ELITEWHEELS Drive G50 SS steel-spoke gravel wheelset

Steel spokes under a 50 mm carbon rim: the Drive G50 SS is aimed at long rides and endurance events on gravel. Elitewheels quotes 1,430 g a pair, with a 30 mm internal width and 40 to 60 mm tyres.

It all comes down to the spoke. An Alpina Ultralite Aero steel spoke is less stiff than a carbon spoke, and the brand expects it to damp vibration better. Elitewheels builds it on a hub with 2:1 flanges, with twice as many spokes on the cassette side, to balance the tensions. If one breaks, this steel spoke can be replaced without a brand-specific part.

The 30 mm internal width serves the same comfort. A tyre's contact patch is roughly the load divided by its pressure. Under 50 kg, a tyre at 2 bar puts about 25 cm² on the ground, and 31 cm² at 1.6 bar. The wide rim keeps the tyre stable at these low pressures. The wheels need 12 × 100 and 12 × 142 mm thru-axles, for 120 kg maximum.

Elitewheels machines the freehub body and its 60 teeth from a single block of titanium, keeping the titanium's heat under control during machining. Long gravel rides demand toughness that counts as much as weight, and those are the rides MAAKE keeps it for.