Halo Drove Line 700C Wheels Review
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The Halo Drove Line 700c wheelset is built with excellent, sturdy alloy rims with a wide width to accommodate wider gravel tyres, allowing riders more comfort when riding off-road. This wheelset is well-priced and super reliable, making them an ideal contender as one of the best gravel wheelsets. However, they are a little on the weighty side.
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Halo Drove Line 700c - Technical details
The Drove Line 700c Wheelset from Halo is designed to suit road, gravel, adventure and cyclo-cross outings. It's tubeless-ready for better picture protection as well as overall weight savings. The weight of the front wheel is 920g, and the rear is 1165g which makes them reasonably heavy compared to others I’ve used, but the plus side to this is the strength they offer. The price of the complete wheelset is £330, with the front being £140 and the rear £190.
The rims measure in with a 21mm internal and 26mm external width, and they can accommodate a tyre range of 25c up to 45c for either road or gravel possibilities. A traditional clincher tyre can be used with wheels because of the hooked profile rim. The triple-butted stainless steel J-bend spokes offer high performance for all terrains. The hub is compatible with a 6-bolt disc brake rotor.
The sealed bearing hubs are Halo's Ridge Line II series included to provide durability and strength along with a Cro-Mo axle and four pawl Cr-Mo HG freehub. The front fittings include a 12mm thru-axle, and the rear is 12 x 142mm.
Halo Drove Line 700c - Performance
Besides having to find spare 6-bolt rotors to fit onto the hubs, the wheels were simple to fit. I used my Bontrager GR1 gravel tyres with a tubeless set-up. Being a wider rim allowed me to use my chunky 40mm tyres and they easily fit onto the rim without too much of a fight.
The wheels are super sturdy over rough terrain, mainly, as I tested these on my gravel bike over many varied terrains from smooth roads to rocky stoney gravel paths to bumpy fields. The wheels are perfect for longer bikepacking trips where I would carry a lot of luggage on both the front and the rear wheels.
After a couple of months of hard riding, there isn't any sign of spokes coming loose or the hub bearings showing wear. The four-pawl hub offers just the right amount of engagement for fluid, smooth pedalling over techy terrain with minimal lag.
The Halo Drove Line wheelset has proven to be a good solid set of wheels that summon plenty of confidence while riding fast, offering easy cornering. Although they are not the lightest of wheels, which was slightly noticeable when climbing.
Halo Drove Line 700c - Value and verdict
Looking at other wheelsets of a similar calibre, the DT Swiss HG 1800 Spline wheelset is one that offers a disc brake setup, and a robust rim, and you can pop a fat 50mm tyre on if desired. It's designed to withstand the weight of an e-bike and is slightly lighter than the Drove. Another wheelset I looked at is the Miche Contact GR wheelset. With less money and weight, the wheelset is tubeless ready, fits a centre lock rotor and can fit up to a 50mm tyre.
While not the lightest on the market, as it is typical of Halo, the Drove Line 700c wheelset has impressed with its all-out strength and versatility at a very reasonable price. The fact that it can become home to wide, 45mm rubber and accommodate disc rotors makes for a wheelset that can cope with everything that gravel or harsh winters on the road have to throw at it.