ENVE changed the game at Eurobike last year with their all-new mountain bike rim design by introducing broader bead top profiles and, for more aggressive wheels, a liner to further blunt impacts. The goal is to prevent pinch flats from harsh hits, and in our testing so far, it works. Really well. Now, gravel riders and racers can take advantage of that design, too, and in a lighter, more gravel-specific than the recent 525 G wheels we tested.
The new ENVE G-Series takes the same shaping of the M525, M630 and M635, but sizes it for gravel’s typical tire widths. Two options are available, the G23 for 700c bikes, and the G27 for 650b rigs. The number refers to the internal width, and the “G” for…yep, Gravel. By drastically reducing the likelihood of pinch flats, ENVE says you’re free to run whatever tire pressure you want. So, even though your tire might have a recommended minimum of 35psi, you can safely go lower and still probably not pinch flat. That’s not to say you shouldn’t still pay attention to tire squirm and other things, but if you’re a fan of rock crawler like traction, by all means, please experiment. ENVE’s molded bead track and socket should help the tires stay firmly seated even with a hookless design.
Both use ENVE’s patented molded spoke hole construction, so there’s no drilling to break the fibers, which helps make the rims are stronger than comparable designs.
The 700c G23 is designed for 35-45mm wide tires, and the 650b G27 works with 2.0″ to 2.25″ tires.
With rim weights of 320g (G27) and 330g (G23), complete wheels can be built as light as 1,275g for the G23 with DT240 hubs. That wheelset will run you $2,800 with any axle configuration you want. Swap to Chris King R45 hubs and the weight will be 1,310g for 700c, with a retail of $2,980.
Use the 650b G27 and wheelset weights are 1,300g (DT) and 1,342g (CK). Same prices as 700c wheels. Rims are $999 each if you want to build your own. Available in July, they’ll be making an appearance at Dirty Kanza if you’re there!
