Deciding on groupset + wheels for a Gravel Bike Build

**tl;dr: Rival AXS + DT Swiss GRC1400 or Force AXS + Corima Essentia 40**

Alright, so I’m in the process of planning out a new build. Talked it through with my LBS and they just came back with pricing for the different options. They’re all under the upper limit I set myself, but I can imagine some other things I would buy with the difference.

Frame is going to be a Time ADHX 45, Finishing kit just some basic stuff in the right size.

Two questions still remain:

Groupset: SRAM XPLR

* Rival
* Force (+300 to Rival)

With just 100 more for Rival, Apex is pretty much out. I know they’re pretty much the same anyways, but I have Rival on my road bike, so that option would match the two bikes spec. However I’m flip-flopping between thinking that Rival is enough and wanting to go for Force, because that upgrade is more than just some weight savings (bleeding edge brakes, orbit clutch). I would most likely go for Force if I were to buy a new road bike within the next couple years, so with that in mind I could already pre-match the spec. (I feel like having matched spec bikes makes it easier to use them equally, instead of just choosing the nicer bike most times which I’ve done over the past year)

Wheels:

* [Corima Essentia 40](https://www.corima.com/road/essentia-40.html)
* [DT Swiss GRC1400](https://www.dtswiss.com/en/wheels/wheels-road/gravel/grc-1400-spline) (+300)

The Corimas are damn sexy and putting them on the TIME frame would make a nice French build. However, similar to the groupset, I got DT Swiss ERC1400 wheels on my road bike, which would give me an interesting option: I could just swap the cassette (including freehub + ratchet) between the wheels and thus have road wheels for the gravel bike. (Though the gravel bike will in total be more expensive than the road bike, so why would I not take the road bike for road riding… Gotta clean the bike anyways). Warranty-wise, they’re pretty similar. The Corimas forbid use of CO2, which is another downside, though it seems like tubeless + CO2 is not recommended anyways.

I tend to play it safe when it comes to buying certain brands. I know that DT Swiss works for me, so I’m tending more towards that option. However the few times where I actually went and tried something different, I was positively surprised. So maybe this is a good option to step outside my brand-loyalty comfort zone.

Weight-weenie-ism is misplaced here anyways, but with Force I would save a good 200g over Rival, but the wheels weigh about the same.

I think in total, I’d go for either Rival + DT Swiss or Force + Corima, which would be the same price.

by Strampeln