?s=Enve&post_type=product&et_search=true). My current road wheels are the ENVE Foundation 45 with Chris King Hubs. Originally goes for $2200ish but I got it for $1200. I was also looking at the [Zipp 303 S](https://www.jensonusa.com/Zipp-303-S-Carbon-Tubeless-Wheel) but ultimately went with the ENVE’s.
I like Scribe but it isn’t the cheapest or lightest brand but I have had awesome experience with it.
Wait, does the back rack have the tires pertruding thru it ?
Zipp
I have a gravel bike as well and I put Continental GP5000 in 32mm width on them for road use, feels amazing to ride!
How do the aero bar extensions feel? Are they comfortable? Currently debating between the ones from decathlon and one from profile design but they are three times the price.
I’m running Teravail Washburns and they are great on trail or road. They’re not the best on either, but 100x better than the stock tires that came with my bike.
With your gravel bike being a 2x setup, and having aero bars (what are they BTW?) I don’t think you need a completely separate road bike, but if you have the space and the money … Why not.
And if you just get a basic set of rims for some road tyres, then you’ll feel a bit of difference, but not as much as with a nicer lighter pair.
Just getting the best gravel tyre you can that suits road use as well might be the easiest option.
My gravel bike still spends most of its time on the road, and the challenge getaway tyres I have feel great.
Lots of people seem to recommend the gravelkings as being fast for road use too.
Only reason I got a road bike was because my gravel setup is 1x, so the gearing setup makes a much bigger difference.
After reading all of this I firstly want to thank you all for showing me the path. For now I still live with my mother so I may be going on the “new wheel set” option for now (space issue), I’ll gladly compare all the solutions you brought me here and see what’s the best regarding my budget.
Again, thank you very much <3
I also ride Cube Nuroad. Cudos!
I just got a set of Light Bicycle 700c carbon hoops laced to DT Swiss 350 hubs as my road set and it transformed my bike. I was riding Mason x Hunt 650b alloy wheels before—they’re great for bikepacking and gravel, but these LB wheels feel amazing on tarmac. It’s awesome being able to switch back and forth and have 2 bikes in 1. Now I’m trying to figure out how I can swap my chainring and cassette with my 700c while keeping the same chain on both so I can get better road gearing. The wheels make me so much faster and make holding speed so much easier, so I’m using the higher gears way more. Can recommend enough!