Swiss Side is no stranger to optimized aerodynamics, and now claims their new Gravon Carbon 500 to be the fastest gravel bike wheels. But in reality, that sounds more like a statement that they are Swiss Side’s most aero gravel wheels yet. And their real selling point is a balance of speed with relative affordability compared to some of the extravagant big name wheel launches..
Swiss Side Gravon Carbon 500 aero gravel wheels get faster
It was only two years ago that Swiss Side first introduced us to their Gravon aero gravel wheels, co-developed with DT Swiss. And they combined their move into gravel bike aerodynamics with a wealth of data showing the Schwalbe G-One Speed to be the most aero gravel tire in their wind tunnel testing. In the meantime, DT Swiss completely revamped their aero gravel GRC lineup with a faster, lighter, and more expensive 50mm deep wheelset – developed in CFD and proven in the wind tunnel with Swiss Side expertise.
And once again, it looks like Swiss Side has leveraged that DT collaboration to adapt the same new rim shape with a more affordable carbon layup and more conventional hubs & spokes to save money while still going fast.
The result is the new Swiss Side Gravon Carbon 500, described as “the most aerodynamic gravel wheelset designed for fast and efficient gravel rides“.
Faster in the wind tunnel, but really not by much
So, how fast are the new Swiss Side Gravon Carbon 500 wheels really? Luckily, Swiss Side’s specialty is geeking out in the wind tunnel, so we’ve got plenty of graphs and comparisons to see how they claim to have shaved off watts to make you faster. And with interesting results that oddly suggest that the aero gravel gains might not be all they are cracked up to be!
Swiss Side put the new 50mm deep aero gravel wheels head to head with the 42mm deep wheels that these replace, and their low-cost 25mm deep alloy wheels that carry over.
All fitted with 40mm benchmark Schwalbe G-One tires in a Cervelo Aspero at a reasonable 30kph, the new Gravon Carbon 500 save a claimed 8% vs. the prior 420, getting most benefit when the wind comes in at an angle due to good ‘sailing effect’. But that seems to only save about a single watt in the bike. The gains more than double at 45kph, but they still are not huge.
Maybe most interesting to me is that the aero differences between the 25mm, 42mm & 50mm deep wheels are essentially the same as the aero differences between 35mm, 40mm & 45mm tires. The narrower tire was faster on both shallow & deep rims with the 40mm less than a watt slower at reasonable amateur gravel rider speeds.
Tech details
The big change in the new Swiss Side Gravon Carbon 500 wheelset is the new rim. It is 24mm hooked tubeless inside, with a max outer width of 36.5mm x 50mm deep overall. They don’t say it explicitly, but the dimensions and unique shape that tapers sharply from the widest point back to the bead suggest this is the exact same profile on the new DT GRC 50 rim.
Swiss Side builds the new Gravon Carbon 500 wheels with a medium flange centerlock DT Swiss 370 hub meaning a Ratchet LN freehub with a 36T ratchet. And they lace them with 24 j-bend DT Aero Comp bladed spokes with alloy Pro Lock internal nipples.
At 1746g (797g front/949g rear, claimed), the wheels are heavier but more affordable than the DT analogues – more than 900€ less than the 1100 or 450€ than the 1400 level.
Swiss Side’s new Gravon Carbon – Pricing, options & availability
The new Swiss Side Gravon Carbon 500 aero gravel wheels sell for 1595€, and are available now direct from Swiss Side’s online shop. They come pre-taped for tubeless setups with valves, valve nut protection stickers, and valve extenders for use with tubes.
Curiously, Swiss Side says the wheels are compatible with Shimano 10-13 speed, and SRAM 10-11 speed as standard, suggesting they come with a regular HG freehub body. SRAM XDR & Campagnolo N3W freehubs are available separately. But wait… does Swiss Side know something we don’t know about a 13-sp Shimano groupset?
