Gulo Composites upcoming XC mountain bikes may be the lightest on the market when they hit with a complete 29er wheelset weight around 1,140g. And for gravel, they have a big new idea around matching rim and tire width for optimized aerodynamics.
Quick refresher: Gulo makes braided carbon spokes in the US, and designs their rims and hubs around these proprietary spokes. They’re lighter, very strong, and add a bit of damping and radial compliance while keeping the wheel laterally stiff. Check our initial coverage of the brand for a deeper dive.
A few years ago, they updated the wheels with lighter, wider rims. Now, it looks like they’re taking it even further and have a new, wider edge to prevent pinch flats. Or, maybe the rim sidewalls are just thinner to save weight, or both. They weren’t giving up all the tech details on these yet as they’re still prototypes, but…
…they did throw the front wheel on the scale to show just how light it really is (530g), which is mainly achieved by a new 275g rim. No word on rider weight limits yet.
The oil slick hub finish is a free option on their wheels. Launch date is TBD, target is early summer at the latest.
Prototype wide gravel wheels
The challenge with aerodynamics on gravel bikes is the big tires. Since the generally recognized ideal is for the rims to be ever-so-slightly wider than the tires to optimize aerodynamics, that means gravel rims would have to be comically wide.
So, that’s basically what Gulo is doing. These prototypes look right at home against 40mm tires, which is a common choice for racing, especially among the pros who don’t mind sacrificing a bit of comfort and grip for all-out speed. Target launch date is around Unbound, more details to come closer to that time.
