Purchased an SL6 gen3 a few months ago and it comes with Bontrager Paradigm Comp 25 TLR disc wheelset. Wanted new wheels that meet a few criteria:

• The current wheels use a freehub that makes a ratcheting noise when coasting. I prefer a silent hub when coasting so I have been looking at Onyx, either MTB or Vesper
• The current wheels are not carbon, I want to make the jump to carbon wheels. I do not race so I am thinking about a shallow or mid section wheel
• I will be doing some credit card touring staying in hotels so I will be carrying some gear. I need wheels that can take a bit of gear weight in panniers or frame bags. I am 6'2" and weigh 195 pounds
• Not sure what tires to use with a new set of wheels but I will be running tubeless. Most of my riding is on the road with only about 20% on gravel. If there are tires you would recommend, let me know

I replaced my stock Bontrager wheels - which were not good wheels - with Roval C38’s. Decent price, 1500 grams - not light, not heavy, 38mm - not deep, not shallow, and mostly silent hubs. Just a slight noise.


Roval claims they are OK for light gravel.

I’ve had them for a year now - no issues.

BTLOS.

- hooked 30mm deep 29mm wide rims that have asymmetric spoke lacing. choose the option to not have spoke holes in the rim bed(free) for easy tubeless use. and put a note in when ordering that you want water weep holes drilled in(free) so they can properly add them when making the rims.
- dt350 hubs. these are dead simple and very trusted. they are also very quiet. 28h for both front and back is more than enough to reliably handle you plus gear weight.
- pillar aero spokes.
- brass nipples.

^ this setup is $792 shipped to your house and weighs 1500g.


Options-
- request 24spokes on the front and 28spokes on the back, if you want the wheelset to be sub-1500g.
- email BTLOS and ask for a quote using Onyx hubs. They advertise they build with Onyx too.
- if you want rims deeper than 30mm, the same rim comes in 35mm.
- use Bitex312 hubs instead and pay just $722 for wheels that weigh 1440g. They are not silent, but they are also not close to many obnoxiously loud hubs
- email BTLOS and ask how loud their house brand RD-SP hubs are. The same wheels in 24h come in at just 1360g and cost $722.


BTLOS is well established, responsive, and reliable. The lack of spoke holes in the rim bed is fantastic for tubeless setup and maintenance since you no longer need tape.

I have these https://www.noxcomposites.com/citico built with dt350 hubs for my Checkpoint - ~4000 trouble free miles. I would describe the noise as a pleasant buzz but not silent, or even quiet. They are available with Onyx hubs as well.

The black reflective decals are pretty sexy.

I have a couple sets of the Bontrager Aeolus Pro 37v's for my CheckPoint. One for road tires, one for gravel tires and they are actually pretty quiet. I added a little more grease to the pawls and that helps quiet them a little more, they are really nice wheels. I run various tires depending on the situation. Gravel: Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M's in 45, Bontrager Girona in 42 (these are really nice comfy speedy light gravel\road tires). Road: Pirelli P Zero Road in 35s, Bontrager Girona in 35's.

Another Xiamen company similar to BTLOS:

https://www.lightbicycle.com/

They have a facility in British Columbia.

I would look at Forge + Bond, they are using Fusion Fiber technology which is a forged carbon technology. Essentially no need for the same old layup process, waste or epoxy and resin. So the idea is a stronger rim without extra weight that you can recycle and also can be more comfortable.
This is more info on the Fusion Fiber technology:
https://www.csscomposites.com

Forge + Bond has rims so you can build them with whatever hubs you want.

Yea the Bontrager wheels I have are made by these folks.

Go Trek for using that. It seems like a really neat technology and is making me want to highly consider a wheel set from them. My only issue is getting a gravel rim with 32h but I bet CSS has something or knows someone they supply to.

WOW ! This is the kind of stuff I'm looking forward to !
I'm sure that there'll be a premium to finished product - regardless of any cost differential... But datz da way it goz...
Website talks about them doing OEM stuff, but nothing about selling direct... Would be good to do both, since word of mouth spreads fast in the cycling community...
... CF, is so... 2010's....
If it's that strong and also compliant - could we be looking forward to it's use in things for Drive train , or other things like seatposts, especially the newer shock absorbing types, etc ???
LOL!
Ride On
Yuri

Forge + Bond is one of the sellers of the product. Apparently some of the Trek owned Bontrager stuff also uses it. Pricing wise it is not so far away from some other carbon wheel sets. I looked up a similar Nobl set and about 200 more for that and maybe 400 more from an I9 1/1 and then about the same for a Reserve gravel wheel but the Reserve has the Torch hubs. So a little more expensive but a newer technology and certainly a better overall process and a recyclable wheel. Plus if the wheel is likely to last longer and work better without the issues of standard pre-preg carbon it will probably be less money overall in the grand scheme.

I think they are making a carbon bar and carbon tire levers so it is only a matter of time before more cool stuff comes. I mean I would love to see this stuff come to seat posts and stems and maybe even forks and more. A carbon gravel fork that is say lighter than a road fork has clearance for massive tires, 3 pack mounts forged in so a bonded insert and can handle higher weight, that would be game changing.

I just emailed BTLOS with these requirements

• Onyx MTB or Classic hub
• Carbon wheels - I do not race so I am thinking about a shallow or mid section wheel
• With the Checkpoint I will be doing some credit card touring and staying in hotels so I will be carrying some gear. I need wheels that can take a bit of gear weight in panniers or frame bags. I am 6'2" and weigh 195 pounds
• Not sure what tires I will use with a new set of wheels but I will be running tubeless. With the Checkpoint, most of my riding is on the road with only about 10% on gravel. I will be running tires in the 35-42mm width

Much of the technical terminology around bikes I am not familiar with including hooked vs unhooked, weep holes, different types of spoke, how many spokes are necessary, etc. Given my 4 bulleted requirements, anything recommendations on what BTLOS wheels I should be ordering?

I second purchasing either new or used set of the Bontrager Aeolus Pro 3Vs (older model) or the Pro 37Vs. They both have a 25mm inner width and are a good depth for all-around use. The hubs are made by DT Swiss. I have the 3Vs on my Domane as my "gravel wheels" and am very pleased with them. My second wheelset is 50 mm deep and I find that a bit too deep IMO as I can really feel crosswinds, whereas I don't have that issue with the 3Vs.

Nice technology but they are pricey

Yes- the setup I initially suggested.

Hooked rims.
Weep holes.
No spoke holes in rim bed.
30mm deep rim.
pillar aero spokes.

Budget?

Not all ratchet freehubs are loud. DT Swiss 350 and Mavic ID360 ratchet freehubs are relatively quiet. An MTB freehub may not work for a Trek Checkpoint which comes with wheels laced to a road freehub.

I have the Roval Terra CL wheels (Roval Terra CL Wheelset - Tubeless - Components) on my gravel bike. They are excellent wheels for this price. They are shallow (and thus light) and have hooked rims which are compatible with more tires than a hookless rim, an advantage if you destroy a tire while on tour. Their system weight limit is 275 lbs. You and your bike are about 215 lbs. Hopefully you are carrying well below 60 lbs. of cargo on tour.

Hard to make a recommendation without knowing how gnarly the gravel sections are and your bike handling skills. I have almost none and so I need small knobs even for relatively tame gravel paths.

I’ve tried the Shimano GRX 870 and 880 wheels. These are light, have carbon rims, and are obviously compatible with the GRX driveline, the 870 models will work 10 and 11 speed, the 880 have a Micro Spline hub for an MTB 12 speed cassette. I’ve also used the Mavic Allroad, the SL comes with a carbon rim. The Mavic wheels are good in that you can replace the free hub without tools, and you can fit HG, Micro Spline, or XD effortlessly. These wheels don’t have silent hubs, but they aren’t as loud as many that I hear out there. Prices for the Shimano wheels have come down quite a bit on Amazon recently. One of the reasons I like them is they are solidly made, and repair parts are easy to obtain.

New technology and likely longer lasting and stronger than most traditional carbon layups so probably in the long term a little cheaper or pretty similar to everything else.

Just placed an order through Light Bicycle for their WR40 rims, Onyx Classic hubs, Sapim D-light spokes with 24 in front and 28 in back