Avoiding the 'wheelie good' gag, the 5 cool things post this week is heavy on the wheelset front. We've got affordable 700c gravel wheels from DT Swiss and Hunt and also mountain bike wheels from Spank with a Vibrocore filling. There are also a brand new bikes in the house from Calibre and GT.

• The best gravel and adventure bikes you can buy for under £1,000
• The best mountain bikes for under £1,000 - the best budget buys ridden and rated
• Buyers guide to mountain bike tyres - get the best rubber for your MTB
   

DT Swiss G1800 Spline 25 wheelset

These look like a great pair of gravel wheels to get you rolling on your first gravel bike. Costing just £350 for a tubeless ready set of wheels, taped (with valves) and both Shimano and XD freehubs included (1,960 with Shimano freehub bdoy). These wheels have a 24m internal width, the 25 in the name refers to the 25mm rim depth. We've got some to use as a second set of interchangeable wheels for a gravel build we've got going on at the moment. 

 

 

• £350
• www.dtswiss.com

 

Spank 350 Vibrocore Wheelset

Filled with the same vibration reducing tech as their bars, the Spank 350 Vibrocore wheelset is a hard hitting pair of wheels for rowdier riding weighing in at 2,140g and measuring 30.5mm internal width. Spank says the rims have a "unique profile with low sectional profile height and wide width, which adds radial compliance for better traction over bumps and chatter while keeping high lateral stiffness. This set is going on our Jon's long term test bike, his Mondraker Foxy. 

 

• £600
• www.spank-ind.com

 

Calibre Bossnut

Launched a week or so ago, we've just received the new 2020 Calibre Bossnut for testing. The 2020 bike get specification and geometry updates, coming in at just £1,100 for what looks like a very capable mountain bike. We reviewed the old Bossnut V2 last year and loved it, giving it 5 stars, we also really liked Calibre's new (ish) long travel 29er, the Sentry, dishing out five gold stars to that one too, it's safe to say we are dead keen on getting a ride on this one soon!

 

• £1,100
• www.calibrebicycles.com

 

GT Grade Carbon Expert

Back in May this year, our Dave got a ride on the new GT Grade, where he thought it was am impressively smooth, stable gravel bike. He's now got one in to test for a bit longer so he can get to grips with the new adjustable geometry on trails a bit closer to home. 

 

• £2,500
• www.gtbicycles.com

Hunt 4 Season Gravel Disc X-Wide Wheelset

Hunt's popular value wheelset for off the beaten track is now wider and tougher than ever, with a 25mm rim bed optimised for tyres 35mm and beyond and a 29mm external width. They weigh in at 1,698 for pair, and Hunt say they're more than capable of taking on terrain you'd have only considered possible on a mountain bike before you get your hands on these hoops. The freehub also features Hunt's  'H_Ceramik' coating that makes it more durable against cassette sprocket damage, and of course they're ready for tubeless tyres with Hunt throwing in tubeless tape and valves with your purchase. The ultimate gravel mile munchers? Check back for the full test report on road.cc in the next couple of weeks. 

 

 

• £329
• www.huntbikewheels.com

 

You might also like: 

• 5 cool things from Shimano, TRP, Lezyne and Muc-Off
• 5 cool things from Ortlieb, Salsa, Topeak, Teravail and Knog
• Five cool things from Cervelo, DJI, Hornit, Spank, and Nikwax