Thanks to new bikes with gobs of tire clearance, gravel tires are on their way up. As in size. These larger tires have a number of benefits, but they also need a stable platform to mount to, in order to do their thing. Easton has already offered an answer with their EA70 AX and EA90 AX wheels, but now those platforms are getting a carbon upgrade.
Still sitting at the top, the EC90 AX wheelset combines their Vault road hub with a wide carbon rim to tackle demanding gravel adventures. The prototypes of these wheels have already been race proven with Amity Rockwell taking the win at the DK200. Optimized for tires that are 35mm and larger, the rims measure 24mm internally which is 1mm smaller than their aluminum counter parts. Due to the increased thickness of carbon rim beds however, they’re 31mm wide externally which is 2mm wider than the aluminum model.
Laced to their Vault road hubs with 60 point/6° engagement, the EC90 AX wheels use 24 Sapim straight-pull spokes front and rear with a 3x lacing pattern. The freehub has options for SRAM XDR, Shimano, and Campy cassettes and the endcaps are convertible to all major standards without tools. Naturally at this point, the rims are tubeless ready. Covered by their Carbon Confidence guarantee (2 year, no questions asked replacement for the entire wheel), the EC90 AX wheels will sell for $1,549.99.
EC90 AX Wheelset Spec:
- WHEELSET WEIGHT – 1470 g
- FINISH – GLOSS CARBON / VINYL DECALS
- TYPE – TUBELESS READY CARBON CLINCHER
- RIM MATERIAL – CARBON
- RIM DEPTH – 21MM
- INTERNAL RIM WIDTH – 24MM
- EXTERNAL RIM WIDTH – 31MM
- SPOKES – SAPIM STRAIGHT-PULL DOUBLE BUTTED
- SPOKE PATTERN – 24 / 3X
- BRAKING SURFACE – DISC – CENTER LOCK ROTOR MOUNT
- NIPPLE TYPE – DT EXTERNAL ALLOY
- FRONT/REAR HUB – EASTON VAULT CENTER-LOCK 12X100 / 12X142
- ENGAGEMENT – 60 POINT, 6°
- BEARING TYPE- SEALED CARTRIDGE BEARINGS
- FREEHUB COMPATIBILITY – SHIMANO, XDR, CAMPAGNOLO
Running the similar rims but different hubs and spokes, the EC70 AX wheels add 45g to the weight of the EC90 AX. That’s due to the addition of four extra spokes per wheel with a 28h 3x lacing pattern…
…and the use of Easton’s X5CL hub instead of the Vault road hub. The X5CL will still allow you to run QR or thru axles and the ability to change freehubs. And the change results in a pretty hefty price decrease to $1,199.99 for the set. Note that the EC70 AX is covered by the standard Easton warranty, not their Carbon Confidence program.
EC70 AX Wheelset Spec:
- WHEELSET WEIGHT – 1515 g
- FINISH – GLOSS CARBON / VINYL DECALS
- TYPE – TUBELESS READY CARBON CLINCHER
- RIM MATERIAL – CARBON
- RIM DEPTH – 21MM
- INTERNAL RIM WIDTH – 24MM
- EXTERNAL RIM WIDTH – 28MM
- SPOKES – SAPIM STRAIGHT-PULL DOUBLE BUTTED
- SPOKE PATTERN – 28 / 3X
- BRAKING SURFACE – DISC – CENTER LOCK ROTOR MOUNT
- NIPPLE TYPE – DT EXTERNAL ALLOY
- FRONT/REAR HUB – EASTON X5 CENTER-LOCK 15X100/QR OR 12X100 / 12X142/QR
- BEARING TYPE – SEALED CARTRIDGE BEARINGS
The idea of exploring the backroads to Squamish and Whistler has long been of interest to us, and the opportunity to take these new AX wheels on a Lower Mainland gravel adventure was hard to pass up. With the help of Indian Arm Auxiliary (Your Friends with a Boat) and some recently gathered local knowledge, we took to the gravel roads of the Musqueam and Squamish First Nations to complete the Vancouver – Indian Arm – Squamish – Whistler journey.
