Review
It should be no surprise to regular readers that I like speed. Bikes, skis, or cars, my preferred flavor is generally “fast.” On mountain bikes, this proclivity towards speed leads to high-paced climbing, minimal faff & social stops, and mostly* steering clear of trails that are unavoidably slow or janky. Skiing, same. Let’s lay down some tracks at speed – there’s plenty of time to chat on the chairlift or next up-track. While I don’t spend much time between the tape on closed courses anymore, it’s a place I’m at home, and simulating some aspects of racing (at least, the going fast part) isn’t uncommon for me while out recreating.
*Variety is the spice of life, and I’ll enjoy those trails too, on occasion.
While many people’s version of gravel involves long rides at a social pace, stopping to enjoy a snack with a view,* and having no desire to intentionally raise their heart rate, mine are typically 1-2 hours of smashing around with as much velocity as I can muster, generating through the crankarms with my heart rate pinned (sorry, Mike). I even went gravel racing, with the multi-day BCBR Gravel Explorer XLT aboard a Specialized Diverge, with some 32mm deep Roval wheels. This was my first taste of deeper wheel profiles for aerodynamics, and I liked it so much I ended up writing an entire article about pizza… no, sorry. I wrote an entire article about deep vs shallow wheels for gravel bikes, and this whole intro was a way to get to this; I’m a fan of deep wheels, and I have been waiting for a chance to try some of the new crop of aero gravel wheels designed around wide tires.
*While not my usual, I’m also no stranger to going slow, although there’s usually a tent involved, and sometimes my whole family.
We can’t mention my foray into gravel racing without bringing this photo back. I was fine, and finished third at the end of the week. Photo – Chris Stenberg
The winner of the 2025 edition of Unbound averaged 39 kilometres per hour over 200 miles – even the 350XL was won (by BC’s own Rob Britton) at a staggering 32 kilometres per hour. Given this, the influx of aero products should be no great surprise; somewhere between 19 and 24 kilometres per hour, aerodynamic drag becomes the primary force acting against you, and at roughly 30 kilometres an hour, it is consuming 60-90% of a rider’s power (these numbers are a broad range, because they vary significantly with terrain, tires, handlebars and other factors). A lot of this drag is you, the rider. Your body has a lot more frontal area than your bike. But some of it is the bike, and after we work on body position and spend some money on lycra, we can eventually allocate some capital to aero gains on our bike itself.
Or get some deep wheels first, because they look boss, aero riding positions are uncomfortable, and lycra shows where all the real gains need to be made (the kitchen). I’m not your boss.
Since my brief time cosplaying as a gravel racer in 2022, the genre has exploded with products designed for aerodynamic gains – racing is now high-stakes with big purses, and speeds are way up. This influx was initially dominated by road products brought into the off-road realm, but in the past year or two, there’s been a real infusion of marketing touting the latest and greatest gravel-specific ways to maximize your watts to go faster. I’m not racing anytime soon, but I do like trying to go fast, and even if they’re not terribly long, my gravel rides are usually well above the thresholds where aero is a primary factor.
Aero wheels! For performance! Photo – Cooper Quinn
NOBL FAR 40/50
NOBL isn’t new to gravel, but the FAR (Fast, Aerodynamic, Responsive) rims launched a couple of months back on the aggressive side of modern aero gravel. There are two rims in the FAR lineup – the FAR40 and FAR50. They are 40mm and 50mm depth respectively, and share a 29mm internal width, ‘fusion hook’ bead, and teardrop profile designed to slice air at speed and hopefully survive some crosswinds. At their widest point, both rims are 38mm and optimized for 45c tires. NOBL says anything from 38c-57c should work with no issues.
The FAR50 comes in at 400 grams for a rim; the FAR40 loses 40 grams alongside those 10 millimetres. Total wheelset weight will be dependent on your specific build; I’ve gone with a ‘conventional’ aero-mullet setup, a deeper party-wheel out back and the more svelte business-wheel up front to shave a few grams and improve crosswind performance. Built up with straight-pull Sapim CX-Ray spokes in a two-cross, the DT Swiss 240 equipped wheelset comes out to 1295 grams before tape and valves; this is somehow both the lightest wheelset I’ve ever ridden, and the widest/deepest. As built, these clock in at 2,548 CAD. NOBL offers a variety of options in their online wheel builder, with each wheelset built to order in Cumberland, BC. There’s a myriad of hub, spoke, nipple, and color options to choose from in addition to the usual options like width, brake mount, and freehub and if you want to nerd out on weights, they’ve got an online calculator. NOBL wheels are available through many local bike shops or direct.
It’s difficult to portray in photos how chunky these wheels look in person. They’re also astonishingly light. Photos – Deniz Merdano
Straight-pull spokes aren’t my favorite, but at least when they’re bladed it’s easy to keep them from rotating should your wheels need a true.
It’s hard to argue with the weight/value/price propositions offered across the DT Swiss hub lineup.
Riding
NOBL recommends tires in the 40-50c range for the FAR rims; I mounted up a set of 45c Schwalbe G-ONE R (my current favorite gravel tire, affectionately referred to as the Goners). I’ve got a lot of time on these tires, so they’re a reasonable control, and I find they strike a great balance of off-road traction while rolling very well on tarmac, where they spend a good chunk of time under me commuting and connecting gravel bits. The Goners inflated easily without a compressor, and I headed out the door.
My immediate impressions were that under power, the acceleration was noticeably snappy – losing ~300 grams of wheel weight and stiff in the right ways makes a huge difference. The rear freehub was also occasionally crunchy for the first 100-200 kilometres, which I’ve found isn’t uncommon with a new star ratchet setup. Basically, there are some occasional noises on engagement with pedaling until things break in. After that, the wheelset has been remarkably quiet for a deep carbon wheel – if you’re after that sensation of a carbon drum amplifying your freehub noises to match your #loudhubssavelives sticker, this isn’t the rim and hub combination for you.
I’ve been aboard the FAR 40/50 combo for the better part of four months now, and all my experiences have been positive. I’ve ridden them on everything from smooth pavement to 1/4 mile oval gravel tracks to dumb mountain-bike-lite singletrack, and they’re as true as they day they showed up, despite my best efforts. One of the more pleasing aspects has been the cross-wind performance of the FAR40 up front – I’ve had shallower wheels that are harder to manage when winds get stiff.
Crossing one of Vancouver’s many bridges can be a scenic but blustery affair and a bit white knuckle on deep front wheels (looking at you Aeolus 49V), but the FAR 40 handles it well. Photo – Cooper Quinn
They’re fast. It’s always difficult (impossible) to perform blind testing with something like this wheelset, but swapping around regularly gives me a pretty solid indicator that these are faster than the other wheelsets I’ve been riding, in most conditions. I’m a big fan of how the weight feels as well, acceleration is awesome and grinding up climbs with heavier wheels on feels a chore. The 29mm internal width gives the Goners a lightly rounded profile, with a good amount of sidewall support that’s important for cornering with lower pressure; I’m typically running 25-27PSI F/R for my 165-pound frame.
People will raise concerns about deep wheels and comfort – and while deep wheels are somewhat inescapably stiffer vertically, I’m a believer that the effect of tires, tire pressure, and sidewall stiffness has an impact that’s orders of magnitude greater here than the rim itself. Running a larger tire at lower pressure is noticeably smoother on rough stuff – I’m down 2-3PSI with the drop from my usual 38c tire to these 45c; the additional comfort is substantial. Even better, there’s a reasonable amount of research that shows the reduction in suspension losses (basically, your body jiggling) leads to greater outright pace over rough terrain in addition to lower fatigue. If you’re out for long days, that’s win-win.
In recent years, Landyachtz has revived the Little 100, a 100-lap relay race around a quarter-mile dirt oval in East Vancouver. I put my kid to bed and missed most of it, but got there in time to do a few ceremonial laps and drink a couple beers. Photo – Alec Suriyuth
Conclusions
My time on the NOBL FAR wheelset has been trouble-free, but I’d consider swapping the rims around if I were ordering a new set. There have been a few pros playing with this “reverse mullet” setup in road and gravel, bucking conventional wisdom and putting the deeper rim up front. Specialized is now selling wheelsets in this configuration with the theory that there are larger aero gains to be made out front in the smooth air. By the time air navigates through your front wheel, frame, and spinning legs to your rear wheel, it’s a bit of a turbulent mess. Given the stability I experienced with the FAR40 in crosswinds, I’d be comfortable going deeper. I’d then downsize the rear for weight savings and possibly see some slight compliance gains for comfort at the same time.
You don’t need to be out chasing speed to see advantages from a deeper wheel – the efficiency gains mean that while you can go faster for the same watts by reducing your drag, you could also go the same speed you usually do with less power. For long rides, these small efficiency gains compound, and I’d bet we see a continuing trend of gravel wheels getting a little deeper across the spectrum, not just in the race world.
If you are an aspiring racer or privateer, the NOBL FAR wheels are a great option to get you closer to the pointy end with a solid blend of aero, weight, and cost considerations. You can configure your wheelset as you see fit with customization options and the ability to mix and match to suit your bike and use case, or budget.
Elder millennial, size medium.
Reformed downhiller, now rides all the bikes.