Reserve's new 48|53 GR gravel wheels bring differential rim depths of 48mm at the front and 53mm at the rear, combined with a wide 44mm external dimension in line with the trend for wider, aero-optimised rims.The shift towards wider aero rims started with Zipps revolutionary 303 XPLR SW design, which combines a 54mm depth with a huge 32mm internal width.Hunt followed with the Limitless Gravel rim, bringing a 40mm depth and 27mm internal width. Newmen then upped the ante with the Streem G.62, blending a 62mm-deep rim with a massive 45mm external width and 27mm internal.ENVE has pushed the boundaries even further with the 67mm-deep G SES 6.7 Pro, which has a huge 35mm internal width. The new 48|53 GR wheelset combines a 48mm front and 53mm rear rim depth. Reserve wheels Reserve says the aero shape is a development from its road-going wheelsets, as used by Team VismaLease a Bike, which have differential rim depths front and rear.It also claims to have combined the aero knowledge gained from the Tour de France with the toughness of Reserves wheels, as used by the Santa Cruz Syndicate downhill team and the Cannondale Factory Racing XC team.That includes details such as the asymmetric spoke offset to increase the bracing angles, to provide a stronger, stiffer wheel build, along with the carbon fibre construction at the heart of the rims.The new gravel wheels are built around an all-new rim design Reserve is calling 'hollow hook' construction. It claims this semi-hook rim shape shaves weight from the outermost section of the rim without sacrificing strength.Reserve backs up its claims with not only a lifetime warranty but also by putting no rider weight limit on the wheelset. The 48|53 GR wheelset makes for a smooth transition between rim and tyre. Reserve wheels The wheel construction is kept simple and user-friendly, with external spoke nipples and off-the-peg Sapim spokes, and tubeless compatibility with the semi-hooked rim design.Rim details The new semi-hook rim profile has a 30mm-wide internal dimension. Reserve wheels The rim has a broad 30mm internal width that helps the tyre to sit wider. Reserve claims this means a wider contact patch for enhanced grip.The brand says the problem with gravel wheel rims is the sport has shifted to ever-wider tyres. On traditional narrower rims, this means the tyre lightbulbs, where the sidewalls taper in narrower than the widest point of the tyre. This makes the tyre more unstable on rough terrain and reduces the contact patch, limiting grip. The premium model comes with lightweight DT Swiss 180 Dicut hubs. Reserve wheels The new 48|53's rim is also very wide externally, at 44mm. This means the transition between rim and tyre is much smoother, reducing drag, which means more speed.Its a similar design solution to the Streem G.62, and G SES 6.7 Pro. Reserve 48|53 GR specs Rim 30mm internal/44mm external width 24 spokes front and rear XDR or HG freehub Standard model: DT Swiss 350 hubs, Sapim CX-Ray Aero spokes, 1,528g pair Premium model: DT Swiss 180 hubs, Sapim CX-Ray Aero spokes, 1,433g pairPricing Reserve 48|53 GR / DT 350 1,599 / $1,599 / 1,799 Reserve 48|53 GR / DT 180 2,399, $TBC / TBC Rim only: 599 each / $TBC / TBC

Reserve has been busy blurring the line between road aero and off-road punishment. Most recently, we got a sneak peek of these new gravel wheels at the Nov Msto World Cup. The Cannondale Factory Team used them as a secret weapon for the fast and power-heavy short track. Now they are pulling the curtain back and letting us see what they are actually for: gravel racing.Cannondale Factory Racing using the 48|53 GR for the short track at the Nov Msto World Cup (Photo/Cannondale)Go Big or Go Home So Reserve went big. The new 48|53 GR wheels use a 30mm internal rim width and a 44mm external width. They also use staggered rim depths: 48mm up front and 53mm in the rear. (Photo/Cannondale)Wide Enough For Cross-CountryReserve says the wheels are optimized for tires from 40mm to 57mm (2.25 inches). Which means these arent just road wheels with a gravel sticker slapped on the side. These guys are good for everything (XCO XXC included), but youre gonna need a custom build with boost spacing. (Photo/Reserve)That 30mm internal width is doing a few things. First, it gives bigger gravel tires a more supported shape, spreading the casing, but its not overkill for moderate tires. The wider rim, paired with the bead support, means less tire squirm when youre smashing through fast, rough sections. (Photo/Reserve)Aero Enough For New Gravel The aero side comes from the big 44mm external profile. Reserve says the wide rim helps air transition more cleanly from the tire onto the rim, reducing drag and improving speed. Thats the trick with modern aero gravel wheels: the rim cant just be deep. It has to work with the tire, and gravel tires are not exactly delicate or predictable. The 48|53 GR is designed to create a smoother airflow buffer around larger tires, which Reserve says is where the speed gains come from.Hollow HookThe other big talking point is Reserves new Hollow Hook construction. Essentially, Reserve found a way to remove material from the outer section of the rim hook without sacrificing strength or impact resistance (waiting on some reviews to validate this). That matters because when rims get wider, they usually get heavier. Hollow Hook is Reserves way of keeping the rim profile wide enough for aero and tire support without turning the finished wheelset into a boat anchor. But will it be enough to meet the demands of modern gravel well have to wait and see. (Photo/Reserve)Builds: Reserve 48|53 GR Gravel Race WheelsWeights are competitive, especially given the rims size. The DT Swiss 350 build comes in at a claimed 1,528g. The higher-end DT Swiss 180 version drops that to 1,433g. Both builds come laced with Sapim CX-Ray aero bladed spokes. Rim-only weights are listed at 445g front and 465g rear, which again is pretty tidy for a 30mm internal, aero-shaped gravel rim.Reserve also keeps things refreshingly normal where it counts. The 48|53 GR uses external nipples, centerlock disc mounts, and 24 spokes front and rear. Hub spacing is the usual 100x12mm front and 142x12mm rear, with XDR or HG driver options. There are no rider weight limits or tire limitations, and the wheels feature a semi-hooked rim design. (Photo/Reserve)Pricing: Reserve 48|53 GR Gravel Race WheelsDT Swiss 350 build at $1,599 USD / $2,249 CAD / 1,799.DT Swiss 180 build comes in at $2,499 USD / $3,889 CAD / 2,799. Rim-only pricing is listed at $699 USD per rim.Reservewheels.comThe post Reserve Goes Wide, Deep, Aero & Hollow Hooked w/ New 48|53 GR Gravel Race Wheels appeared first on Bikerumor.

The 2026 Tour de France classifications will shift across three weeks of racing, from the Grand Dpart in Barcelona on 4 July to the final stage in Paris on 26 July. Across time trials, sprint stages, breakaway opportunities and the high mountains, each day can alter the shape of the race for yellow...

New aero hoops from Reserve get super wide widths, deep profiles and interesting Hollow Hook design

Avinox and Gobao have just launched new E-CVT drive units, and they are going to completely revolutionise e-bike design. No more derailleurs to snag on rocks, no heavy cassettes impeding the suspension, and no need to back off the power when shifting gears under load. In fact, youre going to have to completely reimagine how you think about e-bike gears and motors going forward. But what exactly is an E-CVT? In a nutshell, its an Electronically-Controlled Continuously Variable Transmission. Which is an advanced automatic Continue reading

Stage 4 of the 2026 Tour de France finished in Foix, and the Tour's first 'baroudeur' stage was a breakaway fest. Lidl-Trek put in a stellar collective performance, featuring many of their strong figures at the head of the race and controlling it to launch Mads Pedersen into a brilliant stage victor...

In the end, it looked quite easy for Mads Pedersen as he sprinted clear to victory on stage four of the 2026 Tour de France in Foix. However, it was anything but easy, on a day where temperatures headed towards 40C.The Lidl-Trek rider was multiple bike lengths clear at the end on Tuesday, but it came after a brutal day of racing in the south of France, with the win coming from a gigantic breakaway.Pedersen's team controlled the escape perfectly, with Quinn Simmons and Mathias Vacek putting their all in to deliver their Dane to victory. There was also delight for another Nordic rider in the break, as Torstein Tren (Uno-X Mobility) took enough time to step into the yellow jersey, as the peloton rolled in minutes behind.More to follow...

100% of parents who responded to a survey supported improving walking and cycling links to school.Fianna Fil Senator Paul Daly has questioned whose common good it is to have the Safe Routes to School project in his hometown of Kilbegganand of greenways generally. According to documents on Westmeath County Councils website, before implementing the Safe Routes to School project for Scoil an Chlochai, KilbegganNational School, it was documented how some parents were driving and parking on footpaths during the school run.The project, which complemented the design of the road outside the newly built Mercy Secondary School on the same road, included widening footpaths to make them into shared paths to serve the two schools. Bollards, trees and greening were added to discourage parents from driving up onto footpaths. Both schools have their own car pickup arrangements the secondary school within the school grounds and the national school in the church car park behind it. Google Maps Street View imagery suggests that some parents continue to try to ignore these and park on the shared path at driveways, etc. A scoument for the Safe Routes to School outlines that a survey was sent to all families of Scoil an Chlochair before the plans were drawn up. There was a 52.6% response rate to the survey with 71.4% of parents surveyed agreed that road safety is a problem around the school, 97.4% saying they would support works at the front of school that improve student safety, putting pedestrians and cyclists first.Of the respondents, 75 students (60.9%) start their journey within a 1km radius of the school, and 95 students (77.2%) within a 2km radius. But in a recent debate on greenways at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food, Senator Paul Daly questioned the good of the project even after he admitted that it slowed down traffic outside the two schools.In his comments, the Senator addressed Barry Kehoe, chief executive of Westmeath County Council and chairman of the County and City Management Associations transport infrastructure networks committee, who was appearing at the committee as a witness mainly on the issue of greenways. Senator Daly said: We can split hairs on who considers what to be the common good and whose common good is it. While it is not a greenway, Mr Kehoe would be aware of a town and village renewal active travel project in my town of Kilbeggan. The footpath up to the school was widened, and junctions were changed. It slowed down the traffic, and its aim was to have kids walk to the school.When I canvassed for both the local and general elections, at every second door, I was getting complaints about how much longer it was taking to do the school run in the town. Regarding the common good, the people were not looking for that active travel project because they were still going to the school in their cars, he claimed.Despite the survey of parents showing strong support for the project, from the majority who responded, Senator Daly said: Who decides what the common good is? These people did not have an input into that. They did not see this as the common good because they were still driving.The issue of greenways and the common good will be covered in a separate article.

Good morning and welcome to the liveblog of the Tour de France! Stage 3 marks the first day of this year's race to be contested entirely on French roads, and there is a new rider in the yellow jersey as the peloton rolls out: Tadej Pogacar. Today's stage promises to be another demanding test, with p...

Great value from the Swiss brand, but an all-white option would have been nice