The Scribe Gravel Carbon 40 is described on the company’s website as “the ULTIMATE wheelset for mixed on/off road conditions”, and after spending a couple of months with them I’m inclined to agree. A low weight, great build quality and incredibly supple ride thanks to the use of Berd’s PolyLight spokes all add up to an impressive set of hoops – and they don’t cost the earth, either.
> Buy now: Scribe Gravel Carbon 40 Berd Spoke Wheelset for £1,449 from Scribe Cycling
Let’s kick things off with those white spokes, as they aren’t just there for aesthetic purposes. They are from a company called Berd and are made from a material called Dyneema, which it describes as an ultra high molecular weight polyethylene.
The reason for speccing them is the impressive strength to weight ratio compared with steel spoke equivalents. According to Berd, Dyneema has 15 times the strength to weight ratio of steel; an average length spoke for a 700C wheel is around a gram lighter than a 1.4mm butted steel alternative, with almost double the pull strength.
The PolyLight spokes are woven like a rope and are completely flexible when not under tension. It’s this that gives the wheels such an excellent ride quality. The main thing I noticed about the Scribes was just how supple the ride feel is. It’s not a huge difference over a steel-spoked wheel, but it’s enough to be noticeable, and a welcome improvement when riding over high-frequency-buzz-causing surfaces like gravel.
Lateral stiffness hasn’t been affected, as the Gravel 40s feel tight and stiff when putting in hard efforts both on the road and away from it. They feel light when accelerating and when tackling steep climbs, and efficient pretty much anywhere.
There seem to be plenty of benefits with this build, without any noticeable drawbacks from a riding point of view.
The only downside (and even Berd highlights this) is that the white spokes can get dirty. They can be cleaned, though – it just takes a little more effort than a standard spoke. If that’s a concern, then Scribe offers the Gravel wheels with black PolyLight spokes too. Another possible drawback is, at £7 per spoke on Berd’s website, replacements could prove costly.
As for the other components used in the build, you’ll find a 40mm-deep Toray T700/T800 carbon fibre rim, which has an internal width of 24mm (30.5mm external), and 28 spokes front and rear.
Scribe recommends tyre widths of 32mm to 50mm. I used a pair of Pirelli’s P Zero Race TLRs in a 40mm width for road use, and a set of Teravail’s new Updraft 45mm tyres for gravel.
Both sets of tyres fitted with ease and popped on the rims with just the use of a standard track pump when set up tubeless. The Scribes have hookless rims, so tubeless is your only option. Some people have an issue with a hookless design (notably, Silca’s CEO), but personally I don’t have an issue having ridden loads of hookless wheels and tubeless tyre setups over the last few years. Read our feature What’s the difference between hooked and hookless bike wheels, and which is better for you? if you’re not familiar with them.
Like many of Scribe’s wheelsets, the Gravel 40s use a ratchet style freehub (as opposed to pawls) which offers a rapid and secure pick-up with the slightest pedal motion. All the main component brands are covered for compatibility, freehub-wise, with Shimano’s HG and Microspline, plus SRAM’s XDR and Campagnolo’s N3W at no extra charge.
Scribe also offers a variety of axle options: 12mm thru-axle and quick release for the rear, and 12mm, 15mm and quick release for the front.
The hubs have an aluminium alloy body and TPI Endurance bearings.
The entire build came in at 1,334g on our office scales, and that includes the tubeless rim tape, already fitted, but not the valves, which are included in the box.
The 40mm-deep rim brings a little bit of aerodynamic benefit when on the flat, but Scribe also offers a 25mm-deep version with a claimed weight of just 1,283g if aero doesn’t bother you.
The wheels have a total combined weight limit of 130kg and come with a three-year warranty. Scribe builds all of its wheels in-house at its Belfast premises, and all of its wheelsets that I have used since it launched in 2019 have shown great durability and build quality.
Value
Price-wise, things are pretty competitive at £1,449 for the pair.
I don’t think we’ve reviewed any other wheels with these spokes, so I can’t give any direct like-for-like comparisons, but Hunt’s 40 Limitless Gravel Aero wheels have a similar rim depth and width, plus they come with a ratchet freehub.
We were massively impressed with the carbon spoke version when we reviewed them back in June, although the price is quite high at £1,849. The steel spoke option is cheaper at £1,479, with a quoted weight of 1,431g.
Matt recently reviewed DT Swiss’s GRC 1100 Dicut wheelset for our sister site off.road.cc and overall he was impressed with them as aero-ish gravel wheels. They come with DT’s 180 hubs, which include ceramic bearings, for £2,398, although the cheaper GRC 1400s use the same rims but come with DT 240 hubs with ratchet internals for £1,950. The 30mm-deep option weighs a claimed 1,421g per pair.
For more options, check out the best gravel wheelsets buyer’s guide on offroad.cc.
Conclusion
The Scribe Gravel Carbon 40s are a great set of wheels for all kinds of riding where wider tyres are required. Their low weight and stiffness result in a great performance, and I don’t think I’ve ridden a set of wheels with such a good ride quality.
> Buy now: Scribe Gravel Carbon 40 Berd Spoke Wheelset for £1,449 from Scribe Cycling
Verdict
Some of the most comfortable wheels on the market, with the weight and performance needed for gravel racing
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road.cc test report
Make and model: Scribe Gravel Carbon 40 Berd Spoke Wheelset
Size tested: 700C x 40mm
Tell us what the wheel is for and who it’s aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
Scribe says, “The Gravel Carbon 40 Berd Spoke Wheelset is designed to be the ultimate on/ off road wheelset. At 40mm in depth and laced with Berd White / Black Polymer spokes, you will notice aero gains when at speed, and by utilising our superlight carbon technology, they won’t hold you back when the road/ trail starts going upwards.
“The hookless rim profile is designed to offer increased strength and impact resistance, so you can ride fast anywhere with confidence. The carbon Gravels come with a high speed, low resonance double-disc ratchet drive hub system, and they utilise water repellent TPI Endurance bearings so they will stand the test of time.”
These are some well-built wheels with an impressive ride quality thanks to the PolyLight spokes.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the wheel?
Depth 40mm
Material T700 / T800 Carbon Fiber
Type Tubeless Ready (Hookless Rim Profile)
Rim Width (external) 30.5mm
Rim Width (internal) 24mm
Spoke Pattern / Hole Count Front 1:1 (2-cross / 2-cross), Rear 1:1 (2-cross / 2-cross), 28H Front & Rear
Did the wheels stay true? Any issues with spoke tension?
The wheels stayed true throughout the test period.
How easy did you find it to fit tyres?
Fitting tyres was simple and straightforward.
How did the wheel extras (eg skewers and rim tape) perform?
All the extras are good quality and did the job well.
Tell us how the wheel performed overall when used for its designed purpose
A stiff and robust set of wheels, ideal for gravel use.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the wheel
Great ride quality.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the wheel
Some people will be put off by the use of hookless rims.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
These are well priced against the competition, especially when you consider the added cost of the PolyLight spokes.
Did you enjoy using the wheel? Yes
Would you consider buying the wheel? Yes
Would you recommend the wheel to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
This is a well-built set of wheels with great performance and ride quality which means they are worth their asking price. The PolyLight spokes really add to the ride quality too. They’re excellent.
About the tester
Age: 46 Height: 180cm Weight: 76kg
I usually ride: This month’s test bike My best bike is: B’Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components
I’ve been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,
22 thoughts on “Scribe Gravel Carbon 40 Berd Spoke Wheelset”
Berd spokes sound fantastic,
Berd spokes sound fantastic, but are the white Dyneema spokes the same as the black “PolyLight” ones? Unfortunately however, they’re on the wrong rims.
The Scribe rims are all wrong. Too narrow for gravel. And even for road they’re only good for for a 28-30mm road tyre.
And the massive SRIBE logos are hideous and look cheap.
Hey, Thanks for taking the
Hey, Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts, we really appreciate it.
To answer your first question: yes, the white spokes use the same Dyneema fibre as the black variant; Both carrying the “Polylight” tag. The difference is purely aesthetic the material properties and performance are identical.
On the rim width, our Gravel Carbon 40s were developed to balance aero performance with versatility. With a 24 mm internal width, they’re designed to pair best with 38–45 mm tyres that’s the sweet spot we found through both lab testing. We know some riders prefer even wider profiles, and larger volume tyres and we’re continually exploring new rim geometries as gravel tyre trends evolve.
As for the graphics, we hear you. Aesthetics are always subjective, and while many riders like the bold branding, we understand it’s not everyone’s taste. However, in the flesh the gloss black branding is more subtle on the semi-gloss rim.
Again, your feedback is appreciated and should you have any more questions or queries, please don’t hesitate to drop us a message and we can arrange a call ?
The article says the rims are
The article says the rims are 24mm internal / 30.5mm external. Any tyre over 30mm wide will not be aero.
…Yet you say they’re not suited to road because they’re hookless. Who are they for? I run 32mm road tyres on my wheels 25mm internal / 32mm external rim width. They’re perfect.
For gravel I want at least 35mm internal / 40mm external.
£7 sounds a lot for just a
£7 sounds a lot for just a cuben fibre spoke
Hey! That is the downside;
Hey! That is the downside; However many who experience the ride offered by a BERD spoke will claim they are worth it.
One of the benefits of purchasing a wheelset from Scribe is the lifetime crash replacement that comes as standard. With that said, if ever required, replacement spokes can be obtained from us, subsidized through the scheme.
It is worth noting they are incredibly robust, something we’ve tested over the years with some of our supported athletes racing XCO at a International elite level ??
Scribe Cycling wrote:
To be honest, I don’t have a lot of faith that spokes add much to ride quality. The tyres will likely have a lot more vertical compliance (at usual pressures) than the spokes or at least I wouldn’t want to use a bike wheel that had rubber-band style spokes that could stretch +-10mm.
You might not have faith, but
You might not have faith, but the material of the spokes makes a huge difference. The ride quality between a basic and premium steel spoke, or moving to a carbon spoke is significant.
If you had Stu and did a double-blind test with a standard set and a Berg spoke set, I am confident he would know the difference between them.
Matt Page wrote:
I’d like to see a real world test of the difference. Ideally it should be double-blind as otherwise the tester is likely to have some bias – maybe put aero wheel covers over the wheels so that Stu doesn’t have to ride blind though.
I’m going to go and look now to see if there’s been any kind of compliance/deflection test on wheels to see if spoke material makes any measurable difference.
Edit: I’ve found this testing of lateral responsiveness: https://www.huntbikewheels.cc/blogs/news/lateral-responsiveness-testing-steel-vscarbon-spokes
They are of the opinion that lateral responsiveness is desirable and thus are aiming for stiffer spokes/wheels. That test does however show that spoke material can make a sizable difference in the wheel stiffness – the carbon spokes led to a 6% stiffer wheel despite having fewer spokes than the steel spoked one.
Edit2: There’s this BikeRadar video testing out the BERD spokes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrbOvVlBMR0
The reviewer likes the extra compliance, so that suggests that the spokes do affect the ride quality.
I’m not buying hookless ever.
I’m not buying hookless ever.
We firmly believe that there
We firmly believe that there is no place for hookless rims on the road; However the hookless rim is ideal for off road application when used with tyres larger than 30mm at the lower pressures needed for optimal off road performance.
EDIT/Update – Apologies; I should have worded that a little differently. We see no need for hookless rims for a performance road application where all our current rims are modelled around 28mm & 30mm tyres. If you want to run the hookless Gravel wheels on the road, we’d reccommend larger volume tyres and if your are chasing road performance, we have steel spoked (Core SL) and carbon spoked (Elan SL) models, hooked for primarily road use.
With that said, there’s no reason why our hooked road-specific wheels couldn’t be off-road, with the right tyres, right application and rider.
“Horses for courses”
Apologies for any confusion @smoggysteve
Yet you market your GRAVEL
Yet you market your GRAVEL ALL-ROAD 700c which are Hookless as ‘all road’ – So are you saying if people buy these they are not ALL Road and in fact just SOME roads so long as they aint tarmac?
“The Gravel Carbon All-Road 700c wheelset is is a ride anywhere performance lightweight on/ off road wheelset.”
“The hookless rim profile is designed to offer increased strength and impact resistance, so you can ride fast anywhere with confidence. “
Not sure thats the narrative your website suggests
You’re right – You can go
You’re right – You can go anywhere on these, with the right tyre. With many riders opting for big rubber for “all-road” comfort. These would be a great option for anyone looking to install some 32mm slick or semi-slick tyres to travel canal paths, explore country lanes or forest trails without performance overly compromised for use on a weekend club run.
Want to chat about the application and numerous possibilities? Drop us a message, we’d love to hear from you 🙂
Scribe Cycling wrote:
But you just said they have NO PLACE on he road. Are they or not?
I think what they are saying
I think what they are saying is that they are fine to use on the road as long as you use 30 mm plus tyres with lower pressures?
And I quoted them saying The
And I quoted them saying there is no place for hookless on the road. I disagree with that statement since I’ve been riding on Zipp 404 which are hookless and not had any issues. But I’m not selling wheels and if you make a statement like that you have to back it up.
Exactly that – Sorry for any
Exactly that – Sorry for any confusion!
if the spokes are 3 times the
if the spokes are 3 times the thickness of a SS aero spoke – do they not move 3 times the air? three times more rotational drag?
Great question! Even though
Great question! Even though Berd spokes look thicker, rotational drag is largely dominated by the rim and tyre, not the spokes. In gravel setups with 35-50 mm tyres the airflow is driven mainly by the tyre and rim, the spoke choice has a minimal aerodynamic influence.
In our tests, Berd builds don’t create anything close to 3× the drag, and the gains in compliance and ride feel far outweigh the tiny aero trade-off.
Hope that helps and if you have any further queries, drop us a message!
I think it’s good that
I think it’s good that alternative approaches to building a wheel for a specific purpose or niche are finding their way to market. It’s also very encouraging to hear the manufacturer responding. Way more encouraging than most of the comments on this article.
Thanks for sharing some
Thanks for sharing some feedback!
As riders ourselves, we appreciate any feedback and are happy to engage in constructive dialogue and as mentioned in previous posts, if someone wants us to pick up the phone for a chat with an engineer or wheel tech, we’d be happy to facilitate.
Berd spokes sound fantastic,
Double post.
GravelIsNothingNew wrote:
Yes – “The PolyLight spokes are woven like a rope and are completely flexible when not under tension.“
But if the PolyLight are available in black and white, it does rather give the lie to the statement that: “those white spokes… aren’t just there for aesthetic purposes. “