Hunt has pulled back the curtain on its newest range-topping aerodynamic gravel wheelset, the 5AM Gravel Limitless, and the British company is making bold claims about its weight and aero efficiency compared to rivals.
Much like the 5AM Limitless road wheels that debuted earlier this year, this gravel version adopts what Hunt calls an “aero mullet” rim configuration. That means the front wheel runs a deeper, broader rim while the rear gets a shallower, narrower profile. The goal is to strike the ideal balance between aerodynamic gains and low overall weight, an approach first brought to market by Specialized with its Roval Rapide CLX III wheels.
Leveraging Hunt’s patented Limitless construction, the brand has taken this concept to the extreme. The front rim measures a massive 45mm externally, yet retains a 27mm internal width to accommodate modern gravel tyres properly.
The wheels are on sale now. With steel bearings and steel spokes, the price sits at £1,999 / $2,399 / €2,399. Upgrading to ceramic bearings and carbon spokes bumps that figure to £2,449 / $2,899 / €2,899.
Wide yet remarkably light
Gravel racing in 2026 has fully embraced aerodynamics, and manufacturers appear to be splitting into two camps when it comes to solving the gravel speed equation.
One group has chased outright low drag above all else. This has produced hyper-aero gravel machines like the Argon 18 Anti Matter, Ridley Kanzo Fast 2.0, and Factor Elara, paired with ultra-deep wheelsets including the Newmen Streem G.62s, ENVE G SES 6.7 Pros, and Black Inc Sixty Fours.
Hunt has taken a different route with the 5AM Gravel Limitless, favouring a blend of aero efficiency and minimal weight rather than pursuing drag reduction at any cost. This philosophy aligns more closely with bikes such as Specialized’s new Crux 5 and its Roval Terra Aero CLX wheels, or Giant’s Revolt Advanced SL 0 with its carbon-spoked Cadex MAX GXR wheels.
Design engineer Patrick Brown explained the reasoning to BikeRadar: “For top level pros, that aero [performance] is really important, but for technical gravel – where there are lots of accelerations – weight and feel matters.”
The numbers back up Hunt’s weight claims. On the road.cc scales, the carbon-spoked model came in at just 1,340g, while the steel-spoked version registered 1,480g. Both figures include rim tape but exclude valves.
By comparison, Specialized quotes the same 1,340g for its Roval Terra Aero CLX wheels, and Cadex claims its Max GXR wheels can weigh as little as 1,280g without tape or valves. However, both alternatives carry significantly higher price tags: £2,998 / $3,399.98 / €3,458 for the Rovals and £3,499 / $4,000 / €3,799 for the Cadex option.
Despite the low weight, Hunt’s rims are exceptionally wide. The front measures 54mm deep and 45mm wide, while the rear is 49mm deep and 38mm wide, with both featuring a 27mm internal width. For context, Roval’s rims are 50mm deep and 45mm wide front and rear, with a narrower 38.5mm external width. Cadex rims come in at 50mm deep and 35mm wide at both ends.
Like previous Limitless wheelsets from Hunt, the 5AM Gravel Limitless stands out for its oversized rim beads, measuring 9mm at the front and 5.5mm at the rear. According to Hunt, this strengthens the rims and lowers the risk of pinch flats. The patented construction method, which substitutes low-density polymer for carbon fibre in certain areas, helps cut weight without compromising width. The rims are also hookless, or Tubeless Straight Side, as is now common on carbon gravel wheels.
Wind tunnel validation
To support its aerodynamic claims, Hunt points to testing conducted at the GST wind tunnel in Germany and the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub in the UK. The wheelset was engineered around 50mm tyres, reflecting what elite competitors run in the Lifetime Grand Prix, the leading US gravel racing series.
After refining prototypes through CFD modelling and GST tunnel sessions, Hunt tested the final product against a wide array of competing wheels at Silverstone, using a Specialized Crux 5 as the test platform. The company chose an average wind speed of 11.3kph and a bike speed of 40kph, slightly quicker than the winning average speed of 37.8kph at the 2025 Unbound Gravel 200.
Running 50mm Vittoria T30 gravel tyres, Hunt’s data showed the 5AM Gravel Limitless Ti_UD carbon-spoked wheels as the lowest-drag option, albeit by just 0.21 watts over Reserve’s 48|53 GR wheels, a margin Hunt acknowledges falls within tunnel error. Against its own 4 Season Gravel alloy wheelset, the savings exceeded 13 watts. Results with narrower 45mm tyres followed a similar trend, though overall drag dropped in line with reduced frontal area. Testing with 2.1in Vittoria Peyote cross-country mountain bike tyres also placed the 5AM Gravel Limitless on top, again by slim margins.
Brown noted that although independent wind tunnel testing by CyclingNews showed Hunt’s wheels could be outpaced by the latest ENVE and Newmen offerings, those wheelsets use substantially deeper rims and carry roughly 200g more weight. The Newmen Streem G.62s and ENVE G SES 6.7 Pros feature 62mm and 60/67mm-deep rims respectively, weighing 1,539g (actual, with valves) and 1,580g (claimed). Brown also hinted that Hunt may explore an ultra-deep variant of the Gravel Limitless in the future.
