The latest example? Cannondale Factory Racing (CFR) showed up to the Nové Město World Cup with a LAB71 Scalpel sporting a set of Reserve 48|53 GR aero carbon gravel wheels. Deep-section gravel wheels. On a World Cup XC bike. At one of the fastest short-track courses on the calendar. In fact, these are deeper aero prototype wheels that aern’t even available for gravel bikes yet!
You can see all the details on the RideCannondale Instagram.
Cannondale LAB71 Scalpel with custom unreleased Reserve 48|53 GR aero gravel wheels
According to CFR, they’re the first team to race aero gravel wheels in short track, possibly the first in top-level XC racing altogether.
In fact, the Reserve 48|53 GR wheelset deosn’t even exist yet. We’ve covered their shallower, ultra-wide GR 40|44 aero gravel wheels before. So, we can only assume that they are the same front 27.4mm & rear 27mm internal widths. Reserve already offers the shallower GR rims separately, and lets buyers pick from a couple of different hub options. So, it was likely no issue for the CFR team to lace them in Lefty & MTB rear-specific hubs for XCC racing.
Although, interestingly, these 48|53 GR wheels are laced with 28 spokes front & rear, unlike the 24 on the existing 40|44 GR gravel wheels. So, maybe it wasn’t as simple as you might think!
The XCC race-ready wheels in question are paired with Shimano’s new XTR Di2 drivetrain and an aggressively fast Schwalbe Thunder Burt 2.1 tire setup, which tells you pretty quickly what the goal was here: outright speed.
Prototype Deep Aero Gravel Wheels on an XC Bike?
At first glance, the Reserve 48/53 GR wheels look a little ridiculous on a mountain bike. Deep carbon rims usually belong on aero gravel bikes or road bikes built by people who know exactly how many watts their socks save (I’m that guy… and it’s 2-12 watts, sock-dependent).
But short-track cross-country XCC has changed, and it’s all about the demands of race day.
Teams can’t swap frames between events, but they can change almost everything bolted onto them. Narrower bars, shorter-travel suspension, firmer setups, and even gravel tires are becoming increasingly common. Chris Blevins won the Nove Mesto short track race last year, running a Specialized gravel tire, so the line between modern XC and gravel equipment is already getting blurry.
Today’s short-track courses are smoother, faster, and much more draft-heavy than traditional XC racing. Riders are spending long stretches above 20mph, and once speeds reach that level, aerodynamics start to matter, whether mountain bikers like it or not.
That’s what makes this setup interesting. Reserve didn’t design the 48/53 GR wheels specifically for XC, but modern gravel racing and modern short track are starting to ask for similar things:
- high sustained speeds
- quick accelerations
- smoother terrain
- tight packs
- and efficiency over outright forgiveness
XC keeps drifting toward gravel, gravel keeps drifting toward XC, and somewhere in the overlap, you get bikes like this.
The Wheel Choice Is the Story
The wheel setup itself is the headline:
- unreleased prototype Reserve 48/53 GR aero carbon wheelset
- 48mm deep front rim / 53mm deep rear rim
- ~27mm inner width
- Schwalbe Thunder Burt 29 x 2.1″ SPEED tires
That combination isn’t about surviving rough terrain. It’s built for fast laps, rapid accelerations, and carrying speed once the course opens up.
And visually? It works way better than it probably should.
The deep rims tucked into the LAB71 Scalpel make the bike look equal parts futuristic and slightly questionable – I love it. Plus – it feels pretty close to where elite XC equipment is heading anyway.
Cannondale Factory Racing Nove Mesto Build
Cannondale Factory rounded out the build with:
- Shimano XTR Di2
- Fox Float SL rear shock, with remote lockout
- Fox Transfer SL 75mm dropper
- FSA KFX carbon cockpit
- Prologo Nago 3D saddle
The slammed -12° FSA KFX stem really finishes the look for me. Combined with the deep wheels and low-profile tires, the whole bike gives off a very clear “we are absolutely not wasting watts today” vibe.
Aero Is Just Part of XC Now
The bigger takeaway probably isn’t the wheelset itself; it’s what it says about where XC racing is going.
For years, aerodynamics sat pretty far down the mountain bike priority list. Weight mattered, and suspension needs to be dialed, same with tire choice. Aero was mostly road-bike territory. That’s changing.
As XC speeds keep climbing and courses keep getting smoother, teams are becoming much more willing to experiment with equipment that would’ve looked completely out of place only a few seasons ago.
This won’t seem weird for very long.
Because once a factory team shows up with deep-section gravel wheels and proves they work, somebody else is going to copy it. That’s usually how these trends start. I’m guessing it’s about 3-4 weeks out from hitting your local short track series.
Oh, and also don’t forget, even the shortened Nové Město XCC track has some proper jumps on it. So these prototype gravel wheels are gonna see some serious airtime this weekend!
I bet Reserve’s gravel “Guaranteed for Life” policy is at least a little nervous.
