'The fastest gravel wheels ever built' - Enve's new G SES gravel wheels take rim widths to a new level

Enve has launched the new G SES gravel wheelset lineup today, a trio of wheelsets where 'aerodynamics meet the realities of modern gravel', says the brand.

This release is centred around another product that's aimed at the sharp end of gravel racing, where things are only getting faster and more specific. These are wide, aero-focused wheels designed to be paired with modern, high-volume tyres to maximise aero efficiency. The wheels sit alongside the existing pro-level 'SES' Enve range, which launched last year.

The show stopper here is the range-topping G SES 6.7 Pro wheels, which feature a huge 35mm wide internal rim dimension. Until now, the 32mm wide Zipp 303 XPLR wheels had been the widest (internally) commercially available gravel wheels.

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That's not counting the 45mm internal prototype wheels that custom bike builder Dangerholm showed last year.

Joining the 6.7 Pro wheels are the SES 4.5 and SES 4.5 Pro wheelsets, which feature a slightly more conservative 30mm internal rim width and some other slightly different specs.

We also caught a glimpse of these wheels pre-release at the Traka recently, and they did indeed look wide in real life.

We have the details here, and there are some wind-tunnel testing figures to review, including Enve's head-to-head testing results against the Zipp XPLR wheelset, spicy.

Wheelset prices kick off at $2,850 for the SES 4.5 wheelset, the 4.5 Pro and 6.7 Pro wheelsets both come in at $3,100.

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Enve G SES 6.7 Pro

The SES 6.7 Pro wheels are the deepest and widest wheels in the range, and so naturally will be the most exciting for tech fans. Enve says this is the world's most aerodynamically efficient gravel wheel and says it made the wheels because it wanted to know how aero it could make a wheel by optimising the rim shape around the latest big gravel tyres, which are widely used now in gravel events.

To the specs, the 6.7 Pro wheels are 60 (F) and 67mm deep (R), and all three wheelsets in the range use front and rear specific rim depths.

The internal width is 35mm, which is very wide indeed, whilst externally they measure up at 42.6mm. The minimum recommended tyre size is 44mm, and the maximum is 52mm, with the wide rim features to maintain clear airflow with a larger volume tyre.

The rims are hookless, with the rim bead measuring up at 3.8mm. The wheels use 24 spokes front and rear and are built with alloy nipples.

Claimed weight is 1580 grams per pair, including tubeless tape and valves with a Shimano HG freehub body. Front wheel weight is listed at 735 grams and the rear 845 grams.

The 6.7 wheels are built around the Enve Innerdrive Pro hubset, featuring a 40-tooth ratchet and ceramic bearings. The hubs are 60 grams lighter than the Innerdrive hubs used on the other wheelsets, weighing a claimed 281 grams in total.

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Enve has also included some testing data for the 6.7 Pro wheels, which I have included for you here. The brand says today's gravel riders are using tyres between 44 and 52 mm. Whilst that may not be everyone, that is the direction of travel in gravel competition. The idea here is to smooth the transition of air over the rim's sidewall when running tyres over 44mm in size.

Enve says the 6.7 Pro wheels provide an 8-watt saving at 32kph and a 25-watt saving at 45kph over the Enve AG25 baseline wheel, which is a 21mm deep, 25mm wide gravel all-rounder.

Tested with 40, 44, and 48mm Enve Hex gravel tyres across 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 12.5, 15 and 17.5 degree yaw angles, the Enve results point to the wheels offering, on average, a 3.5% reduction in drag at 32kph and a 3.3% reduction at 48kph compared to the Zipp XPLR wheelset.

The wheels were also tested with two tyres, the Rene Herse Snoqualmie Pass 44mm and Enve Hex 44mm, at two speeds, which points to the difference the tyres' tread can make to aero performance, something to think about depending on the course and speed you might be riding at. Though rolling resistance, grip and puncture resistance are all factors that need consideration in the real world, let's not forget.

Enve G SES 4.5 and 4.5 Pro wheels

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That's the 6.7 wheels covered; the other two wheelsets in the range are the 4.5 and 4.5 Pro. Enve says the 6.7 wheels are only offered in its top spec, targeting competitive athletes.

Specs are similar overall, but the 4.5 wheelsets seem to offer more choice, and a 100-gram weight saving in the 4.5 Pro version.

The SES 4.5 Pro wheels have 49mm (F) and 55mm (R) deep rims but with a narrower 30mm internal rim size. They feature the same Pro Innerdrive hubs as the 6.7's, and have the same $3,100 price tag.

The key differences are the shallow rim depth and narrower internal size, which provide a 100-gram weight saving for an overall claimed weight of 1,480 grams.

The SES 4.5 wheels use the Premier Innerdrive hubset with stainless bearings and a 60-tooth ratchet ring, exactly the same rim dimensions as the 4.5 Pro wheels, and brass spoke nipples for durability, coming in at a claimed 1,565 grams and costing $2,850.

We have a set of the SES 6.7 wheels in for testing, and we will see how they perform in the real world soon.