The 7 Best Chinese Carbon Gravel Bike Wheels Worth Your Attention

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This article includes the best Chinese carbon 650b and 700c gravel bike wheels. All wheels in this article come from established and reliable Chinese manufacturers, pass extensive testing, and are covered by at least a 2-year warranty. Additionally, they cost a fraction of the price of wheels from mainstream brands.

I selected these wheels based on my experience with some of these brands (mainly with their road bike wheels) and positive customer reviews worldwide.

Below, you will also learn a thing or two about choosing gravel bike wheels that are worth it and safe to ride, and much more.

What Are the Best Chinese Carbon Gravel Bike Wheels?

Best Budget

Use this ICAN discount code CYCLISTSHUB on www.icancycling.com during checkout to get 5% OFF your purchase. Share this code via email.

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Also available at icancycling.com

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Best Overall

Use this Winspace discount code CYCLISTSHUB10 at winspace.cc or lunwheels.cc during checkout to get 10% OFF your purchase. Share this code via email.

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Also available in 700c size

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Best Premium

Use this Elitewheels discount code CYCLISTSHUB at elite-wheels.com on the checkout page to get 15% OFF your purchase. Share this code via email.

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Skip to the comparison table…

The best Chinese gravel bike wheels are those that balance stiffness, durability, and weight. They must be covered by a warranty and pass extensive quality testing. Choose the ones that best fit your budget and preference. If you don’t know where to start, check out the section on how to choose gravel bike wheels first.

Lún Grapid 650b & 700c (Best Chinese Gravel Bike Wheels Overall)

Although Lún is a relatively young brand, it has over a decade of experience with carbon wheel manufacturing under a different name. When developing the Grapid series, Lún took everything it learned from producing road and MTB wheels. I have had positive experiences with their road bike wheels, such as HYPER and HYPER SE, which are among the most popular Chinese road bike wheels.

Grapid wheels with in-house designed hubs (6803 and 6903 bearings) will be a worthy upgrade to your gravel bike. You can choose from 650b or 700c wheel sizes depending on the terrain you want to ride in.

Both wheelsets come with in-house-designed hubs and Sapim CX-Ray spokes. To match your groupset, you can choose the freehub type (Shimano, Campagnolo, or SRAM XDR).

The tubeless-ready rims support up to 50mm tires, which are suitable even for MTB-like terrain. Grapid wheels offer great durability, but if something goes wrong, you can rely on the 2-year warranty and helpful customer support.

ICAN 700c Aero 40 (Best Budget Chinese Gravel Bike Wheels)

If you are looking for budget but quality carbon wheels, you should check out ICAN’s Aero line. Their Aero 40 wheels are popular not only among road cyclists but also among gravel riders. I’ve heard many great things about them but, unfortunately, didn’t have the chance to test them.

Like the Grapid wheels, they come with in-house-designed hubs and Sapim CX-Ray spokes and are available in multiple rim depths (35, 40, 45, 46, 50, and 55mm). You can choose whatever depth you want, depending on your riding style and preferred terrain. I recommend deeper wheels for flats and smoother terrain and shallow ones for more hilly and technical terrain.

As the rim width suggests, these wheels are better for narrower tires (25-40mm) and can also be used for road cycling. So, if you like to run wider tires, these are not your best choice.

Also available at icancycling.com

Elitewheels DRIVE G (Best Premium Chinese Gravel Bike Wheels)

I tested Elitewheels’ DRIVE road bike wheels, so I was pleased when Elitewheels introduced its DRIVE G series. They took the best features from the road series, such as the low weight and inertia, spokes pattern, rim finish, etc., and implemented them into the gravel series.

Based on my experience with the DRIVE wheels, you can expect the DRIVE Gravel to be stiff thanks to the clever rim construction, carbon spokes, and in-house-designed hubs. Together with the centered weight distribution, they are one of the most agile and responsive gravel wheels you can buy. Trust me, DRIVE wheels are my go-to climbing wheels. I love how responsive they feel when accelerating.

By the way, the hubs are double-walled, so they are waterproof yet easy to clean and have NBK ceramic bearings. Of course, DRIVE G wheels are tubeless-ready, so you can pump tires at lower pressures for increased comfort and grip.

Farsports Ultralight XC Series

Farsports has been developing and manufacturing wheels since 2004. Their Ultralight XC Series line is the best they offer. So, they should catch your attention if you are a racer or a demanding rider. I have experience with Farsports Ventoux S and Farsports Wave road bike wheels, and they have been rock-solid.

The XC Series is super lightweight, weighing an incredible 1080g in the 20mm rim depth. The in-house designed Farsports hubs are connected to the rims with Sapim CX-Ray spokes. Their popularity ensures availability and easy serviceability almost anywhere.

Of course, you can choose a freehub body for Shimano, Campagnolo, or SRAM cassettes. If you crash and damage these wheels, you can enjoy a 35% discount on your next wheels thanks to Farsports’ crash replacement policy.

Elitewheels Marvel G35

Elitewheels is one of the leading Chinese carbon wheel manufacturers. Their gravel wheel line-up also includes Marvel wheels, which were previously called SLT35.

Thanks to their “glossy raw carbon” rim finish, you will stand out with them. They come with Sapim CX-Ray spokes, so you won’t experience issues finding a replacement if you break them because they belong to the most used spokes out there.

They use Elitewheels’ hubs with a double-walled waterproof design for better durability and ceramic bearings.

Of course, the rims are tubeless-ready, so you can run your tires at lower pressures, improving your comfort and puncture resistance.

They are ideal for flats or hilly terrain thanks to their higher depth than the Farsports gravel wheels. They can perfectly maintain your speed and are suitable for steady efforts.

You can choose from black or white decals and freehub bodies for Shimano or SRAM groupsets. Additionally, they are covered with an extended, 3-year warranty.

Farsports 650b & 700c Gravel Bike Wheelset

If you appreciate customizability and many options to choose from, I can recommend Farsports wheels from their wheelsfar.com website.

Farsports tests its wheels in-house. They meet ISO 4210 quality standards but claim they can pass even stricter tests. I can’t prove this claim right or wrong, but my experience with Farsports Wave road wheels (also from wheelsfar.com) was that they were well-made wheels for a good price.

YOELEO SAT C35 DB PRO NxT SL2

YOELEO is one of the most well-known Chinese bicycle brands. It is popular thanks to its UCI-approved road bike wheels and frames, but it also produces gravel bike wheels. Manufacturing their latest generation of NxT wheels was partially automated, resulting in lower overall weight, higher stiffness, and reduced waste.

For example, the 35mm deep option weighs a respectable 1260g and uses steel Pillar Wing 20 Aero spokes. It uses YOELEO 230 hubs. The first generations were pretty noisy, but the latest one should be okay. They have 36T ratchet and work on the same principle as DT Swiss hubs.

YOELEO recommends tire widths between 28 and 47mm. Remember, they have a lower weight limit than usual, only 105kg (231lb). So, if you exceed this weight, you should look for alternatives. You can learn more about my experience with these wheels in my YOELEO SAT PRO Offset review.

Also available at yoeleoeurope.com

My Verdict

Do your research before buying a gravel bike wheelset from China. I always recommend buying from established and reliable brands because unbranded wheels from online marketplaces are not the wisest choice. They may be good but also of poor quality.

All wheelsets in this roundup were extensively tested, covered by warranty, and ridden by riders worldwide.

Read the following section to learn what to be aware of when choosing gravel bike wheels.

How to Choose the Best Chinese Carbon Gravel Bike Wheels?

This buyer’s guide explains what features to consider when buying carbon gravel bike wheels.

Wheel Size

Gravel bikes run either 700c or 650b wheels. The 700c wheels have a diameter of 622mm, while the 650b only 584mm. You should choose the wheel size depending on your riding style and the terrain you want to ride in.

700c wheels use narrower tires than 650b wheels. Narrower tires are better for light terrain and paved surfaces. They are faster and can maintain speed more easily.

La Velocita explains that 700c wheels combine the best weight, grip, and rolling resistance ratio. However, due to a larger diameter, they don’t accelerate as fast.

650b wheels use wider, high-volume tires. They are suitable for rougher terrain, such as bumpy roads, rough gravel, mud, single tracks, and trails. The knobby tires ensure enough grip and adhesion.

Wider tires run on lower pressure are perfect for absorbing road vibrations and bumps, making your ride more comfortable. They also accelerate faster but can’t maintain speed as well as 700c tires.

To wrap the wheel size up:
Go for 700c if you prefer combining paved roads with light terrain, and you plan to race.
Buy 650b wheels if you enjoy rougher terrain and pushing your gravel bike to its limits.

Rim Width

The general rule is that your tires should always be as wide or wider as the outer rim width. When choosing the rim width, you have to consider your riding style and preferred tire width.

Check out the following table (all credit to Cycling Tips) to better understand tire widths for different terrains.

650b wheel size is usually used only for rough and MTB-like terrain. So, unless you want to push your gravel bike to its limits, you should be fine with 700c wheels.

Clincher vs. Tubular vs. Tubeless

Gravel bikes mostly come with clinchers or tubeless-ready clinchers. Tubulars are more common on road bikes and are not very widespread among gravel riders.

Clincher

Clinchers are the most widespread type of wheels/tires. The tire is supported by an inner tube made of rubber or latex.

This type of wheel is “user-friendly” in terms of maintenance. Replacing the inner tube or tire with clincher wheels is much easier than tubular or tubeless tires.

The downside is that they are more prone to puncture because they won’t allow you to inflate lower pressures (as tubular or tubeless do), and they may also feel slower due to their higher overall weight.

NOTE: If the wheels are ‘clincher tubeless-ready,’ you can use them with tubeless tires (read more).

Tubular

Tubular tires are more common in road cycling and less popular on gravel bikes. The reason is simple: they are not easily repairable.

When you ride a gravel bike on gravel or rougher terrain, you are more prone to puncture than on smooth tarmac. Tubulars are not exactly the tires you want to repair on the side of the road because they are glued to the wheels.

Tubeless

Tubeless tires (also called clincher tubeless-ready) are the most modern ones. Tubeless-ready wheels enable the use of a tubeless tire, which utilizes sealant instead of an inner tube.

The main benefit of tubeless tires is their self-repairing feature – the sealant fills out small holes. These tires also allow you to inflate lower pressures, so they are more comfortable and less prone to puncture.

Their downside is that they are more expensive than clincher tires and more difficult to replace.

Rim Depth

Although aerodynamics is not as important in gravel cycling as it is in road cycling, the rim depth is still worth considering.

It influences the aerodynamics of your wheels. So, if you care about speed and plan to ride a lot on flats and smooth roads with your gravel, you should consider wheels with deeper sections.

Based on my research and browsing dozens of carbon gravel bike wheels, they rarely exceed the rim depth of 50mm. Rim depths of up to 35mm are the most popular on gravel bikes.

If you are interested in wheel aerodynamics, watch the following video. Hambini, a former aerospace engineer, explains why deep-section wheels are more aerodynamic.

Hubs

Some Chinese manufacturers develop their own hubs, while others allow you to choose from established manufacturers like DT Swiss.

Unfortunately, not many tests compare the performance of in-house designed hubs with those from mainstream brands.

However, some YouTube channels like Hambini, Peak Torque, or Cyclists Hub are worth subscribing to. We all do reviews of the Chinese wheel. For example, according to Hambini, Farsports or Winspace (Lún) in-house hubs are pretty good.

The easiest way to nail this is to check out the specs of your current wheels.

I also recommend reading this comparison of ceramic vs. steel bearings to learn more about their pros and cons.

Other Features to Consider

Chinese Carbon Gravel Bike Wheels FAQ

This post is regularly updated to provide the most up-to-date product tips. If you find a product that is not up to date, please contact me.