Elite Wheels Drive G45 Carbon Spoke Gravel Wheelset Overview

The Drive G45 CS wheels from Elite Wheels might change what you thought you knew about wheels from slightly identified model from China.  However these carbon gravel wheels punch method above their price-class, given the manufacturing worth, prime quality end, and all in-house fabrication and construct.  And the worth will blow you away.

The wheel enterprise just isn’t one I’d usually think about filled with alternatives, contemplating what number of decisions we customers need to “hoopify” our rides.  Let’s be trustworthy and name it a consumers’ market.

Click on Play to observe me unbox these wheels, to see how they’re packed for abroad delivery, and a close-up view earlier than I mounted the tires.

So any new model eager to roll into the wheel recreation had higher provide one thing nobody else has.  And today, that’s getting more durable and more durable to seek out…

Elite makes use of a their very own formulation of carbon fiber referred to as “UNI” – which is a mix of T800 and T1000 carbon fiber, combined with their very own resin, to create their very own mix of carbon development to cut back weight and improve rigidity. 

The right way to Make Higher Wheels

And what that may very well be?  Higher supplies, higher design, higher manufacturing, higher tech?Higher worth?

For the reason that carbon revolution levelled off a number of years in the past, just about everybody now has entry to the identical grades of carbon fibre.  So since we’re all working with the identical supplies, easy methods to make them higher?

For starters we all know that wheel sizes and shapes are standardized.  Ie: spherical, and 700c for highway & gravel.

Widths have lastly developed to the place they make sense – wider inside widths have turn out to be the norm, and eventually tire efficiency and bike dealing with have improved because of this.  Aerodynamic shaping of rims has turn out to be commonplace throughout the favored depths of 35mm, 45mm, and 60mm.

Resins are one space we see manufacturers cooking up their very own secret sauce, permitting for advances in weight discount and will increase in power – so stronger and lighter is all-righter.  From the surface it’s laborious to understand how completely different these resins are throughout manufacturers, however we do know that the outcomes typically ship what we’re all after – much less weight and extra power.  Partial proof of that is that catastrophic carbon wheel failures are largely a factor of the previous – by which I imply I simply don’t hear about them like I used to.

Spoke counts are fairly normal, just because a sure quantity are wanted to safe wheel integrity and stand up to the stresses of excessive efficiency biking.  There are some variations on the market, however mainly we’re coping with round 20-21 spokes entrance wheels, 20-24 spokes rear.  There was much more spokes generally, however advances in supplies power and designs have allowed a discount in spoke counts that cut back weight, however keep power and rigidity.

So how has ELITE addressed the entire above to supply a wheel they assume you’ll need?

Design

In case you haven’t heard of ELITE Wheels earlier than, the Chinese language firm has over a decade of expertise manufacturing carbon wheels and dealing with carbon fibre on different parts making gear for a lot of high manufacturers.  They determined to take all their information and launch their very own model, initially taking maintain in Asia and Australia, and now transferring into the market to North America.

They provide a fairly wide selection of wheels for highway, gravel mtb, and triathlon – all with a efficiency focus in thoughts.

The DRIVE G45 CS wheels are a gravel-specific, U-shaped, mid-depth, extensive inside width carbon wheel, constructed with carbon fiber spokes (that’s the “CS” within the title), which can be 45mm deep (within the title once more!)

The 45mm depth and shiny end is simply that, deep, cool, attractive even.  This depth has turn out to be pretty normal for gravel as a result of it’s the correct dimension for optimum power/ weight combo for good purpose – it really works and works effectively.

Ending high quality is great. My pre-tire-mount inspection confirmed tape utility was high notch, with no gaps or blemishes.  Inside width is 24mm – The 40mm Pirelli tires I’ve been operating match properly right here, however there’s room to go wider.

Proof these are a light-weight gravel wheelset – the entrance wheel weight is 640 grams…

The rear wheel weighed in at 751 grams…

Spokes are excessive tensile carbon fibre – a tad lighter than aluminum, and stronger – Elite claims the wheels are 7% stiffer with these spokes vs the identical with metal spokes.  These run 20 spokes entrance, and 20 spokes within the rear.

Elite’s hubs function ceramic bearings, and the rear makes use of a 4 pawl engagement for the freehub.

The Kicker – $1269 USD for Carbon Wheels That Ship

Carbon highway wheels can vary wherever from $500 to over $4000. And sure, there’s usually reality to the concept that the next worth displays higher high quality—however let’s be trustworthy: most of us can’t inform the distinction.

Why?

• We don’t work within the factories.

• We don’t have the time (or finances) to run a number of wheels over similar check tracks with the identical tire, strain, and using circumstances.

• We’re human—and decoding delicate efficiency variations with out bias is sort of unattainable.

So, when the design, supplies, and manufacturing high quality are related throughout manufacturers, what are we actually paying for?

Advertising and marketing. Branding. Notion.

Most of us are selecting primarily based on model recognition, not measurable variations. Huge Western manufacturers make investments closely in advertising—and that price is baked into the retail worth. It creates the notion of superiority, even when many of those wheels are made in the identical factories as lesser-known Asian manufacturers.

And that brings us to Elite Wheels.

You could not have heard of them—and that’s as a result of they don’t market like the large gamers. However don’t let that idiot you. These wheels provide spectacular tech, high quality, and efficiency for simply $1269 USD—a worth that punches effectively above its weight.

What stands out most?
How a lot actual worth you’re getting—with out paying for the title on the decal.

First Impressions

I’ve unboxed quite a lot of wheelsets prior to now couple of many years, and there’s a sure technique to pack them for lengthy distance transport to reach safely on the vacation spot.  Watch my Youtube video to see for your self how they’re packed for delivery.

Elite checks all of the packing containers within the protected delivery department- two wheels share a field, individually wrapped in foam packing liners, no shifting round or inside motion, and in addition consideration paid to eliminating waste by not utilizing an excessive amount of packing materials.

The wheels look nice popping out of the field, irrespective of what number of occasions I do that, I nonetheless get slightly buzz when the large reveal lastly occurs.

Additionally within the field are additional spokes, and guarantee playing cards.

End high quality is great, stunning excessive gloss floor and QC seems excellent.

Key Options and Specs

After many emails, immediate and attentive follow-up from their facet, one 45 minute video with 4 of Elite’s employees, together with a product supervisor and engineer on the decision, I had a robust feeling the individuals working for Elite take quite a lot of pleasure of their work.

They’ve designed and constructed each piece of most of their wheels (though some units are spec’s with aftermarket elements like DT Swiss spokes – typically thought-about the very best at school.)

The upside with the carbon spoke design, is that the excessive tensile power of the spokes permits them to make use of 20 spokes (vs 21 on many manufacturers) whereas rising stiffness.  Fewer spokes additionally means much less weight (even when it’s just some grams).

The 45mm depth additionally means spokes might be barely shorter than 35mm deep wheels, which just about means greater stiffness as effectively.

The expansion of gravel using has led to some developments which have additionally influenced highway designs – on this case its wider rim widths.   

Aside from the essential structural benefits of a wider rim (extra power), this design (which has solely gained widespread assist prior to now 2-3 years) additionally permits for higher utility and efficiency of wider tires.

As we’ve talked about earlier than, the broader inside width permits the tire to take a seat extra securely into the rim mattress, whereas additionally permitting for a extra pure profile form of the tire to do its job of higher highway grip, improved traction and total dealing with and being much less inclined to flats and different stress associated injury.

Journey Impressions

Wheels today are typically so good, that our expectations are naturally excessive, and until a wheelset is actually off for some purpose, I’m typically going to have an excellent expertise.  I additionally observe that given the various tire pressures and terrain kinds we experience gravel wheels on, a lot of the particular wheel suggestions will get misplaced in translation.

Total I’ve discovered these to be a stiff, responsive, surprisingly quick gravel wheelset. These wheels changed a set of CADEX AR36 wheels I’ve been operating on my Look 765 check bike (which price 3 x extra), and the one discernible distinction for me is that the Elite free hub is quite a bit quieter.  This can be nitpicking – however the freehub sound is excellent – not too loud, not too quiet.  And for guys like me, Elite even has a web page on their web site the place you possibly can take heed to the hub spin.  And that’s just about the way it sounds.

I even received a coasting drag race towards a buddy the opposite day, which I chalked as much as the overall aearo-shape of the edges, and the low friction ceramic bearings within the hubs.

To sum up what stands out for me:

Consideration: the ELITE Wheels Summer season sale is on now till Jun. 30, 2025 – with reductions on All wheels providing $69 off $599, Get $159 off $799, Get $239 off $1099

BONUS SALE for PEZ Readers: Discover extra data, order Drive G45 CS wheels on-line and SAVE 20% in case you use the code “PEZ15”.

PEZ receives a small fee on all gross sales of DRIVE G45 CS wheels bought via the hyperlink, which will probably be used to assist maintain PEZ operating.

Sum It All Up

The EliteWheels Drive G45 CS gravel wheelset delivers a formidable mixture of sunshine weight, stiffness, and responsiveness that’s laborious to beat at this worth level. With carbon spokes, ceramic bearings, and a 1,300g weight, they really feel race-ready but sturdy sufficient for any gravel adventures.

At $1269 USD, they simply maintain their very own towards higher-priced opponents, providing severe worth for riders who need pro-level tech with out the posh markup. In the event you’re pondering to improve your gravel setup with a wheelset that’s quick, environment friendly, and constructed with top-shelf options, the Drive G45 CS is greater than value a glance.