Ryan Builds Wheels Club Gravel Disk Brake Wheelset

Unless you are racing, carbon and a deep section aren't the main attributes you need for a gravel wheelset. You want them to be reliable and tough, and to work well with wide tyres, and that's what the Ryan Builds Wheels Club Gravel Disk Brake wheelset puts at the forefront. These UK handbuilt wheels are also well priced, too.

For more options, check out off.road.cc's guide to the best gravel bike wheels and our guide to the best road bike wheels.

> Buy now: Ryan Builds Wheels Club Gravel Disk Brake wheelset for £418 from RBW

I reviewed the road version of these wheels recently and was impressed, so it's not going to be too much of a surprise that I have the same overall feelings about these Club Gravels.

The build (which I'll delve into in a moment) produces an impressive ride quality. Not something that is quite as crucial on a gravel bike because of the role played by large volume tyres, but should you run them with a firmly pumped up set of wide slicks it's something you'll be thankful for. 

> How to choose the best bike tyre pressure — balancing speed, comfort and grip

There's a certain smoothness to the ride, and with a lack of road buzz there are no compromises when it comes to feedback passing through from the tyres up to the rider.

Lateral stiffness is great too, most noticeable on those steep climb when I was out of the saddle and banking the bike hard side to side. When things turned towards descending that stiffness meant that the front end of the bike stayed feeling tight under high turning loads and when I was pulling hard on the brakes.

The wheels worked well with a range of gravel tyres thanks to the rim width, which ensured that the tyres had a natural curved shape, none of that top-heavy 'lightbulb' effect going on here.

> Buyer’s Guide: Best gravel bike tyres

From a durability point of view the Club Gravels also impressed, taking the battering from my local gravel tracks, which tend to be rocky, with many hidden potholes. They were perfectly true when they arrived and were still running exactly the same when the review period finished.

Build

The 22mm-deep Club Gravel rims are made from heat-treated 6066 T6 aluminium alloy, and the spoke beds have been tested to over 300kgf. The heat-treating is done after the extrusion and welding processes to make sure there is a uniform strength throughout the rim.

They are available in either 24 or 32-spoke builds, and we have the latter. You can choose between 700C and 650B diameters, too.

Internally they have a width of 25mm which will work with gravel tyres up to around 50mm comfortably, and you can still run 30/32mm road tyres without it affecting the shape of the tyre at all.

The wheels come fitted with tubeless tape and valves, and the rims are hooked, using a double locking bead design for a secure fit. I fitted a set of 36mm WTB road tyres, 40mm treaded gravel tyres and a 45mm set of slick Panaracer GravelKings without any real issue. The narrower tyres required a lever to flick the last section onto the rim, but things weren't so tight that I would have had any issues removing them at the side of the trail if I'd needed to fix a puncture.

All three tyre sizes popped onto the rim with just the use of a track pump, so running tubeless is a simple solution. Because of the number of tyres and wheels I review, I tend to run a lot of setups with inner tubes – the amount of sealant I'd get through in a month otherwise! I rode these with tubes, and everything worked absolutely fine.

The Bitex BX106 hubs are smooth rolling and remained so even after plenty of dusty riding on the trails and some rain too.

They come with an aluminium freehub with Anti-Bite protection, a steel strip applied to one of the splines that stops your cassette from digging into it under load, although there is a full steel freehub option available should you need extra strength.

The freehub feels quick to lock into drive, with six pawls and 48 points of engagement. All brands are catered for, with Shimano, SRAM XDR and Campagnolo's standard road cassette standard covered for the same price. Shimano's Microspline and Campagnolo's N3W 13 speed add £10 to the wheelset price.

It's not just the freehub that you can spec with regards to the hubs, you can also choose the body colour, with a range of anodised finishes on offer like the blue we have, which can be matched to the aluminium Sapim nipples. Brass offerings are also available.

You can choose from a full range of axle options, too.

Sapim's race spokes are included in the standard build price of £410, but you can upgrade to D-Light or CX-Ray for an extra tenner.

Including the tape and valves, the overall weight of these is 1,700g on the road.cc Scales of Truth.

Value

Considering that each set of wheels is handbuilt in Bristol, I'd say the price is very competitive. You can also upgrade to different rims – Kinlin RD 3-FT – if you want a stronger build, without increasing the price. And all of those colour options or changes to spoke spec give you a decent amount of customisation.

I reviewed the BORG31 wheelset back in 2021, a do-it-all handbuilt set that could take on all kinds of riding. They weighed about the same but came with 19mm internal rims, so I'd say that the RBWs have the edge for wider tyres.

Considering the price increases we've seen over the last couple of years it's no surprise to see that they have gone up a bit, to £559.99 – not a huge amount, but still £140 more than the RBWs.

When I reviewed the Spa Cycles Elan Ti bike recently it came with a set of Spa Cycles' own handbuilt wheels. They were tough, durable and use similar components. With a Kinlin rim, the same Bitex BX106 hubs, Sapim CX-Ray spokes and an upgrade to blue nipples, you are looking at a price of £415.

Conclusion

Overall, this is a strong and durable set of wheels that work well on your gravel bike, commuter or tourer. The fact that you can get some customisation like coloured anodised hubs and nipples for no extra cost is also a bonus.

> Buy now: Ryan Builds Wheels Club Gravel Disk Brake wheelset for £418 from RBW

Verdict

Strong, reliable wheels with a great ride quality and a bit of bling for no extra cost