Enve G23 wheelset

Think carbon fibre wheels and it's highly likely Enve is one of the first brand names that springs to mind. The US company knows carbon wheels and has put all its expertise into its first dedicated gravel design, these G23 wheels. They provide phenomenal performance, low weight and impressive durability, but you'll max out your credit card to purchase them.

• Pros: Weight, strength, ride quality, looks, reliability, fast
• Cons: Expensive

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Enve has built its reputation on carbon fibre wheels since it first launched in 2007 (when it was called Edge Composites) and with the new G Series, it's bringing this experience to the growing gravel and adventure bike market. It is offering the G27 (650B) and G23 (700C) using a rim profile optimised for wide tyres and a unique hookless profile intended to minimise pinch flats.

What are they like to ride?

Before we get bogged down with all the nitty-gritty spec details, let's talk about what they're like to use. No doubt about it, you feel pretty special slotting a £3,100 pair of lightweight carbon fibre wheels into your bike. Very special indeed.

With 23mm internal width rims designed for gravel tyres up to 45mm, they're perfect for the sort of tyre widths that are proving popular on gravel bikes. I opted for 40mm Bontrager tyres, my preferred width for combining road riding and an assortment of gravel paths, forest tracks, bridleways and towpaths. I've swapped the wheels between various test bikes but they mostly resided in my Fairlight Secan.

And colour me impressed! Enve says it has developed the shape and carbon layup of the rim to provide a bit of give when riding over rough ground and it really does seem to deliver on its promise.

Despite the obvious vibration-damping qualities of a low pressure 40mm tyre, the Enve rims appeared to provide a bit more 'give' when barrelling along boulder and gravel-strewn paths and gulleys compared with many other wheels I've tested.

They just seem to help take the edge off the hits, whether it's riding along washboard surfaces, hard gravel tracks or taking on bigger impacts from rocks or roots.

It is possible to make a carbon fibre rim too stiff, but Enve gets it right with these. Build a really stiff rim and it'll give a harsh ride feel that can result in less control and more fatigue. The ride quality on offer here is exceptionally good, the rim helping to dissipate energy to generate a smoother ride with more control and less fatigue.

Comfort and fatigue are important factors when riding on rough gravel roads over very long distances; I can see the Enves being a good choice if I was doing a long-distance gravel event like Dirty Reiver.

A gravel wheelset also needs to be tough. Given how light the rims are, a claimed 330g, I was initially sceptical they would have the desired durability. But they've taken everything I've thrown at them. Granted, I'm not a heavy rider and I'm not prone to breaking kit, but it's testament to how strong they are that they've coped as well as they have. I've not had to get the spoke key out after several months of testing either.

Over the several months I've been riding these wheels I've basically punted them into every rock, hole and root going, but the impact resistance has been highly impressive. I've run the tyre pressures deliberately low, too, just to explore their limits, but even with the rim noticeably bouncing off rocks, I've failed to incur either a flat tyre or an expensive repair bill.

Let's have some details then

The rims have a profile unlike any other I've seen, and here we see an influence from the company's mountain bike rims. Pinch flats (pinching the inner tube or tyre sidewall between the ground and rim) is a common cause of punctures and mechanical failures according to Enve, so it has developed a rim profile to combat that.

Most carbon rims are shaped to reduce drag – these are not. Instead, a bell-shaped profile with a 4.5mm-wide bead is designed, in tandem with the rim shape and carbon fibre layup, to absorb and disperse impact energy better, leading to a claimed 60 per cent reduction in pinch punctures. This profile avoids adding extra material and bumping up the weight, so they can be strong and light.

The wider bead is intended to minimise rim damage if you smash into a rock really hard. It also decreases the risk of flatting an inner tube, or – in a tubeless setup – slicing the tyre sidewall. I certainly suffered no flat tyres during testing, but I doubt that's an indicator of anything other than sheer good luck.

"The inspiration for the Wide Hookless Bead technology comes from sitting on the side of the road or trail fixing flat tires. We understand intimately that nothing puts the damper on a fun ride like a flat tire. In gravel, the problem is exacerbated given that tire volumes and tire pressures are lower than you have in mountain biking, but with gravel, the bikes have little to no suspension. The Wide Hookless Bead technology can eliminate pinch-flats and allows riders to run their perfect tire pressure," explains Enve design engineer Clint Child.

Wide rims are on-trend now to meet the growing appetite for wide tyres, not just on gravel bikes but all road bikes. These measure 23mm internally with a 31.5mm external width and are 25mm tall. They're optimised for 33-45mm tyres but accept up to 50mm. There's also nothing stopping you slinging on a 28mm slick tyre.

The 650B G27 rims are even wider, with a whopping 27mm internal width.

Like all Enve rims, these incorporate the company's moulded spoke hole technology (most carbon wheel rims have nipple holes drilled) using proprietary spoke nipples. Each rim is laced to Chris King R45 hubs with 24 Sapim CX Ray spokes in a two-cross pattern. You can also opt for Enve or DT hubs if you prefer, or buy the rims on their own and build up with any hub you prefer.

The Chris King hubs have been reliable during testing, only needing one touch of bearing preload adjustment, which is an easy job. Installing the rear rotor was a bit of a pain compared to most other hubs as you need to remove the adjusting clamp first. The hubs are compatible with 12mm thru-axles and quick release.

As well as being strong and tough, the wheels are also seriously light. Enve claims 330g for the rim, which with the Chris King hubs and Sapim spokes produces a complete wheelset weight of 1,346g (front 614g; rear 732g). That's impressively light and surpasses some of the lightest carbon road wheels designed for mountain climbing and weight weenies, like the stunningly expensive Lightweight Meilenstein C Disc wheels (£4,800 and 1,370g).

The closest to them in weight – and they were smaller 650B wheels – were the Roval CLX 32 Discs at 1,350g (£1,850). And for reference, at the other end of the price scale are the Hunt 35 Carbon Gravel Disc X-Wide wheels at £899 and 1,548g.

Installation

I found tubeless installation a breeze, using the supplied rim tape and tubeless valves. The tyre bead is retained in the rim not by a hook but by a moulded bead channel which locks the tyre bead into place. This appears to ease getting the tyres on and off, and I managed to get them inflated with just a regular track pump.

Air retention has been excellent, with only occasional topping up of pressure needed. I've also had no issues with the tyres unseating or burping air at lower pressures.

> How to choose your tyre pressure

Because of the hookless bead profile you might want to check that the tyres you are using are okay. I've used several with no issues at all.

Conclusion

The performance of these wheels is highly impressive. They're ridiculously light, bloody tough and with a hint of damping that makes them ride like a dream.

But the price makes them the stuff of dreams, too. It does reflect the US production and investment by Enve, and the lifetime warranty, but there is no shortage of good wheels on the market at much cheaper prices.

Does the performance justify the price? The ride quality, toughness and low weight certainly put them ahead of most of the rivals, but you need some serious disposal income to afford them. If you want the best, though, you better start saving.

Verdict

Seriously impressive wheels with low weight, toughness and lovely ride quality. But then you see the price...