Hunt has today launched its latest aero carbon wheelset, the 40 Limitless Gravel Aero. The new wheels are the result of three years of development, with differential front and rear rim profiles and a hookless bead.
They build on the brand’s previous generation 42 Limitless Gravel Aero (42 LGA) wheelset, losing depth, but getting lighter, faster and wider in the process.
Although Hunt says that its sponsored pros were successful on the 42 LGA in major gravel races, they asked for a wheelset with similar aero performance and stability, but a lower weight than its claimed 1,642g.
In response, Hunt has ported over much of the tech from its latest road wheels, the Sub50 Limitless Aero Disc, to the new wheelset, including the option to spec carbon spokes and CeramicSpeed bearings.
The result is that the new 40 LGA wheelset is 220g lighter than its predecessor, with Hunt also claiming that its wind tunnel testing also shows improved aero performance.
With the inclusion of carbon spokes, the claimed wheelset weight is 1,328g, while the steel-spoked variant has a claimed 1,431g weight.
Different rim profiles
Hunt ran around 2,500 hours of CFD simulations, allowing it to narrow down a starting set of 42 rim profiles to three front and five rear rim shapes. It then built 3D-printed mock-ups of the rims for assembly into prototypes for on-bike testing in the wind tunnel. That was followed by retesting using actual carbon fibre rim prototypes.
In all, Hunt says it ran 90 wind tunnel tests of its new rim profiles at both 40km/h and 45km/h.
The wheels are aero optimised around 40mm and 45mm wide Schwalbe G-One Allround and G-One R tyres, a typical width for many of the best gravel tyres and, Hunt says, the tyres and widths typically used by its sponsored gravel riders. The brand says it chose low-profile treads because otherwise, the airflow around the side knobs dominates the tyre/wheel combination’s aerodynamic performance.
As with many aero bikes, Hunt says that its aerodynamic focus was on the front of the bike, where the air is less turbulent, finding that its 40mm depth, 36mm wide (27mm internal width) profile was most efficient and also enhanced stability and handling.
At the rear, where air is already turbulent, Hunt focused on reducing mass with a narrower, deeper and lighter profile to the rim, at 41mm deep and 35mm wide, with 26mm internal width.
The hookless beads are ETRTO compliant and also, Hunt says, provide a small weight reduction versus hooked rims, and closer manufacturing tolerances. There’s also a better tyre-to-rim interface with a less lightbulb-shaped tyre profile and an additional benefit claimed from a reduced risk of pinch flats.
Hunt offers the option to spec the same carbon spokes as in its Sub50 Limitless Aero Disc wheelset, launched in February 2024. These weigh a claimed 2.7g per spoke and Hunt says that they’re also stiffer, allowing it to reduce the spoke count from 24 to 20 front and rear and at the same time increase the wheels’ responsiveness and dampen higher frequency vibrations. Hunt’s carbon spokes also have the advantage of using standard nipples, making the wheels easier to adjust.
The rear wheel is equipped with Hunt’s newest H_Ratchet DBL freehub, as also seen in the Sub50 road wheels. This uses a lightweight dual-sided ratchet design, which reduces weight over the previous hub’s pawl-based freehub. It has 48 points of engagement and weighs a claimed 314g for the version engineered for carbon spokes.
Head to head testing versus the competition
Hunt claims that the new wheels produce a measured increase in performance from its previous generation 42 LGA wheelset across four metrics: aerodynamic efficiency, aerodynamic stability, weight and tyre shape and that they outperform other gravel wheelsets with depths up to 50mm when used with gravel tyres up to 45mm wide.
Hunt performed head-to-head wind tunnel aero tests against the best gravel wheelsets, including the 3T Discus 45/40, Reserve 40/44, DT Swiss GRC 1400 Spline, Enve 3.4, Cadex 35 AR, Zipp 303 Firecrest and others. It says that its new wheels were second to the 3T wheels in aero drag with 45mm Schwalbe G-One Allround tyres.
Swapping to 40mm width tyres, the new Hunt wheels were again second to the 3T Discus wheelset. Although the 3T wheels were marginally faster, they also weigh 320g more.
Availability and pricing
Price and availability
Prices for the Hunt 40 Limitless Gravel Aero wheelset start at £1,479 / $1,849 / €1,849, fitted with steel spokes and bearings and with a 1,431g claimed weight.
Upgrade to carbon spokes and steel bearings and the claimed weight decreases to 1,328g, with a price of £1,849 / $2,279 / €2,279.
Add in CeramicSpeed bearings, precision fitted at CeramicSpeed’s factory, and the price rises to £2,449 / $2,989 / €2,898. Claimed weight remains the same at 1,328g.
Hunt offers its H_Care lifetime crash replacement – reassuring in an expensive wheelset designed for fast, rough riding.
You can pre-order now, with delivery from late November 2024.
