Ribble CGR Al e wheelset

[Grumpyoldbiker]

Hi

I searched the forum but cannot find anything on this subject, so apologies if it has been covered elsewhere, please point me in the right location.

I'm considering getting a Ribble CGR Al e, and I am very impressed by the reviews I see in various places.

However, as a "Gravel" bike one issue that is of concern to me is whether the standard wheels offered (or the bikebuilder upgraded wheels) are sufficiently robust for a Gravel bike. If I am reading the spec correctly the Mavic Aksium Elite Evo UST Wheels have a spoke count of 20. Now I know the number of spokes is not the only factor that determines wheel strength, but it seems to me that this is more of a road only wheel. Looking at the Mavic website, again if I am understanding it correctly, it is classified as a road wheel.

Admittedly, I would be using the bike for a lot of road riding as well as gravel, but I certainly would be planning to take it off road as routine, sometimes for long periods. I wouldn't take my existing road wheels which have a similar spoke count on to anything more than short lengths of level gravel.

I'd be very interested in feedback from anyone who has got a Ribble CGR Al e with these wheels (or from anyone who uses these wheels on any gravel bike) on how these wheels perform off road, and whether anyone has specified any different wheels on a CGR Al e.

If the bike didn't have a hub motor this wouldn't be such an issue, but with a hub motor it will obviously not be easy to swap wheels once the motor has been built into the rear wheel.

Depending on the response I get, I may approach Ribble to see if an alternative wheelset can be specified, but I thought I would try to get the views of existing users first.

Thanks

Peter

[richtea99]

Try Malcolm Borg:
https://thecycleclinic.co.uk/pages/wheelbuilding

He rebuilt my Orbea Gain wheels, which have the same ebikemotion hub motor as the Ribble.
He'll know what can and can't be done now he's had a practice on my wheels.

The problem I had was the x1 lacing on the Orbea. Maybe the Ribble is better on that front. Malcolm rebuilt mine with 2x lacing, but I think I've seen 3x with another ebikemotion manufacturer (can't remember who).

[bikercolin]

Worth considering other gravel bikes with better standard wheels too.

https://www.cairncycles.com/?gclid=Cj0K ... RREALw_wcB

[richtea99]

Worth considering other gravel bikes with better standard wheels too.

https://www.cairncycles.com/?gclid=Cj0K ... RREALw_wcB

Good point - Fazua-based bikes don't have to compromise on the rear hub housing the motor, so wheels can be swapped out easily.
Instead the compromise moves to the crank set - which is not as contentious. Or is it?