Hunt 4 Season Gravel Disc X-Wide Wheelset

If you ride a lot on gravel tracks and trails you want a wheelset that can take plenty of abuse, and these Hunt 4 Season Gravel Disc X-Wide wheels fit that bill brilliantly. They're solid, dependable and lovely wheels to ride, and with their wide rim bed they work perfectly with wider gravel tyres.

• Pros: Excellent build quality; will certainly take a whack or two
• Cons: The 115kg weight limit might affect some riders

You might have read Mike's glowing review of the Hunt 35 Carbon Gravel Disc X-Wide wheels and thought, 'I wonder if they do something a bit cheaper to suit my budget?' Well, the wheels you see here are pretty much an aluminium alloy version.

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Over the couple of months that I've been testing the 4 Seasons I've had four gravel/adventure bikes to chop and change them between (helped by the fact that Hunt supplied me with a selection of freehub bodies which are very simple to swap over) and they've suited every single one of them, from the sub-grand alloy bike through to the £3.5k titanium mile-muncher.

Each bike benefited from an upgrade in ride quality, and the majority have seen a noticeable weight saving too.

The 4 Seasons have a very solid feel to them, which also gives a sense of comfort. The rim depth is only 19mm, so you don't get any of the harshness sometimes found on deeper section alloy or even carbon rims.

I've got some steep descents on my local gravel tracks where 50mph is achievable, and while they are reasonably hard packed there are some cruel rocks to catch you out as the aggregate blurs past beneath you.

Sometimes the bunny hops aren't quite high enough and I whacked a large stone that was about 8in in diameter at speed. The sound was deafening, and I really thought I'd totalled the rear wheel.

There was dust and a mark on the tyre and a bit of a scratch to the finish of the wheel where the impact had taken place, but everything was still spinning as true as it was when I took them out of the box. I was very impressed.

For the rims Hunt uses 6066-T6 grade alloy, which it says gives 34% more tensile strength than the more usually employed 6061-T6, and with that kind of performance I'm happy to take Hunt's word for it.

The whole build is really stiff laterally, too. Getting out of the saddle to attack a climb, they just surge forward without any feeling of power being wasted.

Over the last couple of years tyre clearance on gravel and adventure bikes has grown. The 35mm limits, like on the early GT Grade, have gone, to be replaced with well over 40mm. These new wheels reflect that with a rim width of 25mm internally and 29mm externally, which makes them most suited to tyres ranging from 35mm to 50mm.

The 38mm Schwalbe G-One Bite Microskin TL Easy tyres I fitted to them came out at just over 40mm, giving a smooth transition between rim and sidewall.

The Schwalbes are tubeless ready and this is something Hunt has focused on since the company's inception. The X-Wides use its H-Lock system – little ramps that sit the bead of the tyre closer to the edge of the rim to aid that first tyre inflation and seating.

I had no issues fitting the tyres at all using the Beto Surge Tubeless Floor Pump and they went straight on and sealed first time. It's worth noting that Hunt has maximum pressure ratings for the various tyre sizes on its website which is worth taking a look at before you get the pump out.

All of Hunt's wheels come fitted with tubeless tape and if you want to avoid the faff off fitting your own tyres you can get Hunt to fit them for you at the time of ordering.

> Buyer's Guide: 21 of the best gravel and adventure tyres

All the Hunt wheels I've owned and tested over the years have lived up to the company's ethos of building to a high standard, using some of the best quality components at a decent price, and that is exactly what you are getting here.

The 4 Season Disc hubs are designed for use in all sorts of conditions and come with extra shielding for the sealed cartridge EZO bearings. Conditions changed from dry and dusty at the start of the test to wet and gritty towards the end, and I have had no issues with the hubs at all. They are still running as smoothly as they were about 700-odd miles ago and just as quiet.

No matter what axle systems your bike is running, the hubs are compatible. Most new bikes are pretty settled on 12mm front and rear thru-axles, but many bikes from a few years ago had 15mm at the front and possibly quick release at the rear. Hunt can supply adaptors at the time of ordering for any of these.

The amount of goodies you actually get with the wheels is pretty good too. I've mentioned the tape is already fitted, but you also get tubeless valves, a spoke key, 6-bolt disc adaptors (Hunt wheels are set up for Centerlock), a spare of each spoke length required, plus nipples.

Spoke-wise Hunt has used Pillar, a brand it has used for a long time, and these J-bend XTRA models are butted with an aero profile which Hunt says provides a greater degree of elasticity to maintain tension and reduce fatigue.

Hunt also offsets the spoke holes in the rim bed away from the centre to reduce the effects of dishing, to provide balanced spoke tensions.

For year-round wheels I'm not a fan of alloy nipples as they can corrode and split, so I'm glad to see Hunt has used brass versions here. They don't corrode and are self-lubricating.

Another piece that needs to be robust is the freehub body. Hard accelerations from a standing start can see the cassette start to bite into the splines of the freehub, especially on alloy versions. Hunt uses its H_CERAMIK coating, which has limited the wear, although the freehub does lack the steel insert that is found on some of its models which really keeps damage at bay.

Value

So, the quality and the performance are there, now let's talk money.

Looking through the road.cc review section hall of fame it's clear we haven't tested that many wide gravel-specific alloy wheels yet, most of them being carbon.

There are the FSA Afterburner AGX wheels: tough and durable, but a fair bit narrower, and just less than £300 more expensive for a similar weight. Yep, £619.95 versus the £329 of the Hunts.

> Buyer's Guide: 22 of the best gravel and adventure bikes

At the other end of the spectrum are the Fulcrum Racing 7 DB wheels. These aren't entirely gravel-specific but a set of wheels that dabble in a bit of road and off-road. I liked them, and at £224.99 they are a good budget choice, but the Hunts are a lot wider, working better with gravel tyre widths, tougher and just an all-round nicer ride.

Conclusion

Overall, I don't think I need to sum up the Hunts really. If you've read all the way to the bottom I think you'll agree that there is very little to dislike if you want a tough set of wheels that have a sensible weight and a great ride. On top of that you've got the price; I'd still be singing their praises at 500 quid.

Verdict

Perfect rim width to work with gravel tyres, plus they are tough, stiff, great to ride on and a bargain