The new Berd Sparrow gravel wheels use their lightweight 2.5g Polylite spokes and a new hubset and rim to create an incredibly light tubeless-ready wheelset. It’s also tough, rated for bikepacking with a 250lb rider+bike suggested weight limit.
The new rim is 25mm wide internally, designed for tires from 28-50mm wide. It gets a unique semi-hooked design, with a mildly rounded bump rather than a hard hook, which they lets it safely hold tires with up to 70psi with 28c tires.
Their Talon Hubs, which use a proprietary hooked flange that the spokes loop around, now come in a gravel/road version with 12×100 front and 12×142 rear hub spacing. They have a 36-tooth dual-sprung ratchet inside and 28 spokes per wheel. Available with XDR, HG and Micro Spline, so it’s compatible with all of the cassettes used on the latest 12-speed GRX groups.
The Berd string spokes are light, but also allow the wheel to be very compliant. They say this makes them very comfortable and improves traction, but they’re still laterally stiff. They’re also very strong, with a higher pull strength than common steel spokes, and have better vibration damping. Geek out on the tech details here.
Put together, the gravel wheels weigh just 1,065g without tubeless tape or valve stems. Or 1,108g shipped with tape and valves installed, ready to roll out of the box. MSRP is $2,195 as described. They’re also available with Industry Nine or Onyx hubs for $100-$200 more, respectively. The I9 option has a Campy N3W freehub option.
