Using Old 29"er Wheels For Gravel

Older 29"er wheels make excellent gravel bike wheels.

While I was contemplating what to do with my wheel problem concerning the Raleigh Tamland Two, I remembered that my friend in SoCal, Grannygear, had written an article about how old 29"er wheels from around 2010 make great gravel bike wheels. 

The wheels I ended up putting on the Tamland are a great example of this idea. Plus, they came off a bike Grannygear had, so that is a bit ironic. They are Specialized Roval carbon wheels with DT Swiss hubs. 

So, what makes a wheel set like this so desirable for gravel? There are a few reasons that this might make sense for anyone to seek out.

First of all, they likely will not cost much, if you can track some down. Not long after 2010, MTB standards changed to a wider, "Boost" axle width which is not compatible with older wheel sets. This made a lot of really nice, top-tier wheels, like these Rovals, obsolete for current MTB's. 

But since gravel bikes went with the same standard as MTB was back around 2010, those "obsolete 29"er wheels" are perfect candidates for a gravel bike. Additionally, this was a time when many wheel sets were convertible from Quick Release to Through-Axle standard, which allows easy fitment to most any gravel bike whether they are QR or thru-axle.

The current look of the Tamland Two.

Finally, most early 29"er wheels were fairly narrow. A "wide" rim in the late 2000's was 28mm inner rim width and many, like these Rovals, were 24mm, or even 22mm inner rim width. Nowadays a 30mm inner rim width is "Cross-Country racing" width for a MTB!

But almost any of those older rims are prime candidates for gravel usage today. Take a look at the specs for most of today's crop of gravel wheels and you'll see that 25mm inner rim width is where most of those wheels land. A lot of 29"er wheels back ten years ago to fifteen years ago were right at that width, or at 23mm, which is still great for gravel travel. 

As long as the wheels weren't abused, you should consider taking a look at some older 29"er wheels to lighten up the old gravel rig, or maybe use as a race wheel set. The Rovals I have now could easily be a racing wheel set with the carbon rims, aero spokes, and excellent DT Swiss hubs bringing the heat. I say they could be good racing wheels, because the motor.....eh! That could use some work! Ha!

If you are using some late 2000's/early twenty-teens 29"er wheels in your gravel bike, let me know in the comments.