Gravel race tires keep getting bigger, speeds keep rising, and HUNT just unveiled a wheelset built for the demands of modern gravel racing. Our EU Tech Editor, Cory, had a few meetings with these fast gravel wheels, but this is the first time we’re getting the full details and pricing. If you wanna check out some of our spotted event coverage, you can see it here.
What Are The Hunt 5AM Gravel Limitless Wheels?
The new HUNT 5AM Gravel Limitless is built around 45mm and 50mm tires, with a wide 45 mm front rim, a shallower rear, oversized rim beads, hidden nipples, and two spoke options.
These are the gravel equivalent of the brand’s super-fast 5AM road wheels. That is to say, these are for the riders that want to go fast and have the scratch for a $3,200 wheelset to ride over rocks. But these bad boys pack lots of tech and cool updates.
The lighter 5AM Gravel Limitless Ti_UD comes in at a claimed 1,317g, while the steel-spoke version weighs 1,447g. HUNT says the Ti_UD was both the lightest wheelset and the lowest-drag option with 50mm tires in its final wind-tunnel test.
Instead of using identical front and rear rims, the new 5AM Gravel Limitless puts the bigger aero profile where it matters most: up front. This differential rim-width idea isn’t an outlier anymore; it’s the playbook for a fast aero wheel that stays calm in crosswinds.
A 54mm Front, 49mm Rear
The front rim measures 54mm deep and 45mm wide externally, while the rear is 49mm deep and 38mm wide. Both use a 27mm internal width, which isn’t very aggressive, given that ENVE and Zipp use upwards of 32mm. But the actual rim bead tells another story.
That front-to-rear split is deliberate. HUNT’s reasoning is that the front wheel meets relatively clean air and has more influence on total aerodynamic drag, so it gets the deeper and wider profile.
The rear wheel sits in disturbed air coming off the front wheel, frame, rider, and drivetrain. HUNT chose a shallower, narrower profile to save weight and keep the wheel feeling responsive under power.
The front rim also uses HUNT’s patented Limitless Width Aero Technology, which allows the company to build a very wide rim without simply filling it with carbon. A low-density structural polymer is molded into the rim sidewall between the carbon layers, helping create the broad shape without adding weight.
Built Around 45mm and 50mm Gravel Tires
HUNT designed the 5AM Gravel Limitless around modern gravel race rubber.
The wheels are aero-optimized for 45mm and 50mm tires, though HUNT says they are compatible with 40-60mm hookless TSS tires and comply with ETRTO guidelines. HUNT chose the 27mm internal width first, then shaped the rim’s outside.
From there, HUNT modeled 52 different rim profiles around a scanned 50mm Vittoria Terreno T30 tire. Six designs moved on to physical prototype testing, and HUNT then tested the final production wheels against competing wheelsets.
Those Rim Beads Are Huge
The other obvious feature is the rim bead. The front uses a 9mm-wide bead, while the rear uses a 5.5mm bead, much wider than a conventional road or gravel rim.
HUNT says the blunt profile does two jobs. First, it helps transition airflow from a large gravel tire onto the rim. Second, it spreads impact loads over a larger area when the tire bottoms against the rim. Plus, the bead is round and not sharp like some others on the market.
That wide front bead also contributes to the 45mm overall external width, which is pretty massive even by current gravel standards.
HUNT 5AM Gravel Limitless Ti_UD
The lighter of the two builds is the Ti_UD Carbon Spoke wheelset, with a claimed weight of 1,317g per pair.
It uses 20 VONOA Ti_UD carbon spokes front and rear, laced two-cross in a non-interlacing pattern. HUNT lists each spoke at just 1.7g. The spoke hardware is made from Ti6-4Al-4V titanium, while the spoke profile itself is slim and heavily bladed to reduce rotational drag.
HUNT also moved the nipples inside the rim.
Internal nipples aren’t exactly easy to live with if you’re constantly truing wheels, but HUNT says the spokes remain replaceable and you can still true the wheels normally once you get access to the nipple.
The hub is HUNT’s H_Ratchet 48T DBL, with a 7.5-degree engagement angle, dual-sided nickel-coated ratchets, 6061-T6 alloy hub shells, and 7075 alloy axles. Buyers can choose standard stainless steel bearings or upgrade to CeramicSpeed Alpha bearings.
HUNT’s Wind-Tunnel Numbers
HUNT tested 12 wheelsets at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub using a Specialized Crux 5 (read our review here). Tests ran at 40km/h, with the tires at 30 psi, across a dynamic yaw sweep from -20 to +20 degrees.
HUNT then weighted the results using its gravel-specific 40km/h Wind-Averaged Drag calculation.
One number worth keeping in mind: HUNT says the tunnel has a 0.5-watt margin of error. Anything closer than that should basically be treated as a tie.
With 50mm Vittoria Terreno T30 tires, the 5AM Gravel Limitless Ti_UD posted the lowest drag.
Compared with the HUNT, the results were:
- Reserve 48|53 GR: +0.21W
- Roval Terra Aero: +0.56W
- DT Swiss GRC 50: +0.84W
- ENVE G SES 4.5 Pro: +1.10W
- Zipp 303 XPLR SW: +1.50W
The Reserve 48|53 GR result falls within the tunnel’s margin of error, so it’s effectively a wash. The Roval is just outside that margin, but HUNT also weighs less than the others.
Compared with the Zipp 303 XPLR SW, HUNT claims a 1.5-watt aero advantage and 135g less weight with the 50mm Vittoria setup. Across four tire configurations, HUNT says the Ti_UD recorded the lowest drag in three.
Steel Spokes Are Actually Faster With 45mm Tires
Here’s the fun part. The cheaper steel-spoke 5AM Gravel Limitless was actually the fastest wheelset in HUNT’s test when fitted with 45mm Vittoria Terreno T30 tires.
The steel version uses the same front and rear rim shapes as the Ti_UD but swaps in Pillar Super Wing stainless steel spokes. HUNT calls these the longest aerodynamically bladed stainless steel spokes currently available. They’re triple-butted and cold-drawn from T302 stainless steel, with reinforcement around the spoke head.
There are 24 spokes front and rear, again with internal nipples. Weight climbs to a still-respectable 1,447g.
With 45mm Terreno T30 tires, the steel version recorded the lowest drag of all 12 wheelsets tested.
The Ti_UD was only 0.21W behind, well within the test’s margin of error. The DT Swiss GRC 50 was another 0.24W back, effectively tied, while the Zipp 303 XPLR SW was 2.51W slower in HUNT’s setup. Tested with a 50mm tire, the carbon-spoke wheel takes the lead again, beating the steel version by 0.41W. Again, that’s inside the stated margin of error.
So the practical difference between the two isn’t really aero. It’s mostly weight, spoke construction, bearings, and price.
Weight: 1,317g vs. 1,447g
That makes the decision pretty straightforward.
The Ti_UD version saves 130g, dropping the system to 1,317g.
The steel version weighs 1,447g, but keeps almost all the aero performance and costs considerably less.
Both share the same:
- 54mm front / 49mm rear depth
- 45mm front / 38mm rear external width
- 27mm internal width
- 9mm front / 5.5mm rear beads
- Hookless tire interface
- 40-60mm tire compatibility
- 48T H_Ratchet hub system
So you aren’t buying a cheaper rim shape with the steel wheelset.
Gravel Race Tested
The wheels have already spent most of 2026 under HUNT-supported gravel racers.
HUNT points to a win at Gravel México with Hannah Shell, third at Unbound with Cecily Decker, and second-place finishes at both SBT GRVL and the U.S. Gravel National Championships with Sarah Lange.
That race testing matters because the design targets differ significantly from a traditional road aero wheel.
The goal isn’t simply to win a wind-tunnel test with a narrow slick tire. HUNT wanted something aerodynamic on 45-50mm tires, light enough for climbing, stable in crosswinds, and less likely to get killed by a hard rim strike.
Hunt 5AM Gravel Limitless – Pricing and Availability
- Steel spoke wheelset is priced at: £1,999 / €2,399 / $2,399
- Ti_UD with stainless steel bearings is: £2,449 / €2,899 / $2,899
- Ti_UD with CeramicSpeed Alpha bearings moves to: £2,799 / €3,299 / $3,299
Pre-orders open October 8, with global shipping scheduled for the first week of December 2026.
All versions include HUNT’s H_CARE lifetime free crash replacement for the original owner.
