Edco Gravel wheelset

Edco has veered off-road with its latest wheelset, the Gravel. It's an excellent choice if you want a lightweight wheelset that'll take a heap of abuse, and it achieves that while still coming in at a relatively budget price point.

Over the last couple of years, we've seen the majority of wheel manufacturers adding gravel wheels to their line-ups and Edco has now done the same – and done it well.

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The catchily named Gravel wheelset uses a 34mm deep carbon fibre rim which is 31mm wide externally and 25mm internally, which makes it ideal for using with the fat gravel tyres that are entering the market.

Edco has gone for a hookless rim, which means it basically does away with the bead hook that the tyre would normally locate beneath to stop it blowing off the rim under pressure. Tubeless-specific tyres have a stiffer bead, which means they don't require the bead hook of the rim, relying instead on the tight interface between tyre and wheel to remain in place. Obviously, tyre and wheel tolerances aren't always compatible, but I've ridden plenty of hookless rims both on and off the road and never had any issues.

Tubeless makes a lot of sense on a gravel bike where the need to run lower pressures for comfort and traction means that impact punctures would be commonplace if using clinchers and tubes. You can use hookless rims with an inner tube, but you'd have to use a tubeless tyre, so what's the point in that?

I found fitting tyres – 32mm Michelin Power Roads and 40mm Zipp Tangente Course G40s – to the Edcos really easily.

There was just enough tightness in getting them on the rim to feel confident that they weren't going to pop off when inflated (max 72psi for this rim) but not so tight that you wouldn't be able to remove them should you need to out on the road/trail.

> Buyer’s Guide: 26 of the best gravel bike tyres

Once seated, a quick blast from a Beto Surge track pump and they seated straight away, pinging up against the rim.

In over 400 miles of tough testing I've had no issues with the tyre/rim combos.

Out on the gravel tracks these wheels absolutely fly, and a lot of that is down to the fact that they weigh just 1,533g (including the pre-installed tubeless tape).

Getting your head around using a carbon rim on rough terrain is hard enough, even more so when it's a wheelset as svelte as this.

Some sections of my favourite gravel routes have been overlaid recently with large aggregate (they're military tank routes) and the downhill sections can be brutal. While I haven't gone out of my way to break the Edcos, I certainly haven't been easy on them and to be honest some of the sounds haven't been pretty as they've whacked rocks and potholes, but they've resisted everything I've thrown them at.

Their stiffness in all directions is great, which makes them good for the climbers out there and the sprinters. Gravel racing isn't that big a thing in the UK – yet – but if you want to get a shift on whether on the gravel or off it, you won't find the Gravels letting you down.

I've done a few four to five-hour epics on the Edcos in some really appalling conditions, the weather has been all over the place. On one I was chuffed to find a new (to me) byway stretching out for miles over to Avebury. The initial hardpacked gravel turned into chalk and then into wet, sloppy mud with puddles virtually up to the bottom bracket.

The hubs, rims, nipples, everything, have taken the full brunt of the conditions with mud, grit and water being sprayed over every component. To give the wheels a full test I didn't bother with the usual wash down at the end of each ride either.

Here we are at the end of the test period and there are no creaks from the hubs or any other part of the wheel; their durability certainly seems impressive.

The 24-spoke build front and rear is ideal for strength while keeping things light. The splines of the freehub fitted to the Edco Neo hub resist the pressure of the cassette when you are pushing down hard on the pedals. Freehub options are Shimano/SRAM, Campagnolo and SRAM XDR.

The hubs are designed for 12mm thru-axles while the brake rotor is held in place by the Centrelock design, although there are six-bolt adaptors in the box if that's the setup you run.

The only slight issue I've found is that a small amount of water has got inside the rims and they don't have any drainage holes for it to escape. I only noticed when the wheels were off the bike ready to be returned and I could hear it moving around; it's not enough that it is noticeable when on the bike. You can remove the valves to let it out, but that is a bit of a faff.

Edco has priced the Gravel wheelset at £900, and that puts them right in the mix with some very good wheels indeed.

The Sector GCi wheels are 200g heavier and an extra £200, and I'd say the Edcos match them for ride quality.

They are virtually identical to the high scoring Hunt 35 Carbon Gravel Disc X-Wide wheelset in terms of weight and you can divide them on price by a quid. I'd say, all round, the Edcos ride just as well as the Hunts too.

> Buyer’s Guide: 25 of the best 2020 & 2021 gravel bikes & adventure road bikes 

Overall, if you want a bit of carbon bling for your gravel bike without having to wince every time you whack a pothole then the Edcos are a very good choice. I think they look the business too.

Verdict

Great combination of stiffness, durability and performance at a very competitive price